Took a stroll in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto
The Microsoft Store
Decided to check out the rather new-ish Microsoft Store, the 2nd one to open here in the Bay Area, after the one in Valley Fair.
There were really promoting it as at the various entry points to the mall.
What struck me is the foot traffic was very light, which matched my experience with the Valley Fair store, while the Apple store two doors down seemed pack (although to be fair, the Apple store was probably 1/3 the size of the MSFT store, so it could be lack of space). Played around with the new Surface Pro, which sports the “full” version of Windows 8. I had played with the Surface RT during one of our trips to Vegas, both departing San Jose and also in Vegas airport. My impression of RT was that while cool, it seemed a bit more “choppy” compared to the iPad. Performance was so so when compared to an ultrabook, but adequate for a tablet. The only catch was RT had its own set of software apps, which precluded me from wanting an RT, as I might as well stick with my iPad. Fast forward to the release of Surface Pro, and I was interested to see if it would be enough to make it my next tech purchase.
Impressions of Surface Pro
The Surface Pro is much heavier and feels denser than the RT. Using the attached cover/keyboard combo was intuitive, as it felt just like a laptop interface all of us are used to. There was a slight lag when typing and using the touchpad, which bothered me a bit. Again, not as “snappy” as the iPad user experience. For pointing and clicking, I found myself touching the screen more often, which I guess is the whole point of a touch interface. Touch typing on the keyboard/cover was plagued by the same lag, so if you make an error, then you won’t see your mistake for a bit an then have to tap tap tap on the backspace to correct it. The Pro model I played with came with a Stylus that can be used as a pointing device, which functioned well as a third point device. I can see this being useful for drawing applications.. The stylus can also be used in conjunction with the handwriting recognition capabilities to input text into your apps. I tested it within Word and Excel and it did a decent job of recognizing my handwriting, even successive words written in cursive (well my version of it anyway). There is some lag in the conversion, so I would not use it for entering long strings of letters and numbers (think taking handwritten notes during a meeting, class, or seminar).
Applications seemed to load fairly fast and were smooth, although I would be interested to see how it operates under the strain of “corporate” strength files (e.g. heavy duty Excel spreadsheets and graphics laden Powerpoint presentations”. Did not get a chance to test wireless performance or Internet apps, but my assumption is that the experience would be the same as RT, which is to say adequate for most net surfing. Graphics and screen were not as impressive as Apple’s iPad and MacBooks, but if your aim is to just do business apps, then it is adequate. As far as aesthetics, I don’t get that warm and fuzzy + “woo it’s so pretty” feeling with Surface. It’s not offensive, and it feels solid, but it seems like something you would throw on the corner of your desk rather than on its own shiny stand (although with the built in kickstand, I guess that would be a moot point for many). But the point is that it does not appeal to the “fashionable” side of me, even with the different colored keycboard/covers that are available.
As a laptop or ultrabook replacement, I think Surface has a way to go. If you are always on the run and don’t require a lot of content creation capabilities then I can see Surface fitting that use case. It is fairly pricey at $899, and for the same amount of $$, I would just settle for an touch ultrabook with better performance or an iPad and bluetooth keyboard.
Sigona’s Farmer’s Market and Schaub’s Meat Market
This market always seems to have a good variety of fruit, but what stands out is their variety of dried fruit. They have the typical dried apricots, peaches, raisins, etc, but they also carry some more exotic dried fruits like persimmons, plucots, cantelope, and kiwi to name a few.They also have a wide variety of nuts, all available in bulk. More variety than Whole Foods. Now I know where to go for my dried fruit needs.
Dried Persimmons
We also popped into Schaub’s Meats next door. Lots of fresh meats and seafood. Click on thumbnails below to see the huge Tiger Prawns they have for sale there.
The Melt
This place looks intriguing . A hi-tech restaurant that serves grilled cheese and soup. Did not try the actual food, but did notice custom made equipment for the sandwiches that I could only describe as high tech panini presses. They also have an “order board”, where you can see where your order is in the queue. It was started by Jonathan Kaplan, who started and then sold Pure Digital, marker of the Flip cameras to Cisco. Sometimes the simplest things require the most innovation.
Will do another blog entry when we do finally decide to eat there.
