Early Adopters...

[mmcnulty]

The Surface Book generally is great and could/should/will be amazing, but for Microsfoft to try to subtly, retroactively change what they sold their product as, and who they sold it to, that is something that should not be forgiven or forgotten.

What am I referring to?
Looking at the announcement for the update (February 17th, 2016)(link below), I cant help but notice the use of the term "early adopters".
I also know that when speaking with Surface support they have canned phrases about new technology having glitches, etc. I'm sure there are other instances, but the PR strategy here is becoming clearer and more coherent every time Microsoft addresses the product.

Apparently when Microsoft sold this as a premium/flagship device (the ultimate laptop), we all should have expected they were releasing a product in beta and we would all get to chip in to get it working right.
Maybe I'm the only one that felt misled to begin with and now insulted.
I've learned my lesson though. I know what to expect from Microsoft.
Now I know that only early adopters should buy their products. People who want to spend $2500 on headaches and then be told its their own fault for buying it.

There is an accountability problem at Microsoft. At some point, someone specific failed to do their job well. Maybe someone lied about the readiness, or someone ignored reports stating it wasnt ready, or someone decided it didnt matter and to just release it anyway. Someone took a product that could have earned universal praise and goodwill, and instead gave Microsoft a black-eye.

An update on Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book

 

[leeshor]

Firstly, welcome to the forum

I personally know quite a few people with Surface Books and Surface Pros, (mostly IT professionals), who insist they have never had an issue with either product. I'm fairly certain they expected a bug, or 2, with a new product but otherwise their Surface devices are performing as expected, including and especially the Surface Books. They may be using them differently from some other people or may be overlooking a flaw but when I ask them are they having problems the answer is a flat no. And I continue to ask.

 

[mmcnulty]

I don't think every use case will uncover issues.

If you look around complaints (their volume, types, consistency of where/when issues arise, etc), then it becomes very hard to accept that Microsoft couldn't have identified these issues ahead of time.
Add on to that, as evidence, Microsofts own responses (transitioning to calling customers "early adopters", etc)., and it becomes very clear that there are issues, and that these issues are far from isolated.

You know what though? It doesn't matter now. The damage is done. There has been bad press about this stuff. It's been deserved. Microsoft has made it very clear what customers can expect from them. To be ignored. To be blamed. etc.

I know I will have serious doubts next time Microsoft has something to sell, and I'm obviously not alone on that. Microsoft could not have botched this more than they did. That is, the Surface Book is great, and it is only getting better. But there is no excuse for the way this was all handled. Handled correctly, Microsoft would have set high expectations and gained a lot of credibility. Instead, they somehow blew it. Not for good reasons. Just sloppiness, tone-deaf PR, a slightly rushed product. Theyve been headed in the right direction with management changes, but they clearly have more to do.

 

[bjanssen]

Judging from the forums lots of people seem to have issues. I feel sorry for them, that totally sucks. My device has been pretty much perfect from day one (minus the sleep battery draining issue and it would sometimes randomly switch to tablet mode, both of which have been fixed). This is the best laptop I've ever owned.

 

[Niterider4]

Based on my experience with the SB, I would be very wary about buying any new product from Microsoft. I feel that the launch of the SB was executed very poorly and, worse, was done with the full knowledge that customers would experience the specific problems that many of us have experienced. My concerns with Microsoft go beyond reliability and quality control and extend to trust and confidence.

Having said that, I am entering my second week without ANY problems with my SB. That is extremely positive and encouraging and, as I have said numerous times, when my SB works - it's amazing. I appreciate the efforts that MS has made since the botched launch of the SB, and I am very pleased with my SB at the moment.

 

[leeshor]

I remember similar issues with Windows 98 and XP, some fairly serious, like not even being able to use a printer, even one that was current generation. It may only seem more obvious now because of the number of people who can come to a forum like this to air their problems. As I remember the growing pains in the past Windows 10 hasn't even come close.

When Windows ME came out I sold maybe 3 copies then decided, very quickly, no more. I never sold one copy of Vista. I have already sold, installed 12 systems with Windows 10 and have only had one issue with one old program not wanting to install.

 

[Aegeas]

When I am on a 9+ hour flight this weekend and I am able to play games on the plane, I will be very glad I was an "early adopter."

 

[mmcnulty]

The Surface Book is generally great. That is, for most uses I love it. But when issues pop up, they are not minor. External monitors have been a nightmare until very recently (through the Surface Dock even)(with the active HDMI to mini-DP as advised on the troubleshooting page). There have been times the screen felt like I could cook an egg on it. Even now, the only reason things seem to be going smoothly is because I manually installed the beta version from intel for graphics drivers. I did not buy a $2500 laptop so I could spend hour after hour trying to get around "roadblocks" and reinstalling windows 10 and all my software (as has been necessary at times, and as has been directed by Surface Support).

I was tempted to cut them some slack for their response since progress has been made, then I realized how absurd that sounded. This isn't some kickstarter project. This isn't some legacy device or software. This is their flagship device. This is the bare minimum. That is, trying to resolve these issues is the least they can do. Can you imagine if they weren't?

What would have been a good response? And, what would be a good response going forward?
- Acknowledge that the released product was not as advertised, instead of essentially telling customers that if they dont like it it's their own fault for buying it. After all, you knew you were an "early adopter", not someone buying a top of the line machine with any kind of seal of quality/approval from a major brand with an image to maintain.
- Find out whose decisions/choices led to the product being released with as many problems as it has had and do something about them. If that kind of decision making is in place in the future, then this will continue to repeat. This kind of thing screams that any talk of a new Microsoft is far too early. This is old Microsoft, and old Microsoft earned its bad reputation / declining stature.
- Offer a clear timeline, or at least a clear acknowledgement of what needs improvement. Obviously, fixes are ready when they are ready and you cant know when that will be beforehand. But, if you are working on a fix, then you know you are working on it.

 

[BearFlag]

Here's the thing. The SB has some annoying bugs that MS could have addressed prior to release but that would have meant that the SB probably would not have shipped out till 2016. Though annoying, these bugs have been livable for me.

Therefore if I was given the option of buying the SB in October with bugs or having to wait till January/February without bugs, I still would have chosen to get it sooner. Again MS is at fault and might have released the product prematurely without working out all the kinks, but I do not regret being an early adopter.

 

[mmcnulty]

My problem is not with being an early adopter of a product. My problem is not with the Surface Book in general. It's flaws are fixable over the air. But that starts leading to the real issue. The problems with the Surface Book are simply failures to make sure your product works. That still isn't the real problem (but it is a problem).

I understand some things are new and will have glitches. If I back something like Pebble on kickstarter, then I expect and understand issues as they try something that hasnt been done, with no experience themselves.
I do not understand a company like Microsoft thinking thats where the bar is for themselves, on their flagship product. Its inexcusable.

What really is the issue here (and I'm clearly not alone on this if you've paid any attention around the internet) is that I was not sold this as an early adopter. I was sold the "ultimate laptop", from a company that is practically synonymous with non-apple consumer computing. So for them to release the product the way they did, which implies they thought they were selling a finished product rather than something in beta, and then when problems arise (that again, they clearly did not expect possible on such a large scale) to claim purchasers are early adopters? That bothers me.

You cannot unilaterally and retroactively change the implied "contract". You can either acknowledge you did not sell the product you advertised, or you can be content knowing that consumers now expect any product you release, no matter what your claims, they are the beta testers. It seems Microsoft has chosen the latter of the two options. They are the company that when you buy their products, you should expect to be treated as a beta tester.

All that said. I do love my Surface Book. Someone(s) at Microsoft did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, someone in a decision making seat did their best to cloud that achievement and then to damage Microsofts reputation in terms of accountability.

 

[bangsters]

I do believe the issues are more with win10 and not really the book's hardware. I think they tried to make it work with most hardware and brand but never really checked on their own hardware compatibility. On a side note mine has glitches but nothing that makes me want to return this. Satisfied overall