What's new

SP4 may have NO Ports, Zero, None.

zhenya

Active Member
I'm far from convinced we'll see no ports on the SP4 or even the SP5. The USB port is still an essential part of the workflow for too many users. I am extremely quick to abandon legacy equipment - even as I manage IT for a business that still operates in part on serial ports and DOS. But the reality is that USB is just too useful today for MS to abandon it just as they are making headway into the lucrative business market.

I also am skeptical that wireless connections will become the norm anytime soon. I would love to see a single connection for power, Ethernet, display, etc (probably usb-c) but wireless has too many setup and interference problems to realistically displace a physical connection in the short-term.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
You fail to realize in my hypothetical environment this system works with the dock and doesn't require a different dock and in fact there isn't a different dock because I don't envision needing one. While in your hypothetical contra environment nothing is allowed to work because you don't want it too. A negative, change resistant, Nelly. :)

learn to embrace change and be happy because change is coming whether you want it or not. Maybe SP5 wont have ports and SP4 will still have ports but the possibility is real that an SP4 could be 100% functionally equivalent without them. There could even be two designs, a Core-M fanless, portless model and traditional i5/i7 design with fans and ports. Free your mind. :)
Don't view it as change resistant, view it as if Microsoft and team go this direction it is industrial suicide as they released the SP1 in January 2013, the SP2 in October 2013 and the SP3 in June 2014, the SP1 and SP2 could share peripherals but the SP3 needed new ones. If the SP4 required new peripherals as well it will kill their growing Enterprise Sales. The SP4 is a "toc" not a "tic", SP5 may introduce the new tech. Also Intel's implementation of these types of advancements have a very poor track record and typically require 3-4 revisions before they are stable. Heck WiDi still struggles and they are soon releasing v. 5.
 

zhenya

Active Member
I mean realistically the only wireless standard that has come anywhere near to zero configuration is Bluetooth, and that's taken a decade to perfect, and still has more than its share of issues. Now we're supposed to believe that Intel is going to give us wireless with 100x that bandwidth carrying all sorts of time critical signals and it's all just going to work? Sure...
 
OP
G

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
This might turn ugly soon... I acquiesce and pay homage to the negative Nellies. There's no hope of having a Surface lead the industry and show the way to the future, not even as an optional model, now that they have made a profit off of one version they are too scared they might upset the Apple cart. {Said with a heavy dose of Sarcasm.}

I do hope the Intel Skylake reference design at least demonstrates the vision.
 

zhenya

Active Member
I don't think it's particularly negative - just realistic. Wireless signals always end up having configuration and/or interference issues. When the alternative is the simple act of plugging in a cable that works first time, every time, why bother with wireless?

Even wifi in the vast majority of implementations is only carrying real bandwidth at about 1/2o the speed of Gig Ethernet. The current displayport connection we have carries 20x that. Carrying that kind of bandwidth over wireless with perfect reliability is an extraordinarily difficult problem to solve.
 

sharpuser

Administrator
Staff member
Take a look at all the wireless RF interference probems with simple Bluetooth 1.0 and 2.0, tablets, routers, etc. posted on this site, and worldwide. That has been continuing problem decades.

The entire Skylake thing will bring more interference from reliable computing.
 
OP
G

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I don't think it's particularly negative -
It's my party and I'll declare it negative if I want to. :D

My real world 3yr old technology implementation is easily hitting greater than 50% of Gig Ethernet. WiGig claims 7Gbps so even if it only gives you 3-5Gbps usable real world per instance that's potentially enough for most users needs. Power users will call it a failure because it wont run games on a 4k 60hz monitor at 60fps but they already do that with existing tech this wont be any different.
 
Top