Hot garbage

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 05/26/2020 at 18:34 • Filed to: None

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We’ve now been ripped off by the Microsoft conglomerate.

My wife decided a Surface Book Pro would be her laptop of choice. It has a snazzy touch screen and a fancy 256-level pen. The screen even unclips so it can be used in full tablet mode. Neat.

HOWEVER! What they don’t tell you is that the battery can’t be replaced by a service technician or by Microsoft themselves. And when the battery goes, the laptop can’t be run on just th e power cord. No battery, no computer. You better make sure all of your documents live on the cloud. There’s no recovering anything without disassembling the computer on your own.

They will be happy to “service” the system by taking $600 from your bank account and swapping your defunct system for a refurbished one. That doesn’t include transferring any of your files. It saves a couple hundred over buying a refurb outright, but without you’re essentially paying $600 for the privilege of owning another computer exactly like the one that just quit but without any of your files.

The only saving grace is the extended warranty. For two years, if you break the computer by dropping it or spilling your coffee into it, they’ll give you a refurbished one for a $50 deductible. We, unfortunately, didn’t buy that warranty. But now that my daughter asked for one for graduation, you can bet that hers has the extended warranty.

In short, the Surface line of computers is basically a subscription service that costs $600 to $1,000 per year, depending on the model and how long the battery survives.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 18:40

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...a nd here I have an old one that just won’t die that I wish would die so I could get a newer one without feeling guilty....

Didn’t know this about them at all, though.

TechJunky > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 18:43

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True story. My work issues Surface Pros to a lot of people. I had one for 2 years. When the battery stops holding a charge, they just issue a new computer and ditch the old ones. They don't issue them much anymore (special request only). 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/26/2020 at 18:45

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Back up your files before your wish comes true.

TheRealBicycleBuck > TechJunky 05/26/2020 at 18:46

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I wish I had known this a month ago before my daughter asked for one. I would have steered her toward something else.

atfsgeoff > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 18:52

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I could have told you that they are disposable four years ago. I fix laptops for a living, anything for which I can’t replace the battery inside of 10 minutes goes on the hot garbage list.

Sovande > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 18:56

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I had one for work for two years with no issues. It spent that time in and out of a bag twice a day and at a construction site for a year, covered in dust daily. I had no issues whatsoever. I liked it enough that I bought a used one when I got laid off. 

Sovande > TechJunky 05/26/2020 at 18:58

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My old company issued new computers every two years whether they worked fine or not, that was the contract they had with the distributor. 

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 18:58

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OneDrive FTW. All my work is always in OneDrive or done on a cloud hosted server. The computer in front of you is just the way you access it all.

When I’m at the office mine gets BEAT, too. It has damage all over it from minor drops and rubbing over things repeatedly. When I go to the office I often walk 4 miles between various meetings and buildings. Short of frequent flying around the country, my laptop probably suffers a harder life than most, yet it just keeps going...

TheRealBicycleBuck > Sovande 05/26/2020 at 19:00

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How’s the used one holding up?

Sovande > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 19:02

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I've only had it for a 5 weeks or so, but it's been great. Everything works as it should, battery life is good, and I'm happy with it. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/26/2020 at 19:10

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OneDrive was the one saving grace in this mess. My wife hates it, but all of her files were available when I let her use the backup laptop.

It doesn’t work so well for tasks that require large files like GIS, CAD, or video editing. I have to use data that lives in multiple servers in several states. I hate it when I have to do any analysis on that data because the network connections just aren’t fast enough to process several gigs of data distributed that way. I tend to keep local copies and sync them with the servers when I’m done. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Sovande 05/26/2020 at 19:11

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Was it used or a refurb? 

Sovande > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 19:20

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Used. Came out of a small office. It was in use for about 11 months according to the guy who sold it to me and the windows install date. Which I know may not be the original date, but it jibes with what I was told. 

Nibby > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 19:32

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Surfaces are GARBAGE! I can shit out a better laptop.

They’re significantly overpriced, have no upgradability, terrible keyboards and touchpads... oh and they’re just a fucking gimmick. I know several people who have/had them and they had battery issues, random freezes, ran hot, issues detaching/reattaching, etc.

Advice - Get a fuckin’ Dell Latitude 7000 series or a ThinkPad X or T series... or HP EliteBook 830 or 840 series. Don’t consider anything else. Sure they may not be as sexy and slim but they have ports, user upgradable batteries and storage, etc.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Sovande 05/26/2020 at 19:43

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From what I’ve read, the battery is designed to handle up to 500 charge cycles of 100%. I would expect a computer coming out of a small office to have somewhere around 250 charge cycles, so you might get another year or maybe two out of it.

These numbers align with the way my wife uses hers. If I could get it to boot, I’d be able to tell the exact number of charge cycles before failure.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Nibby 05/26/2020 at 19:49

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I’m replacing the battery and upgrading to an SSD on our Inspiron 5378 so she has something to use until she decides what to do . Right now, she’s shackled to the dining table because the battery won’t charge but it will run off the power supply. :)

I appreciate the feedback. I’ll make the suggestions, but she’s a hands-on kind of decision maker. Maybe I can get her all masked up and take her to a store to do some reconnaissance . She’s feeling pretty burned by the Surface right now.

Nibby > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 19:51

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to be honest. my laptop is a 3 year old dell latitude E7470 skylae i5 6300U with 16GB RAM + 512GB NVMe SSD (upgraded myself) and 14" 1080p IPS screen. everything is user replaceable. runs like a champ! total cost? less than $300 including upgrades last year

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 20:00

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Damn, that sucks. I like the Surface, but reasons like that are why I will always buy new or used ‘normal’ laptops with replace able parts. The extra portability and lightness and whatnot isn’t worth things like your situation... :(

facw > atfsgeoff 05/26/2020 at 20:00

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Been 7 years since I’ve had a personal laptop with an easily swapped battery, and it hasn’t been a big problem. Granted, my current one doesn’t last as long as it used to, but it’s more than enough for me. Given the choice I’d much rather have a light machine with a glued in battery that take extra weight to have a battery designed to be swapped.

On the other hand, not working directly from wall power is bullshit.  N o one wants to wait around for 5-minutes for a device to get some charge when they are plugged in and have ample power available to run the device. I’m sure it makes the circuitry a little easier, but it sucks.

Captain of the Enterprise > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 20:18

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My sister has a surface book for work. I wouldn’t mind a surface pro to take to class but have a full laptop already instead.

Sovande > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 20:57

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I paid $300 for it with a keyboard, pen and power brick with all the additional USB and monitor inputs. He tried to give me a bag too, but I declined. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Sovande 05/26/2020 at 21:21

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Sounds like a good deal. If it dies in a year, you can use all the accessories on its replacement.

Sovande > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 21:32

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What have you bought recently that I can shit on?

I'm just kidding. I'm think it will be fine. Buying used electronics is a crap shoot anyway. 

PG; the scalpel wielder > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 21:46

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Dammit. I've had mine for about 2.5 years now, almost always on a charger. 

jeepoftheseus > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 22:12

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My work issued machine is a Surface Pro and it worked well enough the first year or so. After that it’s one unresolved ticket after another to our help desk. 

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/26/2020 at 23:25

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Why are you processing the data on your personal computer and/or not syncing it to the correct region?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/27/2020 at 09:03

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I guess that didn’t come across quite right. My wife is using OneDrive on her personal computer.

On my work computer which I’m using at home, I have to process large datasets. The typical workflow is to download the data from the various regions, process the data, then upload the results to the appropr iate places. We do it this way so the home offices which generate the source data are always in charge of that data. The only replication (other than normal backups) is when I create a local copy for processing. It puts the burden on me to make sure my local copy  is current.

We do have a big modeling project right now that requires people from various offices to all work on a series of sub-models simultaneously (think parallel processing with people). We set up a new server which functions only as a data store, another new server to host a collection of virtual machines to handle less intense tasks, and ten rack-mounted desktops for doing the primary modeling. We went through a series of tests to determine which configuration would provide the best performance and this was the best solution. The servers and the desktops are all on the same 100gb network. Users will remote into the VMs and desktops from their home offices to do their work.

The biggest pain in the ass on this is maintaining strict data protocol with so many users. We had to write procedures for naming conventions, data storage locations, how to properly incorporate static datasets so others aren’t locked out, etc. As we are ramping up, we have found that we have to constantly monitor the data so that we are sure users are following protocol.

We also have issues with a micro-managing PM being in one state while the modeling lead is in another and the two of them often don’t see eye-to-eye on how to organize data. To be fair, the PM has some very valid points and I’ve even questioned the modeling lead on how he’s organizing things. It makes for interesting work.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Nibby 05/27/2020 at 13:56

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Here’s the thing: Laptops are disposable and just need to be workhorses that can deal with the bumps of life while being moved frequently throughout the day . The only real issue I have with mine is that the processor is so old (i5-6300U) that it’s annoying to use the thing after even an older desktop like I’m on now. Even a heavy duty one usually goes and needs replacement after a couple years, but this one keeps on trucking (mind you, it’s only ~2.5 years old, as it was purchased just before the SB2 came out).

Now, the thing I really hate about them is that they have this stupid proprietary power connector. It’s nice that Microsoft has kept the connector the same for so long and there are a lot of docks/supplies/etc kicking around the office and lab, so it’s not too annoying (better than Lenovo and Dell; Lenovo has like 15 different variants of their stupid square connector and Dell has at least 5 recent variants of their various round power connectors), but the docks are also idiotic and expensive . I can’t wait until absolutely every laptop charges using USB-C.

I see them as really not that different from a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Dell XPS. The X1 Carbons are nice, but I see them in a somewhat different light because they’re not as sleekly integrated as these others. Most people where I work carry one of the above if they’re ultra mobile like I am.

Idiot In The Garage Needs A New CGI Job... > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/29/2020 at 09:53

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I’ ve got a first gen with battery probs.

The first time it ran out of power, I left it on the charger for several days and then it became responsive again. If you want your files back, try that. YMMV.

Mine WILL work plugged in tho.

Keyboard battery refuses to charge, ever - and the screen battery dies quickly,so plugged in is the only way.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Idiot In The Garage Needs A New CGI Job... 05/29/2020 at 11:03

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I need to do a follow-up. I figured out how to do a hard reset which forced it to reinstall the latest update. Now the system will accept a charge and   run for a time on battery. I haven’t tested it to see if it will now run on the power supply.