A Creator’s Impressions – Microsoft Surface Pro (4 years later) and Oculus Go (2 weeks later)

I’m making progress on my video game, I swear! Anyway, it’s been almost 4 years since I first purchased my beloved Surface Pro 3 tablet (my initial review can be seen in this blog article), and after the screen finally cracked, I found myself upgrading to the new Surface Pro (2017) model around March 2018. I also just purchased and have been testing the new Oculus Go, a standalone device from Oculus and Facebook that doesn’t require a high-end phone, computers, or cables to allow a user to experience virtual reality. I have thoughts on my experience using the Surface tablet for four years, thoughts on the new version of the tablet, and thoughts on the new VR headset.

I got some buggy new toys…

Microsoft Surface Pro

To explain from the beginning, I had originally purchased a Surface Pro 3 in mid-2014, shortly after it was released. The devices were expensive, but I had purchased the cheapest model (i3 processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB hard drive) and applied a student-discount (the Microsoft Store still has this discount as of 2018) to bring down the cost to roughly the cost of a new laptop (albeit with half the processing power). The device came with a proprietary pen, and no keyboard: I opted to use the touch-screen keyboard for a while, and then later purchased a skinny Bluetooth keyboard (with a similar look to Apple’s Mac keyboard) for about $20. The OS was Windows 8, which I would later upgrade to Windows 8.1.

To recap what my previous opinions were, I was impressed with the device. I had never used such a portable computer: it was small and light enough for me to carry in one hand, and easy to throw into a small bag. My previous laptops were about 3x the thickness and weight, something that most non-ultrabook computers still struggle with today. The battery could last up to 8 hours on a single charge, barely enough for a full work day, great for casual days when I could put the computer to sleep in-between walks away from a desk. The kickstand, touchscreen and Windows 8 interface were versatile, and the pen was intuitive to precisely click on menu options throughout the system. Or to draw. I had originally used cheaper-end Wacom pen tablets, so drawing directly on the screen was a new highlight. However, the Surface Pro’s glossy glass screen felt weird to draw on compared to a Wacom’s matte finish, and my hand would cover the screen where I was drawing (a separate USB pen tablet would never cause such an issue), so using a tablet separate from the screen was still a better way to draw. But it was still super portable to carry without an extra pen tablet… it would have been a great idea for either Microsoft or Wacom to make a Surface cover with a large pen input surface (no display), being super portable and easy to access.

The biggest true issues I had with the system was underestimating the RAM and hard-drive. Believe it or not, the Intel i3 dual-core processor was fast enough for most of my needs, partly thanks to Microsoft’s hardware team optimizing the OS speed for this device (I would later discover that faster specs on a different manufacturer’s computer wouldn’t be nearly as good). Only in a handful of instances (installing attempts of Visual Studio, for example) did the processor’s limits prevent me from doing something that hard-coded a minimum hardware requirement. Adobe Photoshop (either CC or Elements) worked well enough for pen and touch input, only in some specific instances would the system slow down, and for most non-Adobe software the system was fast and snappy. However, Windows would continue to add updates, which took up extra hard-drive space against my will. It isn’t possible to install all software on an external micro-sd card (it sometimes HAS to be on the C:/ drive), but even after removing as much as I could, the OS alone and some hidden app files easily filled up the 64 GB. It is telling that future Surface devices would have a minimum of 128 GB after this generation. With Adobe Photoshop’s use of “scratch disks,” having only 4 GB of RAM and less than 1 GB of hard drive available would mean the software would often refuse to take simple pen input claiming “scratch disks were full,” requiring me to restart Adobe Photoshop every 10 minutes. Again, this was something that wasn’t immediately apparent in my first few months of use, but only after years of OS updates and software use. For the quality of the device, I would still recommend the Surface Pro to everyone as a game-changing form of computer, just to get at least 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB (or more) of hard drive.

The Surface Pro 3 screen had cracked in the corners before, but only in early 2018 did it get a large crack across the middle of the screen. Given how rough I’ve been with the tablet (I had no protective case, and would often place it casually against heavy or hard books or computers in a paper-thin bag), it’s a miracle that it lasted over three years. But with this new crack, the pen and touch input was simply unreliable. It still turned on, but I had to permanently disable the touch-screen and forever use a mouse and Bluetooth keyboard (or external Wacom pen tablet) to make any use of the device. Based on the hardware limitations, I was planning to upgrade soon anyway, even if this meant upgrading a year sooner than I intended. So I purchased the full package: the new Surface Pro (2017) (i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB hard-drive), separate keyboard cover, (now) separate $99 Surface Pen, pack of Pen nibs, and a $15 protective case with soft padded interior from Amazon. There was a recent sale that helped put the total price of the full set within reach, but even then it all cost nearly double what I paid for my first Surface Pro.

What were my initial impressions? The screen looks good, but has a software-driven color-correction thing that turns on mid-boot, which can be distracting (it almost always looks worse AFTER color correction kicks in, until my eyes get used to it). The improved resolution is nice, but I can’t see much benefit at this screen size compared to the previous model. The keyboard cover is incredibly convenient in its thin size and protective quality of the tablet screen when closed, although having a Bluetooth keyboard that doesn’t need to be attached has more versatility (Amazon does sell cheaper Surface keyboards from other manufacturers that suggest to offer the best of both worlds). The hardware buttons moved a little, to better allow the left-side of the tablet to carry a strong magnet to attach the pen without fear of it falling off, a great feature… except I am right handed, so I naturally grab for the pen on my right-side instead of left, and naturally use my left hand to adjust the kickstand or USB drives. I could technically flip the tablet upside-down to fix this (it would match my personal preference and put USB attachments closer to the table, a huge plus), but that ruins use of the keyboard cover and limits use of the kickstand, so I do hope Microsoft considers a 180-degree reversal of the hardware design next time.

The new pen features 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity (I was surprised to discover my previous Pro 3 pen only had 256, when Wacom’s separate entry-pens at the time typically had 1024), brought back the back button to double as an eraser, new tilt functionality, less activation force, one side button instead of two, one flat side to better connect to the tablet side, and removed the pocket clip. I was disappointed to discover my old pen wasn’t compatible with the new Surface (a handy guide about pen backwards compatibility and comparison by Dave S. Charlton can be found here), so the new pen was a necessary purchase. The new pen is definitely an improvement, but some of its improvements don’t justify the price: most art software will clamp opacity between 0 and 100 for brushes, and most artists will never use a brush greater than a size of 100, so in theory, having sensitivity beyond 128 is meaningless (my personal experience found the improvement came from the reduced activation force rather than sensitivity). The eraser’s shape makes it a bit less precise than an older Wacom tablet I have with a rounded eraser end. The tilt functionality isn’t supported for most art software (Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk Sketchbook don’t use it, although I found Expresii and Clip Studio Paint do), so it’s inclusion is kind of a moot point. I did test replacing the pen nib with the different “types” (H, HB, or B, each using a different rubber material at the bottom to effect how it feels against the screen), and while it was fun to play with, none of them change the fact that you are drawing on glass, compared to the natural feel of drawing on a matte Wacom tablet, or on regular paper.

And unfortunately, the pen’s features can cause some issues, I think primarily caused by the presence of tilt. It has been well documented by now that the newest Surface pen is subject to random jitter, which can be noticeable if you need to draw with high precision. It happens randomly, sometimes there and sometimes not, but when it does happen it seems to be averaging the pen’s position based on its tilt. If you always draw with the pen perpendicular to the screen, or if you draw with your canvas zoomed in to the max, this isn’t a serious problem, but otherwise it can be a nightmare to artists, and if you need to select a button only a few pixels wide, it is simply no longer possible with the pen. The below diagram covers my personal experience with it. For most professional artists, this is a real deal-breaker, and since it has been almost a year since it was first found  by users and acknowledged by Microsoft without a fix, it is unlikely to be resolved until a future Surface Pro 6 is made. Based on online opinions, third-party pens that do not support tilt are most likely to resolve the issue, although some might find cheaper fixes based on where they hold their hand, as if static electricity has something to do with it. You could also try to find a cheaper Surface Pro 3 or 4, which never had such a problem with the pen.

Visual description of Surface Pro (2017) pen jitter

As for the hardware spec limitations I had with the Surface Pro 3? With the Surface Pro (2017), the processor is stronger, but not noticeably so in most applications. Photoshop doesn’t give me major issues anymore, since I now have RAM and hard-drive space to spare, and will fight to keep it that way. The battery, on the other hand, is a disappointment: Microsoft proudly claims the newest model has a 50% larger battery than the Surface Pro 4, which in turn is said to be larger than the Pro 3. But after regular lightweight use, I could never get my Surface Pro (2017) to last more than 6 hours. Yes, it is using a more powerful processor, a more heavy OS in Windows 10, and is powering an attached keyboard. But even removing the keyboard and setting the battery to “battery saver” and reducing the screen brightness, I could not make the battery last as long as my now four-year old Surface Pro 3. Admittedly, a recent OS update does seem to improve the battery life by an extra hour, and compared to other computers the battery is still impressive enough for my needs, but it still feels like false advertising to mislead the average consumer.

Speaking of Windows 10…

Most of you know by now that Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 to be the last version, no Windows 11, 12, etc. Instead, Windows 10 gets periodic feature updates once or twice a year to bring the latest to its users. Also, these updates are not optional: Windows is now a “service” rather than a “product,” so it will update automatically the second you are connected to the Internet. There are some issues with this and the traditional Windows model: previously, different Windows versions would make UI and functionality changes that would confuse new users, and in the worst cases, commonly break functionality with older software or websites. But at least you had the option to not upgrade to the latest version of Windows; to this day, I have relatives that continue to rely on Windows XP because too much of the software they rely on hadn’t been updated for newer versions.

With Windows 10, the user doesn’t have this option. And after the “Fall 2017 Creator’s Update” around September 2017, artists began to notice their pens no longer worked in their favorite software (typically Adobe Photoshop). It dragged the canvas instead of drawing, acting more like an extra finger than a pen. This occurred not only for Windows Ink pens (like those for the Surface Pro), but for external Wacom tablets as well. I hadn’t noticed this because I did all of my pen work on Windows 8.1 machines, and it was only after trying the latest Surface Pro (2017) with Windows 10 that I joined the crowd of angry artists, now claiming they lost months of working hours on devices bought specifically for digital painting. The typical official response was to revert the update, but Windows 10 will automatically re-apply the update the next time you connect to the Internet and shut down your computer.

If you don’t normally use a Windows computer for drawing, a comparison would be to take a stick (not a pen or pencil) and try to draw with it on a piece of paper. You will probably be able to move the paper around a bit, but will be frustrated in being unable to draw. This is what the “Fall 2017 Creator’s Update” did: it made my $99 Surface pen become a stick.

Going over the history of the issue as of today: in March 2018, developers on the Windows Ink team started reaching out to users on Reddit and started making official responses on the Microsoft help page. It seems the official reason pen behavior was changed was because a few dozen inside users voted up the feature suggestion in a Microsoft feedback hub (the flaw being there is no “downvote” option, and the developers didn’t read the comments underneath it, so in theory the worst decisions you could imagine would likely occur through this feedback hub if a single person voted it up). They offered a “regedit” (“registry edit”) fix (https://www.reddit.com/r/Windowsink/comments/8508fi/controlling_pen_behavior_in_windows_10/), which partially worked, but not consistently with all software or pen brands. It was later suggested that this issue occurred specifically due to one of two updates released in March and April (deliberately ignoring that users had first found the bug in September and October), and an official OS update would be released in late April, included in the “April 2018 Update” (originally said to be called “April 2018 Creator’s Update,” but wisely Microsoft is dropping the “Creator” part from any future naming).

Now, having worked for a large multi-team company as a software engineer, I think I understand what happened, although it is entirely conjecture on my part. I think there are team managers that don’t understand programming or user feedback: they just get relayed information and tell teams what to do. They likely looked at the top few features in the feedback forum based on vote count, and ordered teams to implement them without a second thought. When users started complaining about the pen change, the managers probably started to ask questions to the Windows Ink team about what was happening, even though the managers were likely more at fault. Microsoft developers are likely under pressure to never admit mistakes, and the Windows Ink team would have liked to ignore the complaints, had it not been for managers asking why it was now a new bug with thousands of user votes. I think this is why the Windows Ink team deliberately lied in officially stating the issue is only a couple weeks old instead of several months, to make it seem like they were responsive to user feedback, to make it seem like it was a fault with older software not meeting new Windows 10 standards, to insist that it wasn’t their fault and that simply reverting a feature to exactly how it was before would never be done. To act any differently would certainly cause someone to be fired, and likely not whomever was really responsible for the decision to make the feature change.

While I sympathize and am thankful attempts to fix the issue are being made, there is still no excuse for this. Windows has a history of deliberately breaking itself for the sake of progress, and in Windows 10 the user has no control to prevent it. If in the user’s control, they would change absolutely nothing to how Windows works today, to allow us to simply get used to it. Users do not like change, especially when there is no alternative to a newly missing feature. But if no changes were ever made, the majority of the Windows team would be out of a job, and we can’t have that, can we? But with this business model, the only true option is for Microsoft to begin releasing Windows 11, 12, and so on. To say that a piece of software or a game “works on Windows 10, but not THAT Windows 10” is too confusing, and I’m genuinely afraid about what might be broken come the next major update.

My personal experience of this was that Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 (and trials of more recent versions) was broken from the “Fall Creator’s Update.” I tried to apply the “regedit” fix but it did not work. I eventually found a way to prevent Windows 10 from automatically installing upgrades (without going into detail, it involved editing values in “gpedit.msc” to change how updates are notified to me, then to uninstall “Windows Update Assistant” and disable it under “Task Scheduler” to prevent it from separately trying to update anything… I can provide steps in the comments if anyone needs it), and used this to prevent future updates until this week. I tried to update to the “April 2018 Update,” and while it fixed a couple other bugs I was having, it had absolutely no effect to fix the pen. After the “April 2018 Update,” I tried the “regedit” fix again… and it worked! Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 recognized my Surface Pen as a pen, pressure sensitivity and all. Perhaps the update had assumed users already applied the “regedit” fix, so it was still necessary… and of course, if you use Wacom or a different setup, your experience may vary… but the nightmare was over for me. Internet browsers had permanently changed for the worse for pen input, and the on-screen touch keyboard was improved for the worse, but these were issues I could live with for now.

In short, the Surface Pro line is still a high-quality piece of hardware, but any new improvements seem marred by issues caused by the need to innovate. And when paired with Windows 10, it makes for a good tablet, but a horrible creator’s tool. But then the same could be said of any computer with Windows 10, or Macintosh… Linux could make a killing if they could support modern pen devices. So I would hesitate to recommend the devices any more, but if you can find an older (and functional) model with Windows 8 still installed for a good price, it is still likely a better user experience than what you are using today.

Oculus Go

I was excited when the Oculus Go was first announced last year. It was a complete VR experience for only $200. You didn’t need a $600+ smartphone (being used to using sub-$200 phones and able to do everything an iPhone can, aside from playing the latest games, I can’t understand why its commonly acceptable to pay so much and so often for a new phone), and you didn’t need a $1000+ gaming computer (a common misconception about VR requirements: you just need to be able to run a game a 4K resolution at 60-90 fps, which can technically be done with weaker computers on simpler games. Instead of buying the highest-end CPU and GPU you can find, as most users blindly suggest, aim for hardware capable at running your target game at a high frame rate and you would be fine.). The Oculus Go had the on-board power and sensors of a smartphone at a fraction of the cost, with no extra wires or accessories needed.

After actually buying the thing (at my local Best Buy, where many continue to be available in stock), I was both impressed and disappointed. You DO need a smartphone to download an app and create an initial account, something that should have been easily possible on a desktop computer, but isn’t. Really, you should have been able to do it without a smartphone at all, but if you can’t create an account directly on the headset, some users might be able to use a computer at their school or library, something you can’t do to access a smartphone.

When the account was set, I found the headset’s proprietary OS a little slow. I also found a handful of bugs that will hopefully be fixed in firmware updates, the most noticeable being that the headset will randomly turn on by itself, draining its battery even if I try a hard shutdown. I haven’t heard many other users complaining about this, so maybe it isn’t a common issue. This, and its “always on even if not required” internet connection makes me a little worried about security, especially given Facebook’s recent scandals. Russia can send me as much advertising as they want, it would be up to me to make my own decisions on that advertising, but if they can record the headset’s microphone or usage habits, then I’m not happy.  Needless to say, I am not putting my credit card info into this thing.

So what apps can you get for free? Most of the quality apps are paid, but there are free tech and promotional demos. They range from good to poor, and most clearly didn’t try to update much from the “Samsung Oculus” store. Many require a proper controller instead of the included pointer remote, and I have no idea which controllers would be compatible. The headset does have a headphone jack and rechargeable battery via micro usb, but the remote is not rechargeable, instead requiring a AA battery?! I haven’t used one of those in years!! The headset also has no expandable memory, although a micro-usb drive might be supported in the future. For what it’s worth, after downloading several apps and HD VR videos, I still haven’t filled the base 32 GB of my headset, although most apps download only at the time of use to open more space. By the way, you can transfer files via micro-usb like you might with a phone to your computer.

The battery also lasts about 2-3 hours max, so watching a full movie is a barely possible. I did find the experience not worth more than 2 hours of use at a given time anyway, but if you were hoping to use this in a public venue, you’re out of luck, unless you purchase multiple headsets to switch between. The display inside works well, and fits well on top of my glasses, but its refresh rate is noticeably low after a lot of use (sensitive eyes will notice flickering after a while), and still has that weird effect where only the center of the screen is in focus, forcing you to move your head instead of your eyes.

Basically, it’s clear a lot of corners were cut for the sake of cutting down the price.

But it is also the cheapest and easiest way to try VR, and is perfect for VR video playback. After some initial trouble with VR YouTube videos, I found the SKY video app can playback local YouTube VR videos fine, and had good fun watching Google’s library of 360 animated shorts. That alone is worth the cost, and I was able to get my parents to try VR for the first time with it, letting them see what the fuss was about. It weird limitations and initial setup requirements and reliance on internet are enough for me NOT to recommend they buy one, but there currently doesn’t exist another VR alternative this easy to use.

I am also excited to try to make a simple game with this as a platform one day, which seems to require setting a free developer account online. If nothing else, it will make a good cheap platform for testing purposes. If we’re lucky, the PS5 or XboxTen will use this type of VR stand-alone form-factor, if so then we might really get wide adoption in the next decade. Until then… well, I hope VR hasn’t died quite yet, there are still things I want to use it for.