Received my Surface 2 64GB. First impressions.

[Rick Sutliffe]

Well, I got my S2RT64GB yesterday. I also bought the Type Cover 2 backlighted keyboard. I've only messed with it for a couple of hours, but my first impression of the S2 is that it seems faster. I like the new grey/silver color. The keyboard keystroke depth is a bit shallower, but I like the feel and I do appreciate the backlighting on the new KB. I'm a big fan of Outlook being added to the Office RT Suite. The Cons so far (and they may sort themselves out) Text and icon size on the desktop are smaller. (possibly due to higher out of the box resolution) I had to set screen resolution lower to increase these sizes because the old icon & text sizing seems to be disabled. This probably just requires additional tweaking on my part, but my initial impression was everything is too small. I still don't like the felt-like KB backing and would prefer a smooth KB cover. SkyDrive is preset to automatically upload all documents. Easy to change, but I would prefer the default was no auto-uploading. I'm having a bit of a problem with Outlook currently, it fails to load and will only start in "Outlook Safe Mode". I've completed 22 updates, including a firmware upgrade, but these minor inconveniences continue. I had no problems with connecting to my wireless printers or my home NAS. Overall I'm very happy with the Surface2 and my wife loves it because she inherited my original Surface RT 32gb. I'm wondering how others who have received their Surface 2 tablets feel about it.

 

[mitchellvii]

Um, can't you just go to Control Panel > Display and set zoom level?

 

[oion]

Well, I got my S2RT64GB yesterday. I also bought the Type Cover 2 backlighted keyboard. I've only messed with it for a couple of hours, but my first impression of the S2 is that it seems faster. I like the new grey/silver color. The keyboard keystroke depth is a bit shallower, but I like the feel and I do appreciate the backlighting on the new KB. I'm a big fan of Outlook being added to the Office RT Suite. The Cons so far (and they may sort themselves out) Text and icon size on the desktop are smaller. (possibly due to higher out of the box resolution) I had to set screen resolution lower to increase these sizes because the old icon & text sizing seems to be disabled. This probably just requires additional tweaking on my part, but my initial impression was everything is too small. I still don't like the felt-like KB backing and would prefer a smooth KB cover. SkyDrive is preset to automatically upload all documents. Easy to change, but I would prefer the default was no auto-uploading. I'm having a bit of a problem with Outlook currently, it fails to load and will only start in "Outlook Safe Mode". I've completed 22 updates, including a firmware upgrade, but these minor inconveniences continue. I had no problems with connecting to my wireless printers or my home NAS. Overall I'm very happy with the Surface2 and my wife loves it because she inherited my original Surface RT 32gb. I'm wondering how others who have received their Surface 2 tablets feel about it.

Some comments from new owners are in this thread: http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/microsoft-surface-2/6317-surface-2-reviews-videos.html

As for screen resolution, second screenshot (our default for the first screenshot is already set to largest, which is 150%):
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/hands-windows-81-desktop-display-scaling
"Let me choose" and then you get the manual drop-down zoom levels. Don't forget to hit "Apply" at the bottom.

 

[hypokondriak]

Some comments from new owners are in this thread: http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/microsoft-surface-2/6317-surface-2-reviews-videos.html

As for screen resolution, second screenshot (our default for the first screenshot is already set to largest, which is 150%):
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/hands-windows-81-desktop-display-scaling
"Let me choose" and then you get the manual drop-down zoom levels. Don't forget to hit "Apply" at the bottom.

I wish the mods would make a sticky for initial thoughts on each product.

Sent from the SurfaceForums.net app for Windows 8

 

[mitchellvii]

I wish the mods would make a sticky for initial thoughts on each product.

Sent from the SurfaceForums.net app for Windows 8

My initial thought this morning was "I need some coffee..."

 

[Rick Sutliffe]

Mitchellvii: you would think so, but it ends up being more complicated than that.

 

[Microserf2005]

Hello Rick! I'm glad you are happy with your Surface 2, and I hope your wife loves the inherited original Surface RT. I work at Microsoft on the Windows team. The crash in Outlook that you're running into is a known bug that slipped in with an update to the video drivers. We're working hard to get an update out ASAP. In the meantime, you can work around the problem by going to the File menu in Outlook or another Office app like Word, navigate to the "Options" menu on the left side of the app after clicking File. An Options Window will pop up. From the Options Window, click "Advanced" and scroll down to the Display section on the right (you'll pass Outlook panes, Reminder options, Export, International options etc.) and check the "Disable hardware graphics acceleration" check box. This will use software rendering in Outlook and the Office apps instead of DirectX until the bug is corrected. This will at least let you enjoy Outlook without having to always run it in Safe mode which limits some of Outlooks best features. Hopefully a Windows Update will come out to correct your problem ASAP. Sorry for the problem and hope you continue to have great experiences on your Surface 2!

Update: This problem should be isolated to when you are using Outlook when connected to an external monitor.

 

[oion]

Hello Rick! I'm glad you are happy with your Surface 2, and I hope your wife loves the inherited original Surface RT. I work at Microsoft on the Windows team. The crash in Outlook that you're running into is a known bug that slipped in with an update to the video drivers. We're working hard to get an update out ASAP. In the meantime, you can work around the problem by going to the File menu in Outlook or another Office app like Word, navigate to the "Options" menu on the left side of the app after clicking File. An Options Window will pop up. From the Options Window, click "Advanced" and scroll down to the Display section on the right (you'll pass Outlook panes, Reminder options, Export, International options etc.) and check the "Disable hardware graphics acceleration" check box. This will use software rendering in Outlook and the Office apps instead of DirectX until the bug is corrected. This will at least let you enjoy Outlook without having to always run it in Safe mode which limits some of Outlooks best features. Hopefully a Windows Update will come out to correct your problem ASAP. Sorry for the problem and hope you continue to have great experiences on your Surface 2!

LIVE MS EMPLOYEE SPOTTED. QUICK, CAPTURE AND STAPLE TO THE HEADER GRAPHIC! We shall torture it for answers!

 

[beman39]

damn! welcome aboard! nice to see you here, hope you stay awhile!

 

[hypokondriak]

damn! welcome aboard! nice to see you here, hope you stay awhile!

I agree. For a forum dedicated to the Surface I was always surprised Microsoft didn't have a presence here. Hope you stick around

Sent from the SurfaceForums.net app for Windows 8

 

[demandarin]

Wow..i hope they listen to the ideas and thoughts of users of their product. It will only help them and us all in the end. Glad to see their presence arrive. Reminds me of when I helped Asus with the first tegra3 tablet they released. The transformer prime. They had a representative on the site with us and I feel it helped greatly. I was trying out unreleased firmware and accessories. Felt great to ne a part of bettering a product I loved using so much.

 

[Microserf2005]

Thanks! We have rules about forums, but I will try to reply when I can. I originally worked on the Surface 1.0 Table team, so I can't help but feel at home with everyone using the original Surface logo!