What's new

Questionable quality control, and my third RMA process.

eljoe

Member
Yes, but to be honest it also i think the ipad deserves credit. First of all, if it wasn't for the ipad, we wouldn't have the Surface and the RT OS (i like modern apps, a unique app store, no partners bloatware, a companion device, long battery life, etc). And the ipad was successful and popular because it was convenient in every way for most common people stuff (multimedia, browsing and mail). But when people started to try to do real work, well, it lacks in that department. And i think RT OS and particularly the Surface closed that gap (consumption vs production) pretty pretty well.

I think i have gone pretty off topic! Sorry ;)
 

ChemCat

New Member
Yes, but to be honest it also i think the ipad deserves credit. First of all, if it wasn't for the ipad, we wouldn't have the Surface and the RT OS (i like modern apps, a unique app store, no partners bloatware, a companion device, long battery life, etc). And the ipad was successful and popular because it was convenient in every way for most common people stuff (multimedia, browsing and mail). But when people started to try to do real work, well, it lacks in that department. And i think RT OS and particularly the Surface closed that gap (consumption vs production) pretty pretty well.

I think i have gone pretty off topic! Sorry ;)

Not true. MS had already planned for the surface before the ipad came out. MS as going to come out with it regardless of whether the ipad came out or not.

Most people don't realize that these things take years and years to plan and implement. Most people have no idea how long it takes to develop these softwares and hardware.
 

ChemCat

New Member
At least I know the decision for my company to go Apple was strictly political and had nothing to do with actual technological superiority: Ask most anyone in my department "Exactly how is the iPad worth $400-$500?" and a common answer is "Oh, but I didn't pay for it."

I actually think it is immoral for an employee to not care about what the company spends on. Instead of 200 useless ipads, they could have hired someone. If we try to exploit our company, we could drive it into the ground and then there is no more work.

Sometimes I work for up to 13-14 hours a day. Yes, they pay me overtime bonuses for it. Some people think I exploit the system by purposely staying late. But the fact of the matter is I have to stay late like that some times. I'm just glad my supervisor knows my work takes a lot of time to do, considering they just fired a guy here and dumped his projects on me.
 

oion

Well-Known Member
Indeed, historically Microsoft already beat Apple to the tablet space by a whole ten years.

Problem? It was way before its time and technology limits made the device not terribly ideal for handheld use, along with (ironically) a poor ecosystem of touch-friendly Win32 software. It failed commercially, but what iPad did ten years later was invigorate the industry slice and warmed consumers up to the concept using a much lighter use case model. Surface is just taking this industry evolution a step further--in the sense that Apple stopped innovating--and is trying to close the gap between the current consumption limitations and the original unrequited dream of a productive tablet, as attempted a decade earlier. Honestly, I think MS succeeded, as the third party apps aren't their fault. The upcoming Gemini will just blow everything else out of the water. IMO.

Back then, those original MS tablets/hybrids were made by OEMs, and I have no idea as to build quality, innovation sources, and whatnot. I think the Surface will do better despite a rocky start because Microsoft is trying to exercise more control over most aspects except the third party apps; the Surface RT line doesn't suffer as much for the ideal use case despite apps due to the browser and Office, and the Surface Pro line doesn't suffer as much either since it supports regular Win software and easily connects to outputs to mitigate the non-scaling/non-touch software issues. MS just has a bit further to go for firmware and hardware consistency, but the former fixes are nicely active, so no one should worry about that. I don't know about hardware consistency, as the manufacturing backend is a mystery to me--factory contracts? Shared facilities? Something?

Edit to add (meh, it messed up)

I actually think it is immoral for an employee to not care about what the company spends on. Instead of 200 useless ipads, they could have hired someone. If we try to exploit our company, we could drive it into the ground and then there is no more work.

Sometimes I work for up to 13-14 hours a day. Yes, they pay me overtime bonuses for it. Some people think I exploit the system by purposely staying late. But the fact of the matter is I have to stay late like that some times. I'm just glad my supervisor knows my work takes a lot of time to do, considering they just fired a guy here and dumped his projects on me.

Well, my company is kind of stupidly rich at the moment. And with an Apple employee on the board of directors, what else can you do? Believe me, my group actually TRIED to get cheaper Android corporate phones; the corp plans were also much cheaper for the Android models. But no, they are banned. All the iPhone options are significantly more expensive.

When the leaders are handing down the corporate law in this way, there is nothing immoral on the employees' parts to take advantage of it, IMO. Once the leaders realize they could be saving more money--usually once the stock keeps falling, and there's no sign of that--then maybe there will be a change.
 
Last edited:

eljoe

Member
Not true. MS had already planned for the surface before the ipad came out. MS as going to come out with it regardless of whether the ipad came out or not.

Most people don't realize that these things take years and years to plan and implement. Most people have no idea how long it takes to develop these softwares and hardware.

When you say Surface are u also saying Win RT as we know it today? ipad was 2010. I am talking about Microsoft before the iphone in 2007 because that was the device that brought this new closed environment (for better or worst).

It may be that i saw no evidence that Metro style, Windows Store, etc was in the works before 2007. Of course i may be wrong or misinformed. And i am here to learn not to teach anyone.

I think we both love and prefer RT the same but we just disagree and have different opinions concerning Apple role in Microsoft's last 6 years.

If am not wrong, WinPho was introduced in 2010, 3 years after the iphone. It is hard to me to believe they had been working on it before iOS.

I also was the first one to buy a Lumia 800 just to be stuck at 7.8. So I think they had the vision, but execution showed that they hadn't been working on that for a long time.

I know MS had smartphones and tablets. I was a happy owner of a QT phone and a Palm Treo with Windows Mobile. Moreover i bought a lovely HTC phone with WinMo 6.5 when iphone was starting to be known. But the software approach was nothing new. It was Windows in small screens. I was also there laughing at the iphone lacking copy paste functions and that horrible grid of icons. And i was also there with the nothing smooth scrolling of my device. Call it aesthetics, but RT proved my point. There can be an OS with all the good things that iOS users enjoy but more powerful and useful. That is Windows RT and i love it ;)
 

ChemCat

New Member
You are correct if you are referring to the iphone intrduction. I know they started engineering windows 8/rt back in 09, possibly before.
 
OP
F

FFX

Active Member
Im very aware of the fact that other brands are having these exact issues with quality control, this I also stated in my first post. What I cant understand is the reluctancy to reimburse customers, which get stuck in these RMA cycles.

They reimburse Xbox ONE customers who receive duds, but never Surface customers. They are a device and services company, it wouldn't affect them at all to throw in 2 months of Xbox Video, or Xbox Music, or a voucher for Xbox store games, extra skydrive or even extended warranty, just to keep customers happy.
Buying a new device shouldn't be like buying a lottery ticket, they really need to take care of their customers. If I didn't like Microsoft and the Surface as much as I do, I would probably already have given up.
 

oion

Well-Known Member
Im very aware of the fact that other brands are having these exact issues with quality control, this I also stated in my first post. What I cant understand is the reluctancy to reimburse customers, which get stuck in these RMA cycles.

They reimburse Xbox ONE customers who receive duds, but never Surface customers. They are a device and services company, it wouldn't affect them at all to throw in 2 months of Xbox Video, or Xbox Music, or a voucher for Xbox store games, extra skydrive or even extended warranty, just to keep customers happy.
Buying a new device shouldn't be like buying a lottery ticket, they really need to take care of their customers. If I didn't like Microsoft and the Surface as much as I do, I would probably already have given up.

As far as I know, many if not all computer companies will do their best to avoid refunds, but the Microsoft store should allow returns for 30 days after purchase, AFAIK. Companies that do have an official policy for refunds alongside exchanges usually have a minimum period--I think Apple's is 14 days. But this is for the U.S., so international policies and laws may be different.

Beyond that, it's the warranty. So far from what I've heard around here, the tech support and exchange process aren't terrible if you're in the U.S., but it's unfortunate that people outside the U.S. are running into problems, particularly with limited stock and thus exchange efficiency/timing. :/ Good luck, really.
 
OP
F

FFX

Active Member
Will be receiving my new unit tomorrow, hopefully problem free.
Also Microsoft called me today to say they will be sending me an Surface HDMI adaptor, for all the RMAs I have had to go through!
 

oion

Well-Known Member
Will be receiving my new unit tomorrow, hopefully problem free.
Also Microsoft called me today to say they will be sending me an Surface HDMI adaptor, for all the RMAs I have had to go through!

Well, that's a nice token gesture. Fingers crossed!
 

oion

Well-Known Member
Um... you can find an hdmi adapter on amazon for 99 cents.

The official one has a slant on the connector to match the Surface chassis angle.

Edit to add: I don't have a cable at all, but from what I've read elsewhere, some users may experience bad picture quality due to poor connection, hence the whole angle business.
 
Last edited:
Top