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Questions about Surface Pro 2

kristalsoldier

Well-Known Member
You're right. I think those are the only 2. But even those weren't well received in android community despite that capability. I think Archos had one also. Or that might of been their windows tablet. Can't remember.

I don't know about the Thrive, but I do know that the Acer A500 was a big hit (though it was heavy!) in some of the circles that I was a part of then. While the finish was not all that great, but it was built like a tank! It was an amazing piece of hardware. Too bad when I left my last job, I had to return it. Since then I have been using the Nexus 10 (for which I had to wait for some time), which is also holds up pretty well and has a micro-USB port (though with a hell of a lot more limitations than the A500).
 
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ecbritz

New Member
Thanks for all the tips and advice. At home, I use a Lenovo Y580 (is it 15" or 17" wide?) with a USB hub connected to two external 1 terabyte hard drives containing two identical sets of backups. Each (identical) set comprises of about 600GB of files, including personally made movies etc. I don't have to access this archive every day. But as soon as I unhook the Lenovo and travel somewhere, I suddenly need the archive. Usually both external drives were left at home, unless of course I've taken one of them along. The Lenovo is quite big and heavy so I've been dreaming about the Surface Pro 2. It would seem that the only solution would be to keep taking one of the two 1 terabyte external hard drives along. Nothing I've read above will save me from that, it would seem. I don't agree at all that the Surface Pro should be viewed as a little world on its own, a mere "tablet" separated from other computer equipment and computer needs you might have. If it does not slot into everything easily, then it needs more development. Any details about the docking station available?
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
There is docking station that will be available in January. You really need access to all of your data while mobile? I would consider purchasing a Home Server that has remote capabilities. I carry a "IT Go Bag" in my trunk that has multiple external hard drives, tools, thumb drives, monitor cables, network cables, an portable external USB 2 monitor but I only need them once or twice a quarter.
 

Zuldan

New Member
You can opt for Skydrive, but that's about $100 for 200 GB per year, quite a hole in your pocket on a regular basis if you need at least 600 GB for your archive of files.

$0.2 cents a day puts a hole in your pocket? Really?
 
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ecbritz

New Member
A serious problem is how to search through a huge archive of files going back to the early nineteen-nineties and even earlier, when you need to do that and use the Surface Pro 2 while travelling. If you use your computer for documents and pictures you might want to recover decades from now -- being an academic, a journalist, a writer, many other professions -- you will want to search a huge and old personal file archive sooner or later in your life, "on the road". I use the Copernic Pro program to search through my archive. I'm planning to index one of the two 600GB backup archives on one of my two external hard drives with the Surface Pro 2 attached to that external drive. Copernic will be installed on the Surface, but won't start on Windows startup, so as not to clear away the Copernic index when the Surface does not have the external drive attached. I already use this method with the Lenovo Y580. I'm trying to imagine using the announced docking station to carry my lifetime of file records along with the Surface Pro 2. But I don't get a clear picture yet. Only a lightweight external hard drive with indexed files taken along with the Surface Pro 2 (Copernic installed) would do that, it would seem.

PS. How much would it cost annually to store 600GB on Skydrive? Surely not US$0.2 a day?
 
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ecbritz

New Member
It does not seem as if your information is correct. Could you please give the Microsoft website link where the latest annual fee for 600GB storage on Skydrive can be seen and calculated? It is important for Surface owners to know how much 600GB will really cost, because storage is a problem with this device if you need to access a large personal file archive regularly and on the move. Please give a link to the relevant Microsoft site.
 

CrippsCorner

Well-Known Member
Sorry that I haven't read the entire thread, but I hope it's on topic to point out you can now get a 512Gb HDD Surface. So then, you wouldn't need as much SkyDrive space...

Of course, it's going to cost you a lot as an initial purchase though.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
In the US it is $60/year for 100GB of SkyDrive Storage so 600GB would be $360/year. I would get a 2.5" 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Drive honestly....
 

oion

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the tips and advice. At home, I use a Lenovo Y580 (is it 15" or 17" wide?) with a USB hub connected to two external 1 terabyte hard drives containing two identical sets of backups. Each (identical) set comprises of about 600GB of files, including personally made movies etc. I don't have to access this archive every day. But as soon as I unhook the Lenovo and travel somewhere, I suddenly need the archive. Usually both external drives were left at home, unless of course I've taken one of them along. The Lenovo is quite big and heavy so I've been dreaming about the Surface Pro 2. It would seem that the only solution would be to keep taking one of the two 1 terabyte external hard drives along. Nothing I've read above will save me from that, it would seem. I don't agree at all that the Surface Pro should be viewed as a little world on its own, a mere "tablet" separated from other computer equipment and computer needs you might have. If it does not slot into everything easily, then it needs more development. Any details about the docking station available?

Alright, your use case is a bit unique, but if you do find that you need your video production archives and whatever, that makes sense why you need constant large storage. And no, I wouldn't say Surface Pro is mostly a tablet either; it's a true hybrid, and with the upcoming dock, would better fit the "primary device" use case. People get by with USB docks and plugging a few cables now, but the dock looks like a slick solution. Too bad it won't be out for the holiday season. It's the Surface RT-class devices that are pure satellite (although I've read that some people treat it as a primary, so good for them).

Let's do the maths. $0.6 cents a day puts a hole in your pocket? Really?

You're missing the point. SkyDrive in paid form is for dynamic data use across devices. You really would not want to ARCHIVE masses of data for long-term rental storage in this manner. We're talking about years, decades. That's supremely inefficient use of resources. I use the free minimum for certain backups, but mostly to sync documents between Surface and desktop. Besides, I wouldn't treat cloud storage on someone else's server as particularly safe for my archive data.

In the US it is $60/year for 100GB of SkyDrive Storage so 600GB would be $360/year. I would get a 2.5" 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Drive honestly....

This is really the only practical solution for OP. Buy the cheapest Surface Pro 2 and get a portable external drive (cheaper than upgrading to 512GB, that's for sure). Encrypt both if necessary. Even the portable drive combined with a SPro2 would probably be lighter than your Lenovo, I'm guessing.

Edit to add: Ultramobile laptops with SSD drives in general aren't going to have more than 512GB in space at a reasonable price point anyway. I don't know where these sit right now in the market, but you could look into dual drive utlrabooks (or, again just other ultramobile laptops with HDD).
 
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Deleted member 10837

Guest
Copy is the cloud storage service that I use right now in which I have more then 100GB+ of storage for free indefinitely. It works by who ever signs up using a referral link gets 20GB right off the bat while the person who referred them gain 5GB.
 
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oion

Well-Known Member
Copy is the cloud storage service that I use right now in which I have more then 100GB+ of storage for free indefinitely. It works by who ever signs up using a referral link gets 20GB right off the bat while the person who referred them gain 5GB.

Correction: Free "indefinitely" until the service either goes under or is bought by another company or they decide to start charging a fee. :) (Though it starts at 15GB.) Under no circumstances is your data truly safe "indefinitely" while on a third party's servers. Websites get hacked. Copy had a nice backdoor that made client data viewable, discovered earlier this year (fortunately closed).

At least MS is still beholden to corporations (SkyDrive), but we store our data on local company-served clouds for a reason.
 
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