Hi Robert, Thanks for the frank update. Your impressions match up with those of a colleague of mine, who had been quite enthusiastic about migrating from Mac OS X to a Windows-based machine, but ultimately ended up really regretting the move.
Should you opt for the repair and continue to use the device, I'd be curious whether having Windows 10 changes your impressions at all, and also whether you find Finale useable on the tablet. Cheers, - DJA ----- WEB: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org On Aug 15, 2015, at 2:32 PM, Robert Patterson <[email protected]> wrote: > As many of you know, I got a Windows Surface Pro 3 to try out StaffPad. > Unfortunately it is (literally) a bust. > > But first, the good. The handwriting recognition with the pen is fantastic. > This is the one thing that Microsoft has gotten right on this device. > Unfortunately everything else about it is wrong, and that includes the way > the pen interacts with the rest of the OS. The only way to enter text with > the pen is through the clumsy pop-up keyboard. If you have to use a pop-up > keyboard, then why bother with a pen? > > Apps that use the Metro interface work better than traditional apps. Using > traditional apps can be excruciating if they aren't designed to adjust to > the UI size settings. And many of them aren't. > > As for Staffpad, it may be possible for someone to develop the magical > looking facility one sees in the promo videos, but I doubt I ever will. > With effort I can usually get it to recognize the notes on the staff, but > rhythms involving more than one beam are basically impossible for me. My > impression is they designed the interface around the writing style of one > particular individual, and all other users are out of luck if they can't > adopt that style. I don't seem to be able to. Even more frustrating is > there is no way to see what the heck is confusing it. (There is a > cumbersome UI that purports to do this one stroke at a time, but if it > works I can't figure out how.) Pen-based music scoring may be the future, > and StaffPad may point the way, but the future is not here yet. > > The final nail in the coffin came today when I dropped the device. It > didn't fall that hard, but the screen cracked anyway. So fine, the screen > cracked. Perhaps I could live with it, but the entire touchscreen became > completely unresponsive. Compare this with Apple devices where the screen > can be so cracked you can't see through it, but the touch sensitivity still > works. > > Even worse, my only option for a "repair" is to exchange the device for a > different one for a hefty $320. No screen repair available, and I have to > send it off and be without a device for however long it takes. Compare that > to booking a time at the Apple Store and having it repaired while you wait. > > There are many other annoyances, like the trackpad on the keyboard that > constantly activates links or buttons without having being pressed or the > pen button that is hardwired to oneclick or the crapware that came > installed with Windows 8. (I have since upgraded to Win10.) All in all, > this experience has been an expensive but useful lesson that I must never > think of going back to windows. I'm so glad I still have the trusty MacBook > Pro. > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: > [email protected] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: [email protected]
