Hasta La Gadget!

Back in the day when Apple and Microsoft were bitter rivals where the desktop operating system was concerned, it was deemed sacrilegious to see Windows running on a Mac machine. In fact, at one point in time, when Windows could boot up officially on Apple machines, many people were still not used to the idea nor sight of it. Having said that, we are now well into the 21st century, and both companies have synergized rather well over the past few years. This time around, we have a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet that instead of running on Windows 8, it will have OS X as the operating system of choice.

After all, the hardware parts and components within the Surface Pro are compatible with some of the Apple devices out there, so it makes perfect sense for an enthusiast with too much time on his/her hands to come up with an OS X port that is accompanied by a bunch of minor tweaks. WiFi connectivity, however, does not seem to be working fine, and of course, this video could very well be an elaborate hoax – so we will just wait it out. What do you think?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Never Say Never To A HTC Ubuntu Tablet, IRiver WOWTab: A Clone Of The Nexus 7?,

On February 9, we reported that Microsoft’s Surface Pro 128GB model had sold out soon after becoming available, with both Staples and Best Buy running out of stock in addition to Microsoft’s online store. The company responded shortly after, saying that stores could expect more Surface Pros by Saturday. As of today, buyers can order the tablet and will receive it within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Buyers who want the 128GB Surface Pro can head over to the Microsoft online store and place an order. The purchasing option will only be available until the latest round of inventory is depleted, at which point the store will once again say “Out of Stock.” For those who want to, Microsoft has also detailed how to reserve a Surface Pro at a retail store.

Reservations can be placed with both Best Buy and Staples, depending on inventory. Best Buy will accept reservations if its store in your area doesn’t have any of the devices in stock. According to Microsoft, the reservations will only be placed if the store knows that it has inventory coming in; in the event that there isn’t any incoming inventory, or the incoming inventory is reserved, the store will say that it is sold out and will not allow an order to be placed.

For those who want to purchase from Staples, a reservation can be made for the 64GB version of the Surface Pro, but it would appear the store isn’t taking reservations for the 128GB model until it has the item in stock. Buyers in Canada can reserve the 64GB version of the Surface Pro in Future Shop and Best Buy; Microsoft says that more information will be given when the 128GB Surface Pro is available in the country.

[via Surface]

Microsoft accepting orders for 128GB Surface Pro, will ship in 2 – 3 weeks is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Microsoft Surface Pro is just getting into its first week of consumer availability, and gadget repair blog iFixit has already cracked the case for a closer look at what makes the tablet/PC hybrid thing tick. The teardown reveals that Microsoft has essentially glued down anything that could be glued, making it incredibly difficult for a user to repair on their own – more difficult than Apple’s iPad, by iFixit’s standards.

The Surface Pro scored a 1 out of 10 for repairability, since just opening the tablet offers a high probability of completely cutting one of the four cables that surrounds the display, there’s adhesive on the battery and display keeping it stuck in, and the display assembly is incredibly hard to replace. There are also 90 screws scattered through the device’s interior, which iFixit says is exceptionally high for this kind of device.

By comparison, Apple’s latest fourth-generation iPad scored a 2 out of 10 in repairability when iFixit tore it to pieces back in November. That may not be much of an advantage, but it does show that while Apple gets a lot of slack for changing its designs to be less friendly to user-initiated aftermarket changes, the company isn’t alone in moving to designs that focus more on fitting as much as possible into as small a case as possible, rather than providing something users can fiddle with. The Surface RT, on the other hand, was more repairable than Apple’s iPad, so it’s a little disappointing to see the more expensive Pro version fail on that score.

It should be no surprise, given how much of an emphasis Microsoft put on the Surface Pro’s design and attention to fitting as much power as they could inside such a small space. But iFixit still takes away marks from Microsoft for doing things they feel are unnecessary to the space-saving nature of the design, including gluing the battery in, which they call “planned obsolescence” which is “completely unnecessary.”

A lot of people wondered what might be the role of OEMs once Microsoft started building its own PC hardware, but there’s clearly still room for them as producers of devices that appeal to hobbyists and tinkerers, who aren’t content to buy what’s essentially a sealed hardware platform only to upgrade again in two years’ time. The Surface Pro, with its fairly limited storage options and 4GB of RAM, would likely be a ripe candidate for aftermarket upgrades, so buyer beware if your plan was to crack the case and perform some at-home surgery down the road.

You know the drill (or is that screwdriver?) by now. New gadget lands at the iFixit labs, and the good folk there give it a teardown. Microsoft’s Surface Pro is this week’s lucky slab of silicon to hit the bench. The good news is that a removable battery and SSD will make swapping those out a charm. That’s pretty much it for the good news though. The less good news is the sheer number of screws you’re going to have to contend with (over 90 by iFixit’s count). The bad news is that screen is a real fiddle to remove, and there are globs of adhesive to navigate (holding that battery and screen in place for example). The worst part? By our tool-weilding friend’s reckoning, you’ll be lucky not to sever a major cable artery just by opening the thing. There’s not much by way of hardware surprises, bar the mAh rating of the battery (5,676). All this earns the Surface Pro a repairability rating of just one out ten (ten being the best). Better treat yours with the love and care it deserves then.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Comments

Via: TabTech

Source: iFixit

In the first several days of the Microsoft Surface Pro‘s life on the market, it was an extremely successful product, selling out in many locations across the United States and online. This week the head of the Microsoft Surface team Panos Panay spoke up about the stock shortage many areas have been experiencing, assuring them that more units are headed to stores this week, with delivery expected by Saturday. This comes shortly after a series of demands for more units to be placed in stores by customers hoping to get their own brand new Surface Pro in one of the first launch days here in the first half of February.

Both of the two different models of the Microsoft Surface Pro are having stock replenished this week. Speaking on the situation in no more than 140 characters, Panay noted that Microsoft is “shipping more 64GB now to BBY, Staples, MS Store and online.” He also let it be known that the 128GB model will be at Best Buy (aka BBY) and Microsoft Stores (MS Stores) by Saturday.

This is good news for those hoping for the larger model especially since it was this larger version (internal storage-wise) that has turned up sold out across the nation first. Panay also noted that “there continues to be a great demand” for the Surface Pro and that Microsoft is “working hard to restock” this week. A similar situation came up recently when Google was found to have less stock than needed to supply massive waves of customers hoping to purchase the LG-made Nexus 4 smartphone.

As it was (and in some cases is) with the Google/LG supply issue with the Nexus 4, so too is it with Microsoft and the Surface Pro. Many consumers are commenting – in forums and in the winchat session the Panay comments above were a part of – about the possibility of a miscalculation in Microsoft’s perceived demand for the Surface Pro. Whether estimates were too low or the companies involved in these situations wanted simply to drive demand with news bits, the end result is the same: there’s one whole heck of a lot of people out there that want a Nexus 4, and there’s a lot that want a Surface Pro as well!

[via Cnet]

Microsoft Surface Pro re-stock arriving Saturday is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.