Surface Pro

Surface Pro without a doubt Is the most outrageous venture. Packing incredible ultra book power inside a tight tablet clothing.
I have been waiting for the surface pro for about 7 mounts. For some very stupid reasons , Microsoft has decided not to release this in My country. This meant I had to import it from outside India, and after a very long wait I was finally able to enjoy the machine.

Let me take you through my observations on Surface pro.

1. Design and ergonomics

One word, Impressive and definitely effective. May not look sexy like an iPad but it has the right proportions and features to make it a very effective companion.
The over all dimension of the device is perfect for portable device. The first time you pick the device up you will definitely feel the 900+ gram, but the weight is evenly distributed along the entire device. I would suggest picking up a note book or a normal laptop before taking the surface in your hand. This will help you balance your perception :)
The integrated kick stand has to be given some credit in making the surface line up an edge over the completion.

2. Screen

Surface pro packs an impressive full HD resolution at 1920x1080 at an aspects ratio of 16:9 and makes a total PPI count of 207. If you take the device a bit more close you can see the individual pixels. A simple test Is pointing the stylus on any portion off the screen just after the stat menu loads. At this point you should be able to see the pixels making up the tiny stylus pointer.
Indoor visibility is very good but it just not perfect for out doors. If you want to get creative and take the surface for a spin, I'd suggest you find a shady place just to see the screen properly. Also the IPS panel on the device is highly reflective and a finger print magnet. You might want to invest in a screen protector.
Surface pro features corning gorilla glass protection on the screen which should protect it from scratches and extensive use of stylus.

3. Touch Cover

From day one I was determined to get the Touch cover long with my surface pro. And so I did. I went with the white colored touch cover. I really like typing on my touch cover. In fact am preparing this entire article using mine. Touch cover includes the standard QWERTY key pad along with some Windows 8 specific short cut keys.

My touch cover had some issues in the beginning. It was randomly registering the key strokes for 1. which made it completely useless. But after two critical updates, It worked fine.
The best part about the touch cover is the way it snaps on to the device. I just couldn’t get enough of it and in fact I have recorded that sound and now using it as my message alert tone :)

4. Pen (stylus)

Pen goes as like this.

Just imagine how fun note taking could have been if I had this back at college. The on screen key board also features a handwriting recognizing pad, and it is super effective.

It is not with out problems though, You will have to install separate drivers to enable pressure sensitivity on applications like Photoshop. But there are some very disturbing problem, sometimes the styles just doesn't calibrate correctly. I restarts my Surface if I see this and it worked so far.

5. Touch

Unlike the Surface RT, the pro supports up to 10 Finger multi touch. Which usually is more than what you need. Not every time you wish for an extra hand right!

What ever you do please don not calibrate the touch input on the surface, for some time it works and then it might go nuts and all taps will be registered on top.

6. Other Features

camera
There are front and rear shooters, both are capable of HD 720 p recording. Compared to the front camera modules shipped with other Ultra books and Most VGA laptop integrated cams, the front and rear real cams from Microsoft does an exceptional job. The camera does lack Auto focus, which is a disappointment.

Speaker and 3.5 mm Head phone jack
Speaker performance is nothing to write home about. Surface packs stereo speakers but the performance and loudness is below par.

Onscreen Key pad and hand writing recognition
Using the on screen key pad is a joy in the modern interface, how ever on traditional desk top mode it is just can't be used. For applications like Photoshop, there are very significant meaning to shift, alt, control keys. Such keys are not available in the on screen key pad. Of Couse you can use the on screen build in key board application to get thins done. Another annoying fact is, if you have to enter any thing in to the text fields using the on screen touch key pad, the web page/ application will auto align it self to show the text field. But in the desktop mode this is not available. Sometimes you have to guess what you are typing.

Micro SDXC
Surface pro can be expanded using the Micro SDXC card slot. To keep up with the super fast surface pro, I'd suggest using a class 10 card ( Samsung SDXC Pro is a good option but rather expensive). You may also augment the storage by connecting a high density external hard drive solution.

Micro HDMI Out
If you prefer working on larger displays, you can always connect the surface pro to an external monitor or display via the mini HDMI port. This is very impressive and extremely useful for giving presentations or just casual big screen gaming.

The Bad

Now let me introduce some bad aspects of Surface pro.

Being the first generation of hybrid computing devices, it is like many others is a devices which had to make compromises. If you don’t know about them you better not pick one up, because most of the time you will have to justify that decision. I will not be covering difficulties of the Windows I platform because that’s differs based on personal preferences, in this section ill concentrate more on the difficulties I had with the surface pro as a tablet, PC and an Ultra book.

It’s a device with compromises
Most people compare this device to an iPad or a nexus tablet, and some compare this with the mac book air and other ultra books. The fact is they are correct in some aspects. To be fair ill say its 40% tablet and 40% ultra book and 10 % confusion. For surface pro MS choose to go with core i5 -3317U clocked at 1.7Ghz and 4GIG of RAM. This made the surface pro a bit bulkier than its ARM sibling Surface RT. Out of the box the device itself tips the scales at over 900g, and attach the touch cover makes it about the same dimensions to the MAC BOOK AIR. This could have been addressed with using the much more nimbler Atom processors, but this could mean a less powerful device.

Battery
Am a bit of a power user, Normal tasks in on my pc involves streaming HD contents, Playing games ( am not taking about Angry birds). Drafting documents and sending e-mails. On week ends this trend changes. At full charge the battery bar in the device read out 5.3 hours which is compatible with an average laptop, perhaps a bit better. But compare to some ultra books its not even acceptable.
When the power reaches 10%, surface takes the control by itself and hibernates, after a very short period of 2 minutes. There should be some settings to over ride this but I tend to connect it to the power when that happens. This could be a bit frustrating when you are giving a very long presentation.

Heat
This is a consequence of the power house packed in to the device. When you starts working on some thing more CPU intensive like photo shop, Games, the top half of the back side literally burns. The two inbuilt fans on the pro doesn't keep up as expected, and the ventilation that runs through out the sides of the device is not adequate enough to keep the heat manageable. The effect magnifies if you take the device and use it as a tablet for drawing, sculpting.

Apps sadly still
Am not sure why Microsoft is sitting still when the matters at the market place is just worse than the sales of Windows 8 it self. Am not complaining about quantity, I'd rather have 500,000 Great apps than pushed with 700,000 crappy lesser apps. Bigger titles are still missing here. And one thing that I cant get my head around is the app compatibility. All windows 8 apps are build on the NT frame works so technically they should be able to run in all MS NT frame works. If MS could address this app scaling issue, the windows 8 Platform it self could take off in no time. Imagine using Windows phone apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Pandora, etc. on your PC, Surface and every where else. If MS is really serious about One experience very where then they should seriously consider this.

Things that I don’t like about windows 8

Let’s get one thing straight up front. I love windows 8, personally I prefer the bold bright and live new interface. If you get to spent more time on it, you will feel that it’s just like Windows 7 with in a new package (may be a bit ahead of it time.

As much as I love using it, I can’t get over some usability issues which might not be applicable to the masses but still valid for a fair group of professionals. I a sentence I could say Windows 8 is “More personal less professional”. That being said, let’s get counting.

1. Tiles

If you have a problem with the new tile interface then windows 8 is not for you, and yes I don’t have a problem with it. But sometimes so called live tiles are not so alive. They even display details from previous days. And some doesn't even work even after enabling them.
I know it’s a big ask but the tiles like Music and video could be very helpful if we can control them from the tile mode itself rather than going in to the app. I am not over exaggerating but for large sized tiles you get more space to play around so why not?

2. Finding specific program

This task use to be very easy with previous versions, all newly installed applications will go to program file or its own folder from there you could easily get it. It a bit more easy in windows 8, you can type the name of your app and find it from the list. If you use it frequently you can also pin it to your start screen. Neat.
But what if you don’t know the name of your application? For instance I have installed a software called “Launch lite VNC”. In order to get this thing to work I had to run the launch light VNC viewer. I sped two minutes looking for that and there were about 15 items with the same icons, and to make things worse windows clips down the application name making all of them same. See the image below.

Later I had to look up online to know the application name so that I can type it in the search area and that is not cool.

3. Deceptive

Compared to windows 8, 8.1 has migrated some of the commonly used options to new modern interface under the name PC settings. But sometimes it turns out confusing and I still use control panel for most of the administrative tasks.
. Here is the deal, since I don’t have control panel pinned to my start screen I had to search for it. But when I start typing “contr…” the immediate result is PC settings which is odd since it does not match my query (result will show control panel as the second option) this makes me wonder if MS really want users to use the new interface exclusively even for these administrative tasks.

4. Life cam integration

This is the most ridiculous part. But I need to remind you that I had trouble with my life cam HD 5000 integration only with windows 8.1. It was working with windows 8.
HD 5000 has a 5 Mega pixel sensor and was capable of taking descent pictures with windows 7. Now in windows 8 and 8.1 I am unable to choose the resolution. Now I have choice of aspects ratios. To make things worse, the pictures tunes out dull and life cam settings no were to be found. The situation is even worse in 8.1 I have installed new interface app for life cam, but it turns out to be nothing more than a tutorial for the cam application. Hopefully when 8.1 releases on October this will get fixed.

5. No modern file solution for windows explorer

When I use the modern interface I could not help myself wonder why there is no modern counterpart for Windows explorer. I don’t mean the full featured one, just an official one which could do basic navigation and activities like cut, copy, paste could be helpful. This could eliminate the need for going to the desk top for doing these activities. I can’t force this as a critical usability issue though, it’s just how I feel.

6. Application support

In sear number windows x86/x64 applications out number ever other platforms combined. So basically if you are buying an x86 based windows 8 (not RT) tablet, you shouldn't be concerned about low app count. Given all these facts I still feels the offering for windows 8 PC from the windows store is very much embarrassing. Now that the store crossed over 160,000 apps I wonder how many of those will be actually be portable to a PC or tab.

These are my few concerns and most of them are very general. Let me know your thoughts on Windows 8 and 8.1 in the comments sections.

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 (Build 9431)

8.1 update to windows is Microsoft's attempts to make customers to switch to new platform from the established and highly successful Windows 7 and XP. Microsoft's intentions are crystal clear with the release, a unified experience. Its sounds exciting but is it too late or is it just too early.
Windows 8 for many is just "More personal Less professional". The only thing I could not figure out in this windows 8 environment is Recent places. And no matter how hard I tired I could not add it to the start screen ( Usually I opt not to store this information).
As a user I had a hard time using windows 8 for the first time but in time I grown fond of the new interface. So what is the new preview has to offer.

1. A fish???

Yes fish. The boot screen for the new 8.1 has a fish instead of the Windows logo. Why is it so? May be because am using the preview version. But a fish....

2. The big and the little

There has been two new additions to the tile size along with the existing two. One which has the size of 4 normal size tiles and other with just 1/4th the size of a normal tile. Which is cool and a welcome addition. Not all application can take the large tile size.

Resizing the tile is another issue. If you use mouse then you have to right click on it then choose the tile size from the menu below rather than toggling between sizes. Since the tile can have four new standard size this makes good sense. What if you decides not to modify your start screen layout while customizing? Well then you either have to select the customize icon from the extreme right of click on an empty are on the screen TWICE.
Simply put why can't have the same option like windows phone to toggle icon sizes which could make more appealing and interesting rather than menu.

3. Swipe down for Application list

When you are in the start screen you will see a small arrow pointing down. On clicking this list of all apps will be listed. MS included a sort option which can save while searching for your favorite app.

4. Log in to Desktop

One of the commonly requested improvement was the option to boot n to the desktop rather than the start screen. If you don’t have shortcuts on your desk top to launch your favorite applications then this option is just another useless feature. Any way I this choice is now available in the task bar properties. To enable logging in to desktop, you have to follow the steps given below.

Right click on the Task bar

Select properties

Then choose the Navigations tab

Under start screen section check the Go to desk Top instead of Start when I sign in option

5. The return of start button but no Start Menu

It was a certain bet that the next release of windows will have the start button. When windows 8 came along it did not had this option, which is ok if you use it on a tablet. But with mouse you have to click on the left bottom corner of the task bar to reveal the start screen. In this 8.1, instead of this blind click you have one windows icon and that's it. Not the star menu. Frankly I did not want the start menu either.
There is something odd. Unlike other task bar icons this new windows icon is strangely different. When you hover over this you it gets an odd black back ground color and the windows logo animates with a blue light. Not very pleasing. To make things worse, the windows button can be traced in the start screen as well. More like an alternative to the Desktop tile and totally off-putting.
There should be an option to disable this start button. The option in the task bar properties for this is a bit confusing.

6. Unified search

Unified search is a place to find what ever you want no matter where ever it is. It's a cool addition and completely integrated in to bing and windows. The search results are displyed in a very visual manner. And everthing you need to do is right there. I totally dig this feature.

7. New Windows Store

The full windows store experience have been changed. In previous version the store was a bit dead and less than impressive. Now just like the stat screen the full experience has been changed with live sections and suggestion for specific for you. Search has been enhanced with instant search results to make your work fast. Impressive.

8. New Camera app interface

The camera app has gone the way of Windows phone 8 interface, with on screen option for toggling between camera and video mode. There is more, in the video mode you can take pictures by clicking or taping the interface.

And there is less. The option for adjusting resolution and other small options are gone. I have a life cam HD 5000 with me, and I installed the Life cam app from the store but it won’t integrate with the new camera app. Fail.
Along with this new camera app you get new Alarm app, voice recode app but I don’t see the message app that was available with windows 8. This means I have to install a forth party app to make Face book chat.

9. More Snap Views

I have my desktop set up at 1400 x 900 resolution. Previous windows version allowed only two type of snap views. Either 25:75 or 75:25. This time it's even more. You can re arrange the snap view between the existing ranges of 25-75 and also the most anticipated 50:50.

10. IE 11

The new version ships with IE 11. May be when it release to public a better build version may be available. There is no visible changes from IE 10. In the HTML 5 test it scored 355 points which is 35 more than IE10.

11 More PC settings Options on Modern UI

This new release has included more options to the modern UI. Which makes tweaking the settings to your personal preference easier.

Changes I want in the final release

1. Bring back My computer

That's right. 8.1 calls My computer as "This PC". This holds totally valid if you use multiple Windows PC/tablets at the same time, But should this sacrifice the personal touch of My Computer?

2. More start screen personalization options

An option to download more personalization options from windows store or website (just like new themes) could be helpful.

3. IE11 performance

Opening multiple tabs in IE has always been problem. IE11 bundled with this build has stopped responding 2 times in a session of 10 minutes. Some time I had to put the sites on compatibility mode to make them render correctly. This was a big issue from IE9 (which gives every web developer nightmare.)

4. No native Facebook app for PC

We had to settle with the people app to connect to FB. Whereas the windows phone has a native app for FB and so as android tablets. So why not for PCs?

5. Animation on more tiles

Even at largest tile size native weather tile animation is not interesting. It could circle between different information to make it interesting.

6. Different Icon set

The current icon set used in Windows 8 has not been under gone significant modification since Vista. There should be specific theme set which will include this icon pack making the desk top and explorer closer to the modern UI. I would also like to see a complete Modern file browser and control panel.

What are your impressions on the new Windows 8.1? Let me know.
download windows 8.1

Seagate Backup Plus VS WD My Passport

1 TB External HDD

Seagate Backup Plus 1TB Hard VS WD My Passport 1 TB

 ! Info 

Windows 8 64bit is used for all comparison, Storage and other interpretations might differ based on OS

I still use my PC which has 5 year old specs. I have a 160 GB HDD (5200 rpm), 5 years back the options I had was either 80 or 160. Just a little bit later a bit pricier 320 GB option hit the stores. From their storage capacity skyrocketed for HDD. Price difference dropped significantly during this period making the external HDD a must have option for your laptop or Personal computer.
The dominant contenders in the exteral HDD market are Seagate and Western Digital. Both of them offers portable, solutions for storage needs at compelling price range. Let’s look at two very interesting and HOT 1 TB offerings.
A basic specs sheet is given below

	Seagate Backup Plus 1TB	WD My Passport 1 TB
Capacity	1 TB*	1 TB*
USB	2.0 and 3.0	2.0 and 3.0
Size(mm)	14.5 x 81.1 x 123.4	15 x 82 x 111
Weight	224 g	138 g
Warranty	3 year	3 tear
Price (₹)	4900*	4700*

Build and Usability

External hard disks needs to be extremely portable and should be able to carry around with you. Seagate back up plus is over a 12 mm long than WD passport, but measures 0.5 mm thinner than the WD. But there is a significant difference in weight. WD excels in this category. Weighing in at just 138g its 86g lighter than what Seagate has to offer.

Both devices provide a feet long USB 2.0/3.0 connector. Which is convenient and annoying at the same time. The shorter length demands the hard disk to be placed in closer proximity to the attaching device, which is really unfortunate if you are a desk top user. I had to keep it on top of the cabinet which made the HDD annoyingly hot. I had similar problem with my Television also. Since the USB ports on my Samsung TV happened to be at the top, I had to let the HDD hanging most of the time, Sometimes I had to rest the HDD on a bundle of my old college books :( L. I wish for a bit more cable length on both the devices but then again that’s just my opinion, if you are more of a lap-top user you should be fine.

In terms of usability WD has an edge. Its better build and thought out product than the Seagate alternative. Both devices are made out of plastic, but the rough finish on the WD passport gives a bit more premium feel compared to the glossy reflective finish on the Seagate back up plus. Both are available in different color options, I personally prefer the silver option on the WD. I started using it for 2 days and small visible scratches started appearing on the silver side. Which is really annoying and I had to pay a 100₹ extra for the silver option compared to the common passport black. Seagate offers all color options at the same price, which is cool. Seagate has visible groves along all the edges and at the top which felt a bit uneven and I was able to feel movements along these grooves (when I tires to move the sections applying very little pressure) which is unfortunate. WD on the other had felt more firm. It has two sections well put together to give it a more premium unibody feel.

Data transfer tests

System information used for testing are given below.

System information  System configuration used for testing USB 2.0 Processor: Intel ® Core™ 2 Duo CPU E4500 @2.20GHz 2.19 GHz RAM: 4.00 GB (3.12 usable) OS: Windows®8 64 bit HDD: 160 GB @5200 rpm

System information  System configuration used for testing USB 3.0 Processor: Intel ® Core™ i5 @2.60 GHz 2.60 GHz RAM: 4.00 GB (3.12 usable) OS: Windows®8 64 bit HDD: 500 GB @5200 rpm

 Tests were ran on both USB 2.0 and 3.0. WD scored remarkable upper hand over Seagate on all USB 2.0 based tests. But the result from USB 3.0 where rather close. Surprisingly the Seagate drive shown more consistent overall transfer rate on USB 3.0. The top transfer rate was marked on the WD passport which was around 133.7 MB/s Seagate scored 127.6 MB/s.  Comparison can be found on the below charts. First two blocks on both chart represent internal HDD to the external HDD and the last two columns shows external to internal file copy. The test file used was a 1.29 GB ISO file.

USB 2.0 Transfer on WD

USB 3.0 Transfer on WD

Verdict

This comparison was rather easy, which means it’s fairly difficult to choose between them. Well looking at figures WD wins it all. It’s got the looks and performance that you want. But Seagate is not far behind. Considering the neck and neck result from USB 3.0 test they are on par. Results speaks for them self and it’s in favor of WD passport.

Dual Core Smartphones on a Budget- Part I

Dual Core Smartphones on a Budget

What kind of smart phone you want to buy? As far as the industry goes no matter what phone you buy, the glory won’t last more than six months. So to stay up with the evolution you should be equipped with a smart phone which is having a descent CPU, so forget about Single core, let’s try to get the best dual core smart phone (1GHz in this case) available today and that too on a budget. And I have 3 worthy contenders lined up. First we have the best of Nokia and Windows Phone 8 with in great package, then Sami with a smart phone with smart compromises and then the our own Desi  Micromax trying to bully the other two with jaw dropping hard ware specs.

Let’s start with a small Comparison of three entry level dual core smartphones.

	Nokia Lumia 520	Micromax A110 Canvas 2	Samsung galaxy s Advance
Screen size	4” IPS	5” IPS	4” AMOLED
RAM	512 MB	512 MB	768 MB
On Board storage	8GB	2GB available	16 GB
Screen Resolution	480 x 800	480x854	480x 800
PPI	235	196	235
Blue Tooth	V3.0	V3.0	V3.0
Price (lowest possible J)	9500	9500	13500

 
Q1. Under the hood (20 Points)

All three of these devices have dual code processors. All three models rocks 1 GHz dual core. Simple look at the table shows that Samsung offers slightly higher 768 MB ram compared to the 512 provided by the others. But is just a boost to the ram capacity worth spending more? May be you will get more than just ram. And you do too. Sami throws competition away with the “Huge” 16GB on board storage where the closest competition is from the Nokia which offers just half of that. But 2GB on the Micromax is completely un-acceptable failL. Thankfully all of them can be upgraded up to 32 GB. Since we are on the hunt for the most appealing budget phone I have no interest in including a 32Gig SD card to the equation 😉 but still having an option for expansion is always welcome, if you are planning to keep it for the long run but for the canvas it’s a more of a life line compared to the other two.

 

Device
	Processor	RAM	Storage	Additional
Nokia Lumia 520	5	4	3	5
Micromax A110 Canvas 2	5	4	1	5
Samsung galaxy s Advance	5	5	5	5

Q2. Display (20 Points)

Both Samsung and Nokia opted for a reasonable 4” display but the Micromax on the other hand opted for a mammoth 5” screen. Smaller screen on option on the smartphone giants gave a reasonable pixel density of 235, where are the newbie with the giant screen had to settle with a less impressive 196. I’d say it’s a toss-up. If you want a large work area then you’d be happier with Micromax.  But still if you have 5” screen and can’t “Enjoy” HD videos on them, then what’s the user really? And yes seeing and enjoying the visual experience are two different perspectives.

One thing to note here is that you get an AMOLED screen with S advance. Which is truly awesome. I’ll take the AMOLED beauty over the IPS display on the Micromax simply because Sami offers much better experience. If you are not going to watch movies or videos on the NOKIA you will pleased with the IPS screen since the simple and flat windows 8 layout has managed to make it a bit more appealing than the MICROMAX. Here is where NOKIA surprises you, the 4” Screen Is creamed out with super sensitive touch which you can only find in the premium handsets like 920 or s4. I’ll definitely give more pints for that although you are not going to notice any significant change.

There were some issues with the touch response from Samsung and Micromax. Some of which are expected on extensive usage. Nokia how ever did not show any noticeable lags. I really enjoyed Fruit ninja on the device. The four figure Multi touch was amazingly smooth.  

Device
	PPI	Quality	Touch	Additional
Nokia Lumia 520	5	4	5	5
Micromax A110 Canvas 2	3	2	4	3
Samsung galaxy s Advance	5	5	4	3

  

Q3. Camera (15 Points)

At a budget price point it is not easy to get a good performance camera on your smart phone. In sheer numbers Micromax claims this filed clean compared to the others. But offering from Samsung feels much more complete and neat. Micromax features an 8 Megapixel primary shooter at the back which delivered respectable results compared to the others (Not to the other 8 Megapixel titans ruling the market). But the disappointing screen made the viewing experiencing a bit off putting. Samsung and Nokia on the other hand gives a fair 5 Megapixel primary camera. Nokia cam always produced a bit grainy result with noticeable amount of noise in the indoor condition and an overall washout output in bright and well lit conditions. All three cameras are not really good at low light conditions and the use of LED flash on Samsung overpowers the balance, the Dual LED on the Micromax produced decent results but in very low light conditions it completely ruins the details just like Samsung. Nokia doesn’t have a flash and is useless in this conditions! FailL.

As far as the secondary cam goes, Micromax provides a less impressive 0.3 Megapixel (VGA) camera, which is not very useful in any conditions. Samsung on the other hands provides a handy 1.3 Megapixel secondary camera making it a bit more suited for the intended purposeJ. Nokia 520 being the lowest priced offering doesn’t provide a primary camera, which makes me wonder why someone would want a Windows Phone and not use Skype😒.

So let’s see where we stand now
 

Device
	Camera	Quality		Additional
Nokia Lumia 520	3	3		0
Micromax A110 Canvas 2	5	4		1
Samsung galaxy s Advance	3	3		3

Still some remain view section two