Drawing on the Surface Book

[nogridbag]

I'm not an existing Surface user, but I would imagine many creative people draw on the Surface while it's sitting at some angle on the kickstand.

Drawing on the SB while it's docked in it's normal position on the base looks less than ideal (jump to time 3:35 ... for some reason the forum is stripping the time off the URL):

The screen kind of wobbles back and forth due to the minor pressure of the pen on the screen. I realize it should probably be detached or mounted upside down when you want to spend any lengthy time drawing on it... I just thought I'd point it out in case it wasn't obvious to anyone else

 

[daniielrp]

Yeh no actual person will draw like that with it open unless they're an idiot. Just pull out the tablet, flip round and then fold it back down over the keyboard, would give a nice angle for drawing.

 

[Dim-Ize]

daniielrp sums it up. I am no artist. I'm even bad at Pictionary. But, I think that an artist would pull the screen around as daniielrp mentions or be inclined to consider the SP4 vs. the new Vaio Z Canvas with RF keyboard detached.

 

[jnjroach]

I agree...I get so tired of reviewers doing this type of thing, they did it with the normal pro devices with the cover attached as well....

 

[GreyFox7]

I agree...I get so tired of reviewers doing this type of thing, they did it with the normal pro devices with the cover attached as well....

You cant fix stupid.

Maybe next time after the show instead of turning them loose on their own they can all be sat down in a classroom and guided through everything.

 

[Sher the Love]

I don't think his intention was to show any kind of flaw in the device. I think he just wrote on in like that cause he was strapped for time with it. He didn't say anything negative about it in that regard.

I think most people are smart enough to understand that writing in that position is not optimal and the device clearly goes into a flatter, more stable position for in depth writing or drawing.

 

[jnjroach]

I don't think reviewers do it maliciously, it is that they don't understand the actual use case of inking on a device....

 

[nogridbag]

I agree...I get so tired of reviewers doing this type of thing, they did it with the normal pro devices with the cover attached as well....

Can you clarify for us non-surfacers? The SP4 was very stable while drawing in pretty any configuration of the kickstand/type cover (well, on the table it is). So even if pros may use it without the type cover attached, it's nice knowing I can quickly write some notes or whatever without needing to hold the monitor with one hand while drawing with the other like I may have to with the SB.

 

[jnjroach]

Can you clarify for us non-surfacers? The SP4 was very stable while drawing in pretty any configuration of the kickstand/type cover (well, on the table it is). So even if pros may use it without the type cover attached, it's nice knowing I can quickly write some notes or whatever without needing to hold the monitor with one hand while drawing with the other like I may have to with the SB.

Reaching over a keyboard of any type is awkward and unnatural and when reviewers show this that are putting natural user interaction back 15 years....

 

[romrod]

I agree...I get so tired of reviewers doing this type of thing, they did it with the normal pro devices with the cover attached as well....

hrrrrr. What vexes me is when someone calls something stupid just because it doesn't fit their point of view, and assumes their perspective must be true for everyone. I use my Cintiq 24hd in almost vertical position. I also use my Cintiq 21uX in the most upright position the stand allows it to be in. I have a selfbuild stand for my Cintiq companion that lets me prop it up like an easel. I also have homemade base attached to an Ergotron arm, that allows me to use the Companion or 21UX in many positions, including propped up almost vertically. And i have the keyboard in front of it or to the side, or behind it.

Do you know how taxing it is for the neck and shoulders and upper back to be crunched over a device lying almost flat on the table for a longer period of time. Can you imagine that doing so day after day for many hours might cause problems not just in the whole neck-area, but also in your arm, because especially on a smaller screen you're prone to doing motions mostly from the wrist or from the ellbow joint. Can you imagine that having the screen almost upright and a keyboard infront of it to reach over actually is a welcome change of setup because some people like to work with the whole arm and shoulder when drawing.
Can you imagine how annyoing it is that with every tablet, convertible, laptop that in theory is capable of being a device to get work done, i have to come up with a new solution to actually make it useable for my setups.

So if a reviewer draws on a screen like that i look at it closely. Because i might do the same thing. Either shortly to just annotate something, or because i've just spend 7 hours drawing and have another 5-7h ahead of me and would like to change posture.

 

[jnjroach]

hrrrrr. What vexes me is when someone calls something stupid just because it doesn't fit their point of view, and assumes their perspective must be true for everyone. I use my Cintiq 24hd in almost vertical position. I also use my Cintiq 21uX in the most upright position the stand allows it to be in. I have a selfbuild stand for my Cintiq companion that lets me prop it up like an easel. I also have homemade base attached to an Ergotron arm, that allows me to use the Companion or 21UX in many positions, including propped up almost vertically. And i have the keyboard in front of it or to the side, or behind it.

Do you know how taxing it is for the neck and shoulders and upper back to be crunched over a device lying almost flat on the table for a longer period of time. Can you imagine that doing so day after day for many hours might cause problems not just in the whole neck-area, but also in your arm, because especially on a smaller screen you're prone to doing motions mostly from the wrist or from the ellbow joint. Can you imagine that having the screen almost upright and a keyboard infront of it to reach over actually is a welcome change of setup because some people like to work with the whole arm and shoulder when drawing.
Can you imagine how annyoing it is that with every tablet, convertible, laptop that in theory is capable of being a device to get work done, i have to come up with a new solution to actually make it useable for my setups.

So if a reviewer draws on a screen like that i look at it closely. Because i might do the same thing. Either shortly to just annotate something, or because i've just spend 7 hours drawing and have another 5-7h ahead of me and would like to change posture.

Sure I use the tablet in near vertical position as well, even on a swing arm but I know as someone who has used Tablet PCs since 2001 and have supported thousands of tablet users and the percentage of users who would ink on a convertible or on a 2 and 1 with the keyboard in front of them for any length of time is very small. If that is your use case and it works for you excellent.

I also know personally multiple artists who use tablets all use them and landscape mode without a keyboard in front, they sit in front of them 10-14 hours a day just like they would on an easel....

 

[romrod]

I'm not disputing the use cases you describe. My point is that there's more than one use case and to dismiss the action the reviewer showed, reaching across the keyboard to draw on the screen with the SurfaceBook in Laptop-mode, because it doesn't fit your personal experience is premature.
I vary the position of my cintiqs/convertibles/tablets and the position of my keyboard/numpad often, and that sometimes includes using the devices in a similar way as the reviewer in the video from the starter post did.
So while his action might make your eyes roll, i actually get useful information out of it.