Master List - Things Surface RT Inexplicably Incapable of Doing

[dayot538]

Hi there,

In the interests of providing potential buyers of the newly discounted Surface RT with an honest appraisal of its capabilities, I would like to compile a list of things that all buyers are likely to expect it to be able to do but that it will not do. Had the Best Buy where I purchased mine been large enough to mount a complete listing of its shortcomings in size 8 font on any given wall, I never would have bought it; please assist by contributing to this list as flaws continue to emerge.

Flaws which one might reasonably expect to find in a device if it were given to them for free as an alternative to being smothered in six tons of hot fresh bird droppings rather than having paid for it:

-Display embedded PDFS in IE (Not that big a deal, unless you mind the 5-second wait each time you try to load a new one. If you plan on using Ebrary or another ebook site through a public or university library, this will affect you. Microsoft Support confirms that this is insurmountable and advised me to return my Surface to Best Buy).

-Display certain Flash content in IE: If I had the time to determine what factors influence my Surface's decision to display or not display embedded flash content, I'd use it to get a part-time job and save up for a better laptop. Sometimes what it won't display one day it displays with pride the following day.

-IE is, as it has been for the last 15 years, unstable, slow, and insecure. Tabs crash often, and Microsoft has yet to make it impervious to popup hijacking.

-Consistently behave as either a desktop or mobile browser: It changes, on a whim apparently, and there is no way to consistently make your browser behave as a desktop browser. Nor will it cooperate with the mobile versions of at least three different architectures of academic library websites. It does not matter which one of the two GUIs inexplicably included you choose to use.

-You cannot install another browser - Microsoft has made this impossible.

-You cannot install another operating system - microsoft has used some sort of secure boot nonsense to prevent it, despite the existence of several Linux kernels made for the Surface RT's ARM architecture

-Run 99.9% of the software you could run on a normal laptop, because of aforementioned ARM architecture, even if you do apply the 'jailbreak' which circumvents Microsoft's "Store" software monopoly

-Access settings for software in the same way as you would on a desktop: Many of the programs that have been ported to ARM / Windows RT have their settings gutted to the point of uselessness.

Feel free to add to this list as you become more remorseful for your purchase.

 

[beevel]

Hi there,

In the interests of providing potential buyers of the newly discounted Surface RT with an honest appraisal of its capabilities, I would like to compile a list of things that all buyers are likely to expect it to be able to do but that it will not do. Had the Best Buy where I purchased mine been large enough to mount a complete listing of its shortcomings in size 8 font on any given wall, I never would have bought it; please assist by contributing to this list as flaws continue to emerge.

Flaws which one might reasonably expect to find in a device if it were given to them for free as an alternative to being smothered in six tons of hot fresh bird droppings rather than having paid for it:

-Display embedded PDFS in IE (Not that big a deal, unless you mind the 5-second wait each time you try to load a new one. If you plan on using Ebrary or another ebook site through a public or university library, this will affect you. Microsoft Support confirms that this is insurmountable and advised me to return my Surface to Best Buy).

-Display certain Flash content in IE: If I had the time to determine what factors influence my Surface's decision to display or not display embedded flash content, I'd use it to get a part-time job and save up for a better laptop. Sometimes what it won't display one day it displays with pride the following day.

-IE is, as it has been for the last 15 years, unstable, slow, and insecure. Tabs crash often, and Microsoft has yet to make it impervious to popup hijacking.

-Consistently behave as either a desktop or mobile browser: It changes, on a whim apparently, and there is no way to consistently make your browser behave as a desktop browser. Nor will it cooperate with the mobile versions of at least three different architectures of academic library websites. It does not matter which one of the two GUIs inexplicably included you choose to use.

-You cannot install another browser - Microsoft has made this impossible.

-You cannot install another operating system - microsoft has used some sort of secure boot nonsense to prevent it, despite the existence of several Linux kernels made for the Surface RT's ARM architecture

-Run 99.9% of the software you could run on a normal laptop, because of aforementioned ARM architecture, even if you do apply the 'jailbreak' which circumvents Microsoft's "Store" software monopoly

-Access settings for software in the same way as you would on a desktop: Many of the programs that have been ported to ARM / Windows RT have their settings gutted to the point of uselessness.

Feel free to add to this list as you become more remorseful for your purchase.

I've been on this site for a while, never posted. But come on man, really? You're rehashing the same old complaints.

Its not a laptop, its not a surface pro. No you cannont install windows x86 programs on it, who cares! You cannot install another operating system on it, who cares!

Return it and go back to your IDROID.


Had an RT, sold it and purchased a PRO, never installed any windows x86 programs on it so it was a waste. Sold it and bought a Surface 2, happy happy. Last week I purchased 3 surface RT's for the wife and kids.... verdict happy happy happy.... If anyone in the house needs/wants to run x86 programs or games... they'll use their laptops.

 

[daniielrp]

-Run 99.9% of the software you could run on a normal laptop, because of aforementioned ARM architecture, even if you do apply the 'jailbreak' which circumvents Microsoft's "Store" software monopoly

-

This seems like a moot point, considering 60-70% of what people do is covered by IE, Office and Angry Birds - which the RT does nicely.

In fact, it's probably closer to 90%. Unless you need specialist software, which is not in any way the Surface RT target market, then you'll be fine.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Hi there,

In the interests of providing potential buyers of the newly discounted Surface RT with an honest appraisal of its capabilities, I would like to compile a list of things that all buyers are likely to expect it to be able to do but that it will not do. Had the Best Buy where I purchased mine been large enough to mount a complete listing of its shortcomings in size 8 font on any given wall, I never would have bought it; please assist by contributing to this list as flaws continue to emerge.

Flaws which one might reasonably expect to find in a device if it were given to them for free as an alternative to being smothered in six tons of hot fresh bird droppings rather than having paid for it:

-Display embedded PDFS in IE (Not that big a deal, unless you mind the 5-second wait each time you try to load a new one. If you plan on using Ebrary or another ebook site through a public or university library, this will affect you. Microsoft Support confirms that this is insurmountable and advised me to return my Surface to Best Buy).

-Display certain Flash content in IE: If I had the time to determine what factors influence my Surface's decision to display or not display embedded flash content, I'd use it to get a part-time job and save up for a better laptop. Sometimes what it won't display one day it displays with pride the following day.

-IE is, as it has been for the last 15 years, unstable, slow, and insecure. Tabs crash often, and Microsoft has yet to make it impervious to popup hijacking.

-Consistently behave as either a desktop or mobile browser: It changes, on a whim apparently, and there is no way to consistently make your browser behave as a desktop browser. Nor will it cooperate with the mobile versions of at least three different architectures of academic library websites. It does not matter which one of the two GUIs inexplicably included you choose to use.

-You cannot install another browser - Microsoft has made this impossible.

-You cannot install another operating system - microsoft has used some sort of secure boot nonsense to prevent it, despite the existence of several Linux kernels made for the Surface RT's ARM architecture

-Run 99.9% of the software you could run on a normal laptop, because of aforementioned ARM architecture, even if you do apply the 'jailbreak' which circumvents Microsoft's "Store" software monopoly

-Access settings for software in the same way as you would on a desktop: Many of the programs that have been ported to ARM / Windows RT have their settings gutted to the point of uselessness.

Feel free to add to this list as you become more remorseful for your purchase.

Now, I suppose you will provide similar lists for the iPad and the army of Android tablets - both here and on the respective device-specific sites??? If not, why not?

What a potential buyer needs to know is that a Surface RT/ 2 is NOT a Windows x86 laptop and thus cannot run traditional x86 programs in the same way as the iPad cannot run OSX programs. Instead, it runs applications that one can download from the MS store (either for free or at a cost - like the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store). Additionally, a potential buyer of the Surface RT/ 2 SHOULD ALSO KNOW that the device(s) CAN RUN a variant of the Office Suite (which INCLUDES OUTLOOK) which comes PREINSTALLED (that is to say, there is no additional cost) with the device(s).

 

[hotphil]

Sounds like the OP is something of a niche user.

 

[eljoe]

Really? :big smile:

 

[oion]

In the interest of educating potential new buyers: Ignore the OP. He bought the wrong device for his use case and missed the point. His argument amounts to "ARM is a problem. Also MS won't let me hack their device, boohoo."

Read my article instead.

IE does have its problems, but it's better than Safari on iOS or whatever comes with Android. Also, ARM is the point.

 

[jnjroach]

These shills are employed by the Apple and Android Loving Press because despite all of their best efforts the Surface RT and Surface 2 are gaining traction, or maybe by the Dark Cabal of XP Users who refuse to move to a Modern Windows OS...

I think this person also posted on the Official MS Support Forums. Mod this thread is really useless and should be deleted...

 

[Talontsi90]

This guy also fails to realize how powerful it could be, IF HE USED RDP... The ONLY program i might miss aside from Firefox on a 'laptop', is Dreamweaver 8. Everything else i can do with a PC i can do through RDP.

Complaints like this are just like the idiots who whine about needing T9 on WP devices, yet fail to realize the VOICE TO TEXT is SCARILY accurate for most users. Yea, the device might not work the way your USED to it working, but c'mon, you CAN learn new tricks!

 

[dayot538]

It also doesn't play MPEG files, nor are there freely available programs rectify this.

Now let's look at this thread:

Beevel says I'm re-hashing the same old complaints. This means that MS has failed to fix problems that have been brought to their attention already; I assure you this is not a character defect on my part. He also got rid of his Surface RT because it wasn't working for him.

Daniielrp says that IE is 60-70% of a functioning browser. I agree. I didn't pay 60-70% of the price for this tablet, though.

kristalsoldier says that Office runs on the RT, which has nothing to do with my post. He suggests I write similar lists for devices that I don't own, which isn't very helpful.

hotphil believes that fully-functional web browsing and functional stability are 'niche' uses.

oion read my post and summed it up as a distaste for ARM. Actually, I'm not sure that he read my post - let's ignore that for now.

jnjroach believes I work for apple (what?) and the Android-loving press (what?) and that I'm afraid of the Surface gaining a market share (what?) and that I posted to the official MS support forums (presumably something very bad, like "How do I make IE display embedded PDFs rather than opening reader?"). No, no, no, and no I didn't. I did however phone them, and it took an hour and a half of humming and ha-ing for the very nice fellow I talked with to tell me it couldn't be done and I should return the device and buy something else.

Talontsi90 calls me a douche for posting legitimate grievances about a device that is sold by attaching several well-recognized trade names to an inferior product. I have no idea what he is talking about with respect to T9 and voice recognition. He suggests I learn new tricks.

The device is non-functional - it is capable of running a version of office correctly, but cannot handle the 20-year old technology of Flash with any consistency nor is it particularly stable. As for being a niche user, here is what I would like to use my device for:

-Web browsing (this includes library websites and other academic sites that use embedded flash and PDF technology, which is OLD, to display content).
-Word processing

In the absence of reliable built-in functionality, which is par for the course with everything MS does, there has traditionally been access to other programs which work as well as the MS programs dishonestly claim to. This is missing from the RT. If it cannot perform a simple task like web browsing properly, it really has no place on the shelves of any shop after 1995. I'm not sure why you're all so butthurt about this; I know for a fact that every flaw I have listed here is identically replicated on all of your RTs as well. If you have nothing constructive to contribute (do you know how to display embedded PDFS? No? I didn't think so), please sod off.

 

[dayot538]

Oh yeah, and don't buy a Surface RT.

 

[beevel]

It also doesn't play MPEG files, nor are there freely available programs rectify this.

Now let's look at this thread:

Beevel says I'm re-hashing the same old complaints. This means that MS has failed to fix problems that have been brought to their attention already; I assure you this is not a character defect on my part. He also got rid of his Surface RT because it wasn't working for him.

Daniielrp says that IE is 60-70% of a functioning browser. I agree. I didn't pay 60-70% of the price for this tablet, though.

kristalsoldier says that Office runs on the RT, which has nothing to do with my post. He suggests I write similar lists for devices that I don't own, which isn't very helpful.

hotphil believes that fully-functional web browsing and functional stability are 'niche' uses.

oion read my post and summed it up as a distaste for ARM. Actually, I'm not sure that he read my post - let's ignore that for now.

jnjroach believes I work for apple (what?) and the Android-loving press (what?) and that I'm afraid of the Surface gaining a market share (what?) and that I posted to the official MS support forums (presumably something very bad, like "How do I make IE display embedded PDFs rather than opening reader?"). No, no, no, and no I didn't. I did however phone them, and it took an hour and a half of humming and ha-ing for the very nice fellow I talked with to tell me it couldn't be done and I should return the device and buy something else.

Talontsi90 calls me a douche for posting legitimate grievances about a device that is sold by attaching several well-recognized trade names to an inferior product. I have no idea what he is talking about with respect to T9 and voice recognition. He suggests I learn new tricks.

The device is non-functional - it is capable of running a version of office correctly, but cannot handle the 20-year old technology of Flash with any consistency nor is it particularly stable. As for being a niche user, here is what I would like to use my device for:

-Web browsing (this includes library websites and other academic sites that use embedded flash and PDF technology, which is OLD, to display content).
-Word processing

In the absence of reliable built-in functionality, which is par for the course with everything MS does, there has traditionally been access to other programs which work as well as the MS programs dishonestly claim to. This is missing from the RT. If it cannot perform a simple task like web browsing properly, it really has no place on the shelves of any shop after 1995. I'm not sure why you're all so butthurt about this; I know for a fact that every flaw I have listed here is identically replicated on all of your RTs as well. If you have nothing constructive to contribute (do you know how to display embedded PDFS? No? I didn't think so), please sod off.

LEARN TO READ. I never said I got rid of my RT because it wasn't working for me, it did everything I asked of it. I sold it because I understood that it could not run x86 programs and used the money to finance a surface Pro to do that. Surprise surpise I found that I wasn't using the Pro with x86 programs because all that I needed was available on the RT. I then sold my pro to purchase a surface 2 ( rt was 350 surface 2 was 450 so surface 2 it is) the pros limited battery life and slightly thicker form factor were a nock against it. Again if you read my post you will see that I also purchased 3 RT's for my family.