Barely a week after it was buried under a mountain of firmware updates, Microsoft’s latest Surface Pro is getting patched again.
The good news? This time, Microsoft is finally fixing an “intermittent pen inaccuracy when [one’s] hand is on the screen” issue that its customers first reported over a year ago.
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
“If my hand is not on the screen, the pen is perfectly accurate, even at an angle,” the original complaint explains. “About 50 percent of the time, if I begin a stroke with my hand already resting on the screen, there is a significant offset of the pen line to the actual tip position. This makes hand-writing nigh impossible.”
Well, Microsoft is listening. They’re just moving very slowly.
“As of [August 8, 2018], the fix to address this issue has completed testing and is now live, please go update your Surface Pro via Windows Update to get the latest download,” a Microsoft support rep chimed in on the complaint thread.
According to the Surface Pro Update History website, this latest set of firmware updates impacts all 2017 Surface Pros (models 1796 and 1807) running Windows 10 version 1703 or newer. The fixes address the holy trinity of security, reliability, and performance, and include:
I can only assume this was a difficult computer science problem.
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#300796">In reply to TEAMSWITCHER:</a></em></blockquote><p>As a owner of many Mac's over the years, and a current owner of loaded 2017 15inch Macbook Pro and a loaded 2015 Mac Mini (with 2013/2014 hardware). I would NO longer recommend a Macbook Pro to anyone. </p><p><br></p><p>The keyboard sucks and I mean it sucks when it works perfectly fine as in no tiny dust particles jacking it up. It too shallow. The removal of the magsafe and all ports (besides USB-C) are a total fail. Lastly the touchbar is joke that I only use because the sounds and brightness buttons were removed.</p><p><br></p><p>I would add Lenovo T-Series ThinkPad's to your list. I have a new T580 that I simply love. The keyboard is heaven. The port selection is perfect.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#300844">In reply to TEAMSWITCHER:</a></em></blockquote><p>My 2017 has not had the "keyboard" issue either (dust makes it repeat or not work). </p><p><br></p><p>The travel, or lack of it, is my issue and many reviewers complain about this problem since the 12inch first came out in 2015.</p><p><br></p><p>The fix in the 2018, which was not a listed fix by Apple, since admiting it is a fix admits there is a problem and gives all those lawsuits more info to win, is a membrane to block dust. It does NOTHING to fix the .5mm travel….all in the name of "thiness".</p><p><br></p><p>"The touch surface on the Magic Mouse is the best scrolling solution on the PLANET" Ok that comment makes you a cult member.</p><p><br></p><p>At work we have a box full of these not so magic mice. Our advertising/marketing department uses iMac's. They recently got refreshed, and universally (25 users?) rejected these mice. I have tried to use the and the very touchy scroll area simply does not work for me. Logitech M705 is what I use on all of my computers.</p><p><br></p><p>I have a nice collection of Dongles, costing me over $200 because the lack of ports. I use USB flash drives on a regular basis to move stuff around. I am sure there are USB-C versions but that does not work for 99% of the people I share these things with. My Canon DSLR used SD cards so there is another dongle, or a USB-A cable to mini USB. Ethernet, I use it in my job, dongle. HDMI in confrence rooms…..dongle.</p><p><br></p><p>Touchbar has been pretty much universally rejected by both reviewers and Mac fans….but I have no doubt that a cult member like your self will love it.</p><p><br></p><p>"<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> I'm waiting to get my 6-core 2018 THROTTLEBOOK Pro when Mojave ships" there fixed it for you. Why wait the update to Mojave is free?</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oh and be carefull when you have that Throttelbook plugged in. If you trip over the wire, it will jerk the laptop off of whatever it is sitting on since Apple took away probably the single best Macbook feature ever…..the MagSafe.</span></p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#300882">In reply to TEAMSWITCHER:</a></em></blockquote><p>The problem with the Magic Mouse…is when you try to click, say left click and if your finger moves at all, not just straight down, but oh so very slightly left or right when clicking down the mouse can interrupt that as a swipe to the right or left. You have to back off and try again. With a dedicated scroll wheel…aka my Logitech…you do not have that issue. Not to mention almost any other mouse is more ergonomic than any Apple mouse.</p><p><br></p><p>"I wouldn't carry around a fat Windows gaming laptop if someone gave one to me. They are $2000+ of worthless!!"</p><p><br></p><p>You would not have too. Just watch the YouTube video followup from Dave Lee, post Apple patch. The Dell XPS and the Razor both "thin and light" outperformed the Throttlebook Pro in the same test where it throttled like crazy. In fact out of the 6 he tested the Macbook came in last place.</p><p><br></p><p>Yes the gaming laptops, that are thicker, crushed the Macbook PRO (really a Pro machine?) in the same test. If I was doing video encoding on a laptop (not my first choice) because I had to be mobile I am certain I would be plugged in to the AC and sitting on a desk/table and I would want to get the advertised speed out of my expensive laptop. So yes for full power out of a laptop, as in advertised power of the I9, I would take a gaming laptop that cost at least a $1000 less than the i9 Macbook and crushes it in CPU intensive tasks, like Adobe Premier video rendering.</p><p><br></p><p>As far as the ports on the Macbook Pro line, who really needs 4 USB-C thunderbolt 3 ports and no other ports? Seriously justify that!!!!</p><p><br></p><p>Just a single USB-C port can be multiplied by a USB-C port expansion device.</p><p><br></p><p>A better choice would have been to have two USB-C ports and then some legacy ports (1 USB-A, one HDMI, one SD Card). NO that just makes to much customer friendly sense.</p><p><br></p><p>All of our confrence rooms at work have Apple TV's and a HDMI cable coming out of the table at work. AirPlay works great for things like power point slides. Or some application demostration. Try any video or audio, especially pulled down via wireless from the Internet then pushed to the Apple TV via wireless and you will get stutter and lag and a HDMI is the better way to go….or as they say in the networking field…Copper is King!</p><p><br></p><p>The REAL reason Apple did not do this…….purely FORM over FUNCTION. They went for thiness/cool looking over function. They know that rabid cult fans like you will not only accept that decisions but champion it. It is amazing the loyalty that people have to these electronics comapines….or maybe just really weird?</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#300840">In reply to nbplopes:</a></em></blockquote><p>Drunk posting??</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#300886">In reply to nbplopes:</a></em></blockquote><p>No deflecting at all. Your post was all over the place and did not seem very lucid to be honest.</p>