Time for an N-trig software update - make yourself heard!

[adrians]

Current hardware limitations notwithstanding, this thread was meant to stir up some support for getting some fixes soon for the N-trig hardware we have in the Surface Pro 3. This shouldn't stop anyone from starting additional threads with feature requests for nextgen Microsoft/N-trig hardware and software.

I'm curious if everyone who reads this thread and agrees the requests are fair to make at this time has actually gone ahead and submitted something to N-trig. Really, it doesn't take much longer than posting in these forums.

 

[jnjroach]

I agree the Surface is an all rounder but I think that the SP3 has regressed in respect to the pen having gone from 1024 levels down to 256 levels.

I don't see why the Surface shouldn't have progressed in this respect and increased the number of pressure levels (for instance).

The SP3 goal wasn't, obviously to improve the pen and inking so much as making the screen consume less power, cost less to make and thinner.

There are other issues too with the pen including requiring two sets of batteries, complexity and a reduced range before palm rejection and other functions operate.

I think inking will become more of an important item to consumers of technology and hopefully that will drive progress forward and not backwards as has happened here in pursuit of other design goals.

You have made your point on every thread that has anything to do with inking and the SP3, we understand you're unhappy with the design decisions Panos and Team made in regards to the SP3.

These were design decisions despite what you may believe were not taken to save money but to make for a better note taking experience and they have worked with artists as well, is there room for improvement, sure but the same is true with any implementation just ask the Dell and HP users who are using Amtel or Synaptic Digitizers in their tablets, or every Wacom Pen-enabled Tablet PC wasting for WinTab Updates.

I've been using Tablet PCs since 2002 and have owned Wacom and N-Trig based systems, Wacom's problem is their EMR reliance, which requires more power and much thicker devices or less powerful devices for thinnest (read ATOM or ARM). Also they suffer from parallax and erratic cursors in the corners. The ironic thing is Wacom is creating a N-Trig Clone for the segment because N-Trig is getting the OEMs business.

I ink on my SP3 6 to 8 hours a day and it is the best experience I have ever had, the 16:9 ratio and overall chunkiness on the SP2 is a huge let down and makes taking notes a very frustrating experience.

 

[Steve S]

<<...this thread was meant to stir up some support for getting some fixes soon for the N-trig hardware we have in the Surface Pro 3...>>

...Getting back on topic, I'd like to +1 the original intent of this discussion thread. Panos promised that there would be further software / firmware improvements to the Pro 3 inking experience and I think that the user community has been pretty patient up to this point.

But it's now time to deliver, bearing in mind that this is something that Panos promised, not some random feature that we users have unexpectedly demanded. How about it, Surface 3 Team? Are you up to it...???

 

[InspectHerGadget]

You have made your point on every thread that has anything to do with inking and the SP3, we understand you're unhappy with the design decisions Panos and Team made in regards to the SP3.

These were design decisions despite what you may believe were not taken to save money but to make for a better note taking experience and they have worked with artists as well, is there room for improvement, sure but the same is true with any implementation just ask the Dell and HP users who are using Amtel or Synaptic Digitizers in their tablets, or every Wacom Pen-enabled Tablet PC wasting for WinTab Updates.

I've been using Tablet PCs since 2002 and have owned Wacom and N-Trig based systems, Wacom's problem is their EMR reliance, which requires more power and much thicker devices or less powerful devices for thinnest (read ATOM or ARM). Also they suffer from parallax and erratic cursors in the corners. The ironic thing is Wacom is creating a N-Trig Clone for the segment because N-Trig is getting the OEMs business.

I ink on my SP3 6 to 8 hours a day and it is the best experience I have ever had, the 16:9 ratio and overall chunkiness on the SP2 is a huge let down and makes taking notes a very frustrating experience.

In fairness, I do understand the power requirements issue, which I mentioned, there are some other issues too, as I said with the distance from the screen to activate palm rejection. There has been some forward steps too although for what I do parallax and corner performance issues aren't that important. Reducing pressure sensitivity by a factor of 4 I would think would get people's attention though, among the other points I raised.

I'm frustrated too as I would like to get on board again with the SP3 but not yet.