@@jishan6992yes, you load the digital photo frame with photos of you and your loved ones via an SD card; this is used to enhance the comfort of your living spaces, or for festive reasons.
ahh, windows 8. finally the non-anachronistic and bizarre parts of my childhood are "retro." I remember the "upgrade" from windows 7. Never did get to use it in it's intended mobile operating mode though. honestly with a touch screen it would be pretty usable, more so that 7 at least.
The Best Buy I used to work at was using one of these to run Windows/Xbox ad loops in a cursed corner of the store for like, seven years. It was still showing Windows 8 ads like four years after the release of 10 before it was finally retired. I almost regret not buying that demo unit... almost.
I know that some people will hate me for this, but I think Windows 8 wasn't that bad. It easily places in my top 3 most favorite Windows OSes. It's a comfort zone for me. Back when I used Windows 10, I used the Start screen (an option that Micro$oft removed in Windows 11) instead of the Start menu. But because Micro$oft is greedy and doesn't listen to their consumers, the Start screen is GONE
I actually agree, and even if windows 8 was meant more for tablets, I found it not hard to use on pc too even on vm. I also think 8 made the metro ui look somewhat pleasing with the vibrant colors on the start screen and the patterns in the background as you customize it, while being simple/not too distracting. 8 just took some getting used to and I learned to navigate through apps pretty quickly. I use mostly programs on the desktop but when I need to open an app on full screen it doesn’t bother me as much. it’s an unique experience, i still have the vm to hop on sometimes loll
RT had a full featured x86 emulator, it worked quite well, late in development microsoft decided to disable it for most users because it could tank battery life and they would rather ship a crappy product than get bad publicity about battery life. There is a way to jailbreak it and run x86 and it works quite well.
It feels like they broke compatibility with the old Edge/Internet Explorer engine that was the access method for the web for everything on this machine, including the Store. So they made the Store incompatible with Win8 devices instead of actually announcing a proper shutdown of the store but the effect is the same lol.
I have a tablet with windows 10 (not sure if it's RT) and still very usable. Unfortunately I can't update the system above 17xx, but i'm fine with. Chuwi, Hi8 Pro model.
If it has Windows 10 on it and it's usable then it's not RT. The reason you _can_ run Windows 10 on RT devices is because a test build was leaked to the public, but it's not great for everyday use.
I had it when Microsoft released it. I bought it very cheap. But now I have Surface Pro X SQ2. And I like it. Sure this is uncomparable with Surface RT.
i remember when iwas 14 i was in a market for a tablet. i was VERY close to getting a surface rt. but i ended up gettting a galaxy note 8in tablet instead. might of been the better choice in the end
As a time capsule this thing is amazing to see how far we've come in 10 years. It's unfortunately also a reminder that Windows 8 was kinda terrible and that support has been completely yanked. You pretty much are stuck with a paperweight that doesn't have access to the store which means any of the apps including maybe a browser that's not a completely discontinued and worthless.
Before the store got completely shut down it was in a weird state where you could view all of the available apps but it wouldn't let you download anything.
Ah yes, I remember a similar incident where on a computer my grandmother (of many grandmothers of my family tree) have or had, not only the Store had stopped working sometimes, but then the other times where it did load properly. I was on the computer, mind you.
It's because all the available download links are moved permanently to the newer Windows 10/11 store since several months before the end of support announcement, and some users didn't notice it
Fun fact, Qualcomm still has some developer documentation available for the Surface RT if you sign up with a developer account and poke around. One of the documents shows they had a game running on it. The Surface RT is also the reason that modern Windows on ARM devices have a "Program Files (Arm)" folder for backward compatibility since the Surface RT was 32-bit ARM.
Ugh I love this tablet. I saved up all that money and bought it my junior year of hs. It made everything extremely convinuent. All my school work and everything I needed to do. I loved it. Specially the specific reading mode. When you read articles it made it look like a simple text like a Kindle.
technically you can only use Raspbian and replace the LXDE interface with something better. cuz the Tegra Linux R16 (which is the only thing that is compatible w surface RT, not the RT2) is too old now
I'd be interested in seeing Linux on the RT. I've got Win10 on a Surface RT, but the experience isn't much better. It's a leaked Chinese arm32 build, not arm64 like Surface X devices. The biggest issue is lack of modern web browser.
I had a surface pro that I put Linux on, it was a much smoother experience then Windows, but due to it being a Microsoft thing, the drivers aren't great, so it's usable, but sleep doesn't work properly and stuff like that. I had to stop using it because those old surface chargers are actual ewaste. They break so easily. But idk how it would be on thr ARM based RT.
The RT only has arm32 processor, so build 15035 is the best it can get. It would be interesting to run Linux on it, though I doubt arm32 Linux can be more useful.
At $10 dollars, this thing can still play video with the edge browser. It's definitely worth $10 as I recall these early surface tablets having a very good screen for media consumption
@@TheAceLittleMASEwindows 10 is 1507 beta. I used on my school surface. Edge is the original one. Slower as uses edge html not chromium. Ie works better but no video playback!
Damn, good job making me feel old. I remember being super excited on Christmas, because I got an Asus Windows 8 tablet. Luckily my dad did his research and stayed clear of an ARM-based device. Being 19, "retro" tech usually is stuff from before my time, but not here - I still vividly remember all those apps working.
The worst part is that this could have been a pretty OK tablet had Microsoft not locked down the bootloader; that would enable you to install Linux on it which has a robust ecosystem of ARM apps or even Android. There _are_ exploits that allow running Linux, but it's not great. Even then, the x86 Windows tablets weren't the best either. Some of them had weird EFI issues that made Linux harder to run on them. I think I managed to get one I picked up running with Archlinux, but then it died a year or so later.
@@antikommunistischaktion My problem getting Linux on it was that neither the touchscreen nor a USB keyboard worked after booting the installer, making installation a little difficult
@@simonro9168 That is a common issue with tablet devices, I just plugged in a USB keyboard then once installed everything worked. Linux typically loads less drivers in the live environment vs the full install. I've had so many examples of things not working in the installer, but when installed they'd work without a problem.
I’m 19 this year - always feels odd when people say stuff like this is “old” because I still remember them launching, I remember my old iPad 3 being on iOS 5/6 and having the old UI and the surface CNET durability test when he spilt wine on it and it stopped working
RT was also the first time MS tried enforcing digital signature for applications. It wouldn’t have been a huge problem if MS store was comparable to other mobile platform’s offerings, but we all know how it went 😅 They also made the same mistake with Windows 10 S Mode. Again, only allowing MS store applications.
They are still doing S mode in Windows 11, but Microsoft is now seemingly limited those version to school/institution license only to make sure that the market target is right and avoid any confusion to ordinary consumer
this device would make much more sense in 2023 than it did in 2013 with more webapps in use everywhere, x86 emulation in place and more workplaces using tools like Citrix and windows 365
Something like a decade ago a friend gave me a surface RT because it was so bad at the time and I only used it to watch anime and play emulators on it, the full size usb port was really nice as it allowed me to plug in a wired Xbox 360 controller
I still think Windows 8 is one of the most underrated versions of Windows ever and it would have been much more accepted of they allowed the Metro-style apps to be in a window and backported the Start Menu from Windows RT 8.1 (the one that the early prerelease versions of Windows 10 had back in late 2014)...
@@Villager_U As I said, Windows RT did get the option to have the Start Screen replaced with a more traditional Start Menu. It was released as an update to Windows RT 8.1 in 2015.
There's an ARM32 version of Windows 10 that you can install on the Surface RT. I have it installed on my Surface 2. I was stupid and thought that I could try to install the ARM version of Windows 11 before I bought it because it has an "ARM PROCESSOR", but I was wrong and the processor was ARM32, not ARM64. I have a Surface Pro 2 now and I'm happy that I was able to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 11.
i have the Surface Go 3. its pretty decent. I like how today's Surfaces can run full windows! i also have an Ipad. its hard to chose which one i like better because i like them both for different reasons. Surface is close to a windows laptop but even more portable and can multitask better. where as the Ipad seems to be a lot faster and has a way better battery life.
honestly it really looks like a nice experience on a tablet (minus the fact that you're at the mercy of a corporation who can shut down most of your apps without notice). Microsoft's mistake was pushing it for PCs; metro UI and the tiled start menu is horrible on a PC
@@Agh0styIt was unpopular because they forced everyone to use the new interface clearly designed for touch screens to everyone. It was fine for the surface line of products that was designed to be more touch screen forward, but cumbersome for mousing around. Also, the sudden removal of the Start Menu (which has been there since Windows 95) made it difficult to learn for non techy people. Many people installed 3rd party apps to bring back a Start Menu.
I picked one of these up a few months ago for a similar (but slightly higher) price. Bought it to frame on the wall for running a bespoke app for various home automation, still a work in progress so it's not yet on the wall. They run Raspberry Pi OS very well, gives it a new lease of life.
If your going to leave the power plug in all the time. Boot into the BIOS and turn on "kiosk mode" this will only let the device charge to 50%. I had a Surface charge all the time with home assistant on it, the battery swelled and lifted the screen. Kiosk mode is designed to prolong the issue.
9:30 Microsoft actually announced this if you were one of the few people who got the Windows 8.1 EOS screen. In that screen they stated that making new purchases after January 10, 2023 on Windows Store was now impossible, and the last updates to be made on Windows apps needed to be released by the end of June 2023. Given that we are in the middle of October of 2023, it's safe to say that Microsoft was eluding for the silent shutdown of Windows Store.
One thing they did really well was the touch optimised web browser. It was very smooth and responsive to use and unfortunately they never carried that feel over in later versions as they moved away from emphasis on Metro.
I've been hunting for a good deal on a old surface pro for taking to college. But I am kinda afraid of some issues old gen surface devices have with the screen.
I picked up a pro 3 version with all the accessories (pen, charger, keyboard, even the box) for under 100 bucks with a busted wireless chip in it. if you dont mind using a $5 wifi/bluetooth dongle, then its well worth it. I have it as my daily laptop for youtube, basic office stuff, web browsing, and even some light gaming.
@@RoaetherI did the same thing a few years ago, picked up a sealed in-box Surface Pro 4 for pretty cheap, but the WiFi card died after a few weeks. It still works if you use a USB WiFi adapter but it's a huge bummer nonetheless. It sucks because a lot of the surface devices are some of the worst ever for repairability.
I recently got two dell venue 11 pros with i5 and 8gb of ram for 100€ total including keyboards and a dock. They sell pretty cheap and still work great for office and internet browsing. I kind of wish i went with a lenovo thinkpad helix as they were sold with a 17w i7 instead of the venues 6w i5 which holds it back in older games.
@@WitchRegen Oh ya. I didnt bother trying to do a real repair even though I work a lot on computer hardware. I would never attempt to open this thing unless I was replacing the screen anyways (but at that point it's not really worth it cost wise)
This is such a blast from the past. I still have my original Surface RT with the type cover at my folks' place. I should crank it open again just for fun... I personally thought the Windows 8 interface was really good for touch interaction especially with the gestures, they just made sense, but the implementation with the classic desktop was clunky, not to mention the lack of apps and the hardware underpowered by the Tegra chip. But that little thing got me through some tough times at school with its Office suite. Good times.
so weird seeing windows 8.1 in this state. back in 2020 i bought a used surface 3 which i downgraded to windows 8.1 for better performance, and every single app including the store worked fine without issue. kinda sad in a way, but inevitable
I worked for a "Microsoft Shop" (as they called it) type job some years ago, and was gifted a Surface RT as a "holiday gift." The company itself wasn't directly affiliated with Microsoft, just in some kind of contracts or whatever with them. Anyway, not important, point is, got an RT for free. And it was a fun toy. Eventually folks at XDA figured out how to "jailbreak" it (in a temporary sense) and run specially compiled ARM-based executables on there. I remember running PuTTY and a few other things. Honestly, I'd have to say, the stupidest part was Microsoft locking it down to their Store. Even if it required apps to be compiled for ARM, it would've been ""fine"" to leave it open, so it could be a fair contender in the Windows ecosystem. I know what they WANTED from it, but it was incredibly shortsighted and overly optimistic, to say the least. I remember the device being pleasant to use in terms of performance and whatnot for as long as I had it. I eventually gave it to my dad who wound up using it as a glorified alarm clock until the power cable was damaged, dunno what happened after that.
Yep. That 30% cut was just to tempting. Took them alnost a decade to learn, luckily we now have a 0% cut app store and WinRT works without Microsoft signing.
My personal assumption (as you've stated in the video) with the Windows Store not working on Windows 8.1 is that Microsoft probably shut it down after June 30, 2023 (the day that MS stopped accepting new updates for Windows Store apps on Windows 8.1, probably for security reasons). For me, the Windows Store will either open and display a message saying it couldn't connect, or gets stuck on an infinite loading screen. Outside of apps from the Windows Store, the preloaded MSN apps (i.e. the Weather, News, Finance, and other related apps) were quietly shut down sometime back in early 2020 (which I can confirm myself, along with other Windows 8.1 users at the time), which is why some of the apps don't load anything or don't work properly. The News app seems to partially work (as you've showed in the video), but it never loads the main page and is functionally broken.
fun fact about the RT, it is the only device to get the lucrative update 3 for windows 8.1 The update that adds in a start menu on the only device that didn't need it, us 4 remaining 8.1 users didn't deserve it I guess lol
Would love to see a part 2 where you try and load it to the Win10 IOT for ARM. I did it on an RT2, it required finding a second arm powered device, installing Windows to the first reboot after the percentage screen. Then imaging that drive to an external, then copying that image to the Surface storage using a USB Bootable Linux Distro (Since Hirens/other clone tools won't USB Boot from ARM) A lot of that isn't documented! I hope it helps if you end up getting stuck trying it!
I had one of these and actually loved it. Though, to get around the app limitations, I used Remote Desktop and a VPN to remote into my desktop PC. I think if you knew the limitations of this device and knew what you were expecting it was a cool device and design for the time
You should definitely install Linux on it! I bought an old Surface Go 2 exactly for that purpose. It worked pretty well for taking notes in class and watching TH-cam in bed, or just as a little extremely portable laptop. Unfortunately mine bricked itself after only a year. Not sure why, but it seems the hard drive went bad as I can't detect it at all when booting from a live USB.
My dad got one of these when they first come out for free as part of doing his diploma in management and it was selling back then here in Australia for like $1k so an absolute bargain for the both of you guys
I've got one of these. It has one really great use: it has a copy of Remote Desktop built in. If you use it to remote into a Windows desktop, it gives a pretty good experience.
Imagine removing original functionality and selling a device for $499 only to introduce a new variant that brings back original functionality for $899. It kinda reminds me when cola changed their ingredients only to sell a more expensive "cola original" variation.
windows 8 store died for me around 2020-21 along with the first version of windows 10, it was mentioned in all the apps (weather,news...etc) like a popup instead of this infinite load we see now and only had a close option to click. i was there using windows 8.1 with all the updates when it happened out of the blue and i had it on dual boot on my main PC. it was more snappy and gave me more fps in games compared to 10 build 1903 something but shortly after, i saw the steam banner say "windows 8.1 is not supported" along with chrome but 2-3 weeks later i got modern updates for both of them and proceeded to work fine but the store app never worked after that. never checked after that cuz i upgraded my pc. it was a 3rd gen i5 system with a 1050ti iirc.
Had one of these Surface RT's to try and fix from a relative, as they didn't know that it was ARM and was trying to install some modern applications. Managed to flash on a Windows 10 ARM build that I got from a tutorial on TH-cam, surprisingly quite a lot around. It did work and apps that supported ARM on Win 10 but not Win 8 worked. It wasn't great due to the degraded battery inside so we've just left it be. Was actually pretty fun to use and experiment with! Loved how it felt tbh, kinda sad it was ARM only on these cheaper RT models.
As a Polish person, I can confirm the official closure of the store in Windows 8.1. story: it was a January day around 2 . and I decided to check my old computer to see what was going on with it. I had some fun until I decided to go to the Windows store, which turned out to be a message about the store closing on January 12, 2023. that's it
Man, this was quite the nostalgia trip. I remember one of my friends had the Surface RT, and we would watch some TH-cam videos during our downtime at school. It looked really cool to have back then
Its crazy how much difference those few hundred dollars can make all these years later. I have dell venue 11 pro, which came out at a similar time but was x86 based. I currently dualboot windows 10 and nobara linux on it and even after 9 years it still works pretty good thanks to 8gb of ram and being able to run an up to date os. I think the venue is a little hidden gem, it has a full dell uefi bios and unlocked bootloader so as long as there are lightweight linux distros you can keep using it forever. It has a normal m.2 ssd instead of emmc drive like most tablets at the time, wifi and broacband cards also slot into mini pcie slots and its super serviceable. I did a cpu repaste on mine and i was surprised how easy it is to dissasemble and get to the cpu. Its a full on computer packed into a 10 inch tablet chassis. Its honestly such a shame this form factor didnt catch on, most modern windows tablets are 11.6 inch and its still hard to find one that has reasonable specs.
I had the venue 8 pro. It eventually broke. Had a ton of issues regarding WiFi drivers, forgetting it was a tablet, and the pen Dell sold was absolutely dog shit with phantom clicks and being horribly inaccurate/ drifty.
@@Centigradius thats a shame. I ordered one of those pens like month ago from china, but im not expecting much from it. Most reviewers only draw 3 lines with it and call it good.
I actually use one of those old Surfaces Pro on a day-to-day basis. I use it to run the home assistant ui as a kiosk on my kitchen counter. Perfect to turn lights on or off and display the regular home assistant things
Windows store hasn't been working for a while. I had a surface 2, was a great machine until 2016-17 then apps started being dropped or stopped working and I sold it before it was too late... Got a surface pro 2 with keyboard recently for $150 (on WIndows 11) and this thing still flies, it's basically as fast as my Surface go 2 with i3. Mainly got for the Wacom support, works with the Samsung s-pen. Surface 2 was a great device (Surface RT not so much), but Windows RT has been abandoned and it's now little more than a brick...
Man, it's just such a Microsoft move to silently shut down the servers for a depreciated device and just assume people will figure out that their device is useless, sooner or later.
I really didn't like windows 8 on desktops, but I still have Surface Pro 2 and I really wish MS would've kept the Metro UI, but they absolute should've made division path right there. Compatibility for normal Windows desktop UI and Metro UI, but just allow user to switch between them and default to Metro with device that accelerometer, meaning tablets. W 8.1 is actually still better usage point of view than W11.
While I was at MS they gave these out to us for personal use, I suppose as a way to kickstart adoption (just a guess). Sad to say there was not much love for them even within MS's ranks, at least in my corner (dev tools and UI libraries - we made a version of the tile view like the start menu, but it was a different codebase from the shell). It was an interesting time. We developed a lot of the UI on clunky desktop touch-enabled monitors (tennis elbow was a thing), it was a real joy to see everything working smoothly on the first Surface tablets. There was a lot of security around the app signing keys for RT. Our team did not get access to run dev builds on these tablets! But, erm, apparently there were ways to get third-party programs to run in desktop mode (like PuTTY) using an exploit with the volume controls. I'm super glad to see a Linux effort around these, nice hardware (metal case!) shouldn't languish for want of software.
What timing! I recently just found my old Surface 3 and was wondering how well Linux would run, I'm lucky - it was the first x86 of the regular surface line!
I have a Surface 3 too, but I hear that Linux isn't a good time. Which is a shame, because I have windows 11 on mine and it's running max resources like all the time .
While it can’t do much on Windows now, you could probably install a nice Linux Distro and keep getting updates + use otherwise unsupported softwares, or even just keep it for Remote Desktop into other computers.
Well, Firefox has an ARM Window$ version that you can download, but WinRT actually blocks EXEs from running if they're not part of Window$, just like Win10 S Mode.
I think windows 10 tablet mode realizes what windows 8 was going for. It automatically fullscreens apps, makes tough areas bigger for desktop apps, it has decent gestures, etc. Windows 8 and 8.1 just feel unfinished since they had the 2 different interfaces and didnt really make anyone happy.
This thing is even more useless than I could have imagined..... Even a navigator on windows ce would probably have more utility since you can install third party apps without using the store...
It always astonishes me how you can pick up somewhat functional computers for prices these low, laptop manufacturers selling unusable e-waste for 300$ really have no excuse.
@@martinbernath and probably a terrible dual-core processor. what is in a Xiaomi smartphone for the same price is much more productive than a 2-core x86 garbage....
I liked those Windows tablets but i was a teenager at the time and i didn't have the money to get one. They were not that powerful but they could still run Windows apps and it looked more useful to me than Android and iOS tablets. Now the only tablet computers available are just the ones that fold up and end up being way heavier than just a regular tablet
Same here, I was a teenager when they were launched and on the hype, and I didn't had money to buy it. Now today we don't have the Metro UI or something like Surface RT or Surface 2
Ngl it's been quite a while since the last time you made a video that caught my attention, but this one was certainly it. It's sad to see how dead the original Surface actually is. If only it had an up to date browser, or at least an access to the Store
I remember the Microsoft Surface, i was upset that i can't play my Favorite PC Games Like Bejeweled Deluxe on it due to limitations on Software and Apps. Brings Back Alot of Memories.
I remember seeing a tech demo when I was like 8 or 9 where the Surface RT was running minecraft java at like 20fps. My jaw was on the floor, I thought it was the future of gaming and begged my parents for one for Christmas. They got me a Wii U and somehow they still won out 🤣
The problem is Microsoft decided to make one OS for both desktop and portable. However, the Windows 8/8.1 metro inference didn't work on desktop PCs where people still use a keyboard & mouse.
My first laptop was a surface. I'm a guy with a learning disability that gets easier with a computer, so it was literally my saving grace in my last few years in high school. Until it got stolen during a fire drill. (If you're the kid who stole my surface reading this, I'm still bitter about it and I want it back!)
Such a shame to see how abandoned Surfaces and Metro and Windows Phones all become so soon when ARM is actually usable these days. Seems like new Microsoft just kinda forgot
i remember having this one back in my younger days, the internet explorer was so slow back then, but i use this one to watch tons of movies and series with my sd card back then and it was actually good, too bad mines dead now and its currently sitting inside my closet
I've still got my surface RT that i bought in 2013, is currently attached to the wall, and I'm using it as a nixie digital clock, i managed to get some click apps before the store closed. I'm amazed the battery still works well, and the screen is not scratched and it looks brand new. Weirdly netflix still works on it and a random selection of apps. All credit to Microsoft for building a solid machine!
I had one of these long time ago. The Tegra 3 chipset was *_AWFUL_* and could barely run itself let alone a game or two, and the magnetic charger always shattered into bits after a few months of use. Went to get it replaced on the last day of warranty after the screen started to bleed and glitch out, and as luck would have it, they were out of Surface RTs and in order to honor the warranty, the tablet was replaced with the Surface 2, free of charge. It was a much needed upgrade, it was an order of magnitude more responsive, stable, and had a clearer camera (The charger was still paper mâché though). I used it all the way up until 2019, as by that point I was finally able to afford a flagship smartphone and no longer had a need for a separate tablet. Also fun note: If you were a student at the time (which I was), Microsoft offered a hefty discount on the RT tablets, though the exact % that they discounted has since been lost from my memory.
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$10 is an absolute steal when you consider most Digital Photo Frames sell for similar prices at thrift stores but with
What's digital photo frames? Is it like a screen that displays images?
@@jishan6992pretty much
@@jishan6992yes. That's what they are.
@@jishan6992yes, you load the digital photo frame with photos of you and your loved ones via an SD card; this is used to enhance the comfort of your living spaces, or for festive reasons.
@@jishan6992it used to be a thing back in 2011 or something, haven't seen those in a while
Run 10 Minecraft 1.2 - 1.4 mods at once on it.
Run Doom on it.
Yeah
Changed the comment here
That's the most 2012 thing to do for the most 2012 computer on the channel
@@Windows2000K You Cant run Doom On a Windows RT Tablet
Windows Phone 8.1 had the most consistent and smoothly animated UI I've ever used
i love the old surface it genuinely felt so good
I’ve been pretty busy lately, but your videos are amazing and I’m so glad to be back
I remember having one years ago. It was kinda useless device, but Food and Drink app was so great I actually started to cook something
ahh, windows 8. finally the non-anachronistic and bizarre parts of my childhood are "retro." I remember the "upgrade" from windows 7. Never did get to use it in it's intended mobile operating mode though. honestly with a touch screen it would be pretty usable, more so that 7 at least.
The Best Buy I used to work at was using one of these to run Windows/Xbox ad loops in a cursed corner of the store for like, seven years. It was still showing Windows 8 ads like four years after the release of 10 before it was finally retired. I almost regret not buying that demo unit... almost.
I used to remote Windows 8 on my iPad, it feels great imo.
I love that old windows store logo just has more life to it than windows 10 or 11 imo
I know that some people will hate me for this, but I think Windows 8 wasn't that bad. It easily places in my top 3 most favorite Windows OSes. It's a comfort zone for me. Back when I used Windows 10, I used the Start screen (an option that Micro$oft removed in Windows 11) instead of the Start menu. But because Micro$oft is greedy and doesn't listen to their consumers, the Start screen is GONE
I actually agree, and even if windows 8 was meant more for tablets, I found it not hard to use on pc too even on vm. I also think 8 made the metro ui look somewhat pleasing with the vibrant colors on the start screen and the patterns in the background as you customize it, while being simple/not too distracting. 8 just took some getting used to and I learned to navigate through apps pretty quickly. I use mostly programs on the desktop but when I need to open an app on full screen it doesn’t bother me as much. it’s an unique experience, i still have the vm to hop on sometimes loll
i've actually used windows 8 on my old pc just fine, what was annoying was the fact that one start button press and there goes the game
RT had a full featured x86 emulator, it worked quite well, late in development microsoft decided to disable it for most users because it could tank battery life and they would rather ship a crappy product than get bad publicity about battery life. There is a way to jailbreak it and run x86 and it works quite well.
It feels like they broke compatibility with the old Edge/Internet Explorer engine that was the access method for the web for everything on this machine, including the Store. So they made the Store incompatible with Win8 devices instead of actually announcing a proper shutdown of the store but the effect is the same lol.
I have a tablet with windows 10 (not sure if it's RT) and still very usable. Unfortunately I can't update the system above 17xx, but i'm fine with. Chuwi, Hi8 Pro model.
If it has Windows 10 on it and it's usable then it's not RT. The reason you _can_ run Windows 10 on RT devices is because a test build was leaked to the public, but it's not great for everyday use.
I recently got a Surface Pro 3 that was owned by Lufthansa and they had a crash in 2015 so thats likely where its from
anyone else see the numbs up/down have a little animation when he said "give it a thumbs up"
They had to keep the desktop for all the base windows apps like the explorer, tray, classic apps, cmd, and other random apps in the system32
My dad had this some 10 years ago. Time flies. 😔
You could load windows 11 arm on to it. Maybe a lot more functionality in that.
I'd love to see a vid about jailbreaking it and running Linux.
Just watched the end of the vid; excite! Wonder if I still have mine in the tech-graveyard box.
I want you to jailbreak it, if it is possible. And Windows 10 and Linux I'd like to see too.
if i recall didn't windows rt also get the start menu that was meant to be included in a win8.1 update but eventually kept for windows 10?
I had it when Microsoft released it. I bought it very cheap. But now I have Surface Pro X SQ2. And I like it. Sure this is uncomparable with Surface RT.
i remember when iwas 14 i was in a market for a tablet. i was VERY close to getting a surface rt. but i ended up gettting a galaxy note 8in tablet instead. might of been the better choice in the end
Would you please share a video where you install Debian 12 on it?
100% the problem with Windows 8 was pushing it on desktop/laptop users
It was a great piece of software with very bad software. I threw mine for recycling after 2 years of use and failing to install other OS.
As a time capsule this thing is amazing to see how far we've come in 10 years. It's unfortunately also a reminder that Windows 8 was kinda terrible and that support has been completely yanked.
You pretty much are stuck with a paperweight that doesn't have access to the store which means any of the apps including maybe a browser that's not a completely discontinued and worthless.
fun fact theres ways to get windows 10 arm on here and run x86 apps.
Yes, Microsoft did indeed shut down the store. But still 10$ is a great price for the surface RT
its pretty cheap too
I guess but it is also pretty useless to most people
yea and no one uses them anymore@@Schaelpy
@@Schaelpy Depends.
Plug a USB stick with movies & boom, portable media player.
Office 2013 is a still great suite for home users.
Before the store got completely shut down it was in a weird state where you could view all of the available apps but it wouldn't let you download anything.
Nope, I have downloaded a few apps like FlipBoard and MetroTube back when it was about to shut down.
Ah yes, I remember a similar incident where on a computer my grandmother (of many grandmothers of my family tree) have or had, not only the Store had stopped working sometimes, but then the other times where it did load properly. I was on the computer, mind you.
I remember when the store stopped working a few months ago, then a few weeks ago it went back up, but in its archived state
It's because all the available download links are moved permanently to the newer Windows 10/11 store since several months before the end of support announcement, and some users didn't notice it
@BetaJJ009x how many grandma's do you have, that you have the urge to point that out?
Fun fact, Qualcomm still has some developer documentation available for the Surface RT if you sign up with a developer account and poke around. One of the documents shows they had a game running on it. The Surface RT is also the reason that modern Windows on ARM devices have a "Program Files (Arm)" folder for backward compatibility since the Surface RT was 32-bit ARM.
32 bits? the hell Lol
Interesting that Qualcomm took a Nvidia Tegra device for their Developer documentation.
@@sol_xzThe surface RT was released before the first arm64 CPU was released
@@sol_xz64-bit ARM devices wasn’t a thing back then(and I don’t even know if it existed at all at that time)
do you happen to have the direct link to these docs?
Ugh I love this tablet. I saved up all that money and bought it my junior year of hs. It made everything extremely convinuent. All my school work and everything I needed to do. I loved it. Specially the specific reading mode. When you read articles it made it look like a simple text like a Kindle.
Same here, except it was my sophomore year of HS!
You should definitely consider booting a Linux distro on this! That would be a really fun video to see.
It has been done by a few groups
@@Watch_it_all_burnstill would make for a good mjd train wreck video where everything goes wrong
technically you can only use Raspbian and replace the LXDE interface with something better. cuz the Tegra Linux R16 (which is the only thing that is compatible w surface RT, not the RT2) is too old now
@@FubarMike exactly why i wanted to see a Linux install💀
@@trhphgth i think something like mx Linux or puppy Linux should work quite well with this
I'd be interested in seeing Linux on the RT. I've got Win10 on a Surface RT, but the experience isn't much better. It's a leaked Chinese arm32 build, not arm64 like Surface X devices. The biggest issue is lack of modern web browser.
I had a surface pro that I put Linux on, it was a much smoother experience then Windows, but due to it being a Microsoft thing, the drivers aren't great, so it's usable, but sleep doesn't work properly and stuff like that. I had to stop using it because those old surface chargers are actual ewaste. They break so easily. But idk how it would be on thr ARM based RT.
I would be interested in seeing Linux on the Surface RT as well
@@dronenbit exits just no gpu acceleration yet
The RT only has arm32 processor, so build 15035 is the best it can get. It would be interesting to run Linux on it, though I doubt arm32 Linux can be more useful.
I wonder how it compares to the most recent ARM surface with the Surface Pro 9 with the SQ 3
At $10 dollars, this thing can still play video with the edge browser. It's definitely worth $10 as I recall these early surface tablets having a very good screen for media consumption
barely - I have one and it's stupidly slow to load any videos
I think you mean Internet Explorer!
The surface rt dont have edge browser, only IE and is useless this days.
@@Guishe96 it does have edge if you install windows 10 on it
@@TheAceLittleMASEwindows 10 is 1507 beta. I used on my school surface. Edge is the original one. Slower as uses edge html not chromium. Ie works better but no video playback!
Damn, good job making me feel old. I remember being super excited on Christmas, because I got an Asus Windows 8 tablet. Luckily my dad did his research and stayed clear of an ARM-based device. Being 19, "retro" tech usually is stuff from before my time, but not here - I still vividly remember all those apps working.
The worst part is that this could have been a pretty OK tablet had Microsoft not locked down the bootloader; that would enable you to install Linux on it which has a robust ecosystem of ARM apps or even Android. There _are_ exploits that allow running Linux, but it's not great.
Even then, the x86 Windows tablets weren't the best either. Some of them had weird EFI issues that made Linux harder to run on them. I think I managed to get one I picked up running with Archlinux, but then it died a year or so later.
@@antikommunistischaktion My problem getting Linux on it was that neither the touchscreen nor a USB keyboard worked after booting the installer, making installation a little difficult
@@simonro9168 That is a common issue with tablet devices, I just plugged in a USB keyboard then once installed everything worked. Linux typically loads less drivers in the live environment vs the full install. I've had so many examples of things not working in the installer, but when installed they'd work without a problem.
I’m 19 this year - always feels odd when people say stuff like this is “old” because I still remember them launching, I remember my old iPad 3 being on iOS 5/6 and having the old UI and the surface CNET durability test when he spilt wine on it and it stopped working
@@Plainapple287 wait til you're in your 40's :D
I bought one at a garage sale, and then immediately bricked it trying to install the ARM 7 version of Windows 10.
Assuming that you shoved the Win image on a USB drive? How far did you even get in booting from USB (or the SD card?)?
you have to restore from force copy disk
You can't brick it 😅
@@hypedunks3334
It refused to boot at all so I just threw it out. No UEFI or anything to recover from as the forum posts I read stated.
RT was also the first time MS tried enforcing digital signature for applications. It wouldn’t have been a huge problem if MS store was comparable to other mobile platform’s offerings, but we all know how it went 😅
They also made the same mistake with Windows 10 S Mode. Again, only allowing MS store applications.
They are still doing S mode in Windows 11, but Microsoft is now seemingly limited those version to school/institution license only to make sure that the market target is right and avoid any confusion to ordinary consumer
You can easily turn off S mode. I agree, not sure why they even have an S mode. But, it is easily turned off and you get the normal windows.
this device would make much more sense in 2023 than it did in 2013 with more webapps in use everywhere, x86 emulation in place and more workplaces using tools like Citrix and windows 365
x86 emulation is EXTREMELY slow. Apple can do it cause they have certain x86 functions on the cpu that dont have to be emulated
The first RT use the Tegra 3 though - so x86 emulation is really out of the question.
@@dabombinablemi6188so why not update it? Maybe a modernized Surface RT?
Too bad that the IE you're stuck with probably doesn't support most features that modern web apps require.
x86 emulation is really fast on these if you just need IBM 5150 programs 😢
Something like a decade ago a friend gave me a surface RT because it was so bad at the time and I only used it to watch anime and play emulators on it, the full size usb port was really nice as it allowed me to plug in a wired Xbox 360 controller
I still think Windows 8 is one of the most underrated versions of Windows ever and it would have been much more accepted of they allowed the Metro-style apps to be in a window and backported the Start Menu from Windows RT 8.1 (the one that the early prerelease versions of Windows 10 had back in late 2014)...
I had an ASUS tablet with Windows 8 on it and it was really enjoyable to use in tablet mode.
If they kept the start menu, people are probably going to like it
@@Villager_U As I said, Windows RT did get the option to have the Start Screen replaced with a more traditional Start Menu. It was released as an update to Windows RT 8.1 in 2015.
There's an ARM32 version of Windows 10 that you can install on the Surface RT. I have it installed on my Surface 2. I was stupid and thought that I could try to install the ARM version of Windows 11 before I bought it because it has an "ARM PROCESSOR", but I was wrong and the processor was ARM32, not ARM64. I have a Surface Pro 2 now and I'm happy that I was able to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 11.
i have the Surface Go 3. its pretty decent. I like how today's Surfaces can run full windows! i also have an Ipad. its hard to chose which one i like better because i like them both for different reasons. Surface is close to a windows laptop but even more portable and can multitask better. where as the Ipad seems to be a lot faster and has a way better battery life.
Even after all those years I still find Windows 8/8.1 kind of beautiful 🙂
My favorite OS even if it is unpopular
honestly it really looks like a nice experience on a tablet (minus the fact that you're at the mercy of a corporation who can shut down most of your apps without notice). Microsoft's mistake was pushing it for PCs; metro UI and the tiled start menu is horrible on a PC
@@Agh0styIt was unpopular because they forced everyone to use the new interface clearly designed for touch screens to everyone. It was fine for the surface line of products that was designed to be more touch screen forward, but cumbersome for mousing around. Also, the sudden removal of the Start Menu (which has been there since Windows 95) made it difficult to learn for non techy people. Many people installed 3rd party apps to bring back a Start Menu.
Yea
Agreed
I picked one of these up a few months ago for a similar (but slightly higher) price. Bought it to frame on the wall for running a bespoke app for various home automation, still a work in progress so it's not yet on the wall. They run Raspberry Pi OS very well, gives it a new lease of life.
If your going to leave the power plug in all the time. Boot into the BIOS and turn on "kiosk mode" this will only let the device charge to 50%.
I had a Surface charge all the time with home assistant on it, the battery swelled and lifted the screen. Kiosk mode is designed to prolong the issue.
@ab9467 you might have to update the BIOS
Worth $10 to buy this Surface with Windows 8 RT. (Not what I ever wanted before Windows 10)
9:30 Microsoft actually announced this if you were one of the few people who got the Windows 8.1 EOS screen. In that screen they stated that making new purchases after January 10, 2023 on Windows Store was now impossible, and the last updates to be made on Windows apps needed to be released by the end of June 2023. Given that we are in the middle of October of 2023, it's safe to say that Microsoft was eluding for the silent shutdown of Windows Store.
Poor Surface, I hope you can do exciting stuff with it!
19 hr ago? Illuminati
How 19 hours?
Like installing a beta Version of windows 10
I'm a Patreon supporter, thus I get to see the video about 24 hours before everyone @robloxstuff123 @@devtio
One thing they did really well was the touch optimised web browser. It was very smooth and responsive to use and unfortunately they never carried that feel over in later versions as they moved away from emphasis on Metro.
This has a built-in kick stand, meanwhile Apple wants $1000 for a monitor stand.
That has nothing to do with that but ok
I've been hunting for a good deal on a old surface pro for taking to college. But I am kinda afraid of some issues old gen surface devices have with the screen.
I picked up a pro 3 version with all the accessories (pen, charger, keyboard, even the box) for under 100 bucks with a busted wireless chip in it. if you dont mind using a $5 wifi/bluetooth dongle, then its well worth it. I have it as my daily laptop for youtube, basic office stuff, web browsing, and even some light gaming.
@@RoaetherI did the same thing a few years ago, picked up a sealed in-box Surface Pro 4 for pretty cheap, but the WiFi card died after a few weeks. It still works if you use a USB WiFi adapter but it's a huge bummer nonetheless. It sucks because a lot of the surface devices are some of the worst ever for repairability.
I recently got two dell venue 11 pros with i5 and 8gb of ram for 100€ total including keyboards and a dock. They sell pretty cheap and still work great for office and internet browsing. I kind of wish i went with a lenovo thinkpad helix as they were sold with a 17w i7 instead of the venues 6w i5 which holds it back in older games.
@@WitchRegen Oh ya. I didnt bother trying to do a real repair even though I work a lot on computer hardware. I would never attempt to open this thing unless I was replacing the screen anyways (but at that point it's not really worth it cost wise)
@@martinbernathhave a 1st ge helix i5 running Lubuntu does ok with almost anything but internet browsing kinda chugged it a bit
This is such a blast from the past. I still have my original Surface RT with the type cover at my folks' place. I should crank it open again just for fun... I personally thought the Windows 8 interface was really good for touch interaction especially with the gestures, they just made sense, but the implementation with the classic desktop was clunky, not to mention the lack of apps and the hardware underpowered by the Tegra chip. But that little thing got me through some tough times at school with its Office suite. Good times.
so weird seeing windows 8.1 in this state. back in 2020 i bought a used surface 3 which i downgraded to windows 8.1 for better performance, and every single app including the store worked fine without issue. kinda sad in a way, but inevitable
I worked for a "Microsoft Shop" (as they called it) type job some years ago, and was gifted a Surface RT as a "holiday gift." The company itself wasn't directly affiliated with Microsoft, just in some kind of contracts or whatever with them. Anyway, not important, point is, got an RT for free. And it was a fun toy. Eventually folks at XDA figured out how to "jailbreak" it (in a temporary sense) and run specially compiled ARM-based executables on there. I remember running PuTTY and a few other things. Honestly, I'd have to say, the stupidest part was Microsoft locking it down to their Store. Even if it required apps to be compiled for ARM, it would've been ""fine"" to leave it open, so it could be a fair contender in the Windows ecosystem. I know what they WANTED from it, but it was incredibly shortsighted and overly optimistic, to say the least. I remember the device being pleasant to use in terms of performance and whatnot for as long as I had it. I eventually gave it to my dad who wound up using it as a glorified alarm clock until the power cable was damaged, dunno what happened after that.
Yep. That 30% cut was just to tempting. Took them alnost a decade to learn, luckily we now have a 0% cut app store and WinRT works without Microsoft signing.
My personal assumption (as you've stated in the video) with the Windows Store not working on Windows 8.1 is that Microsoft probably shut it down after June 30, 2023 (the day that MS stopped accepting new updates for Windows Store apps on Windows 8.1, probably for security reasons). For me, the Windows Store will either open and display a message saying it couldn't connect, or gets stuck on an infinite loading screen.
Outside of apps from the Windows Store, the preloaded MSN apps (i.e. the Weather, News, Finance, and other related apps) were quietly shut down sometime back in early 2020 (which I can confirm myself, along with other Windows 8.1 users at the time), which is why some of the apps don't load anything or don't work properly. The News app seems to partially work (as you've showed in the video), but it never loads the main page and is functionally broken.
fun fact about the RT, it is the only device to get the lucrative update 3 for windows 8.1
The update that adds in a start menu
on the only device that didn't need it, us 4 remaining 8.1 users didn't deserve it I guess lol
Would love to see a part 2 where you try and load it to the Win10 IOT for ARM.
I did it on an RT2, it required finding a second arm powered device, installing Windows to the first reboot after the percentage screen. Then imaging that drive to an external, then copying that image to the Surface storage using a USB Bootable Linux Distro (Since Hirens/other clone tools won't USB Boot from ARM)
A lot of that isn't documented! I hope it helps if you end up getting stuck trying it!
Not needed in a rt 1 you just need to use the usb media builder
i did the win 10 thing in my old RT. no need for a second arm device.
I would love to see Windows on ARM on a powerful high end Android or Chrome OS device
I had one of these and actually loved it. Though, to get around the app limitations, I used Remote Desktop and a VPN to remote into my desktop PC. I think if you knew the limitations of this device and knew what you were expecting it was a cool device and design for the time
Microsoft truly made some weird choices for products... ARM based and not having adequate support for it? Really?
I mean it was less bad than Win CE🤷♀️
You should definitely install Linux on it! I bought an old Surface Go 2 exactly for that purpose. It worked pretty well for taking notes in class and watching TH-cam in bed, or just as a little extremely portable laptop. Unfortunately mine bricked itself after only a year. Not sure why, but it seems the hard drive went bad as I can't detect it at all when booting from a live USB.
My dad got one of these when they first come out for free as part of doing his diploma in management and it was selling back then here in Australia for like $1k so an absolute bargain for the both of you guys
I've got one of these. It has one really great use: it has a copy of Remote Desktop built in. If you use it to remote into a Windows desktop, it gives a pretty good experience.
At the moment I see 3 usage scenarios,
Remote desktop, watching content, office...
@@SL4RK Which is already a lot for $10
Imagine removing original functionality and selling a device for $499 only to introduce a new variant that brings back original functionality for $899.
It kinda reminds me when cola changed their ingredients only to sell a more expensive "cola original" variation.
The start of a saga
Lol
Inflation results:
windows 8 store died for me around 2020-21 along with the first version of windows 10, it was mentioned in all the apps (weather,news...etc) like a popup instead of this infinite load we see now and only had a close option to click. i was there using windows 8.1 with all the updates when it happened out of the blue and i had it on dual boot on my main PC. it was more snappy and gave me more fps in games compared to 10 build 1903 something but shortly after, i saw the steam banner say "windows 8.1 is not supported" along with chrome but 2-3 weeks later i got modern updates for both of them and proceeded to work fine but the store app never worked after that. never checked after that cuz i upgraded my pc. it was a 3rd gen i5 system with a 1050ti iirc.
I'm amazed how broken 8.1 is now. They wasted no time.
Had one of these Surface RT's to try and fix from a relative, as they didn't know that it was ARM and was trying to install some modern applications. Managed to flash on a Windows 10 ARM build that I got from a tutorial on TH-cam, surprisingly quite a lot around. It did work and apps that supported ARM on Win 10 but not Win 8 worked. It wasn't great due to the degraded battery inside so we've just left it be. Was actually pretty fun to use and experiment with! Loved how it felt tbh, kinda sad it was ARM only on these cheaper RT models.
i did the same. stuck win 10 ARM on it..
As a Polish person, I can confirm the official closure of the store in Windows 8.1. story: it was a January day around 2 . and I decided to check my old computer to see what was going on with it. I had some fun until I decided to go to the Windows store, which turned out to be a message about the store closing on January 12, 2023. that's it
Man, this was quite the nostalgia trip. I remember one of my friends had the Surface RT, and we would watch some TH-cam videos during our downtime at school. It looked really cool to have back then
Its crazy how much difference those few hundred dollars can make all these years later. I have dell venue 11 pro, which came out at a similar time but was x86 based. I currently dualboot windows 10 and nobara linux on it and even after 9 years it still works pretty good thanks to 8gb of ram and being able to run an up to date os. I think the venue is a little hidden gem, it has a full dell uefi bios and unlocked bootloader so as long as there are lightweight linux distros you can keep using it forever. It has a normal m.2 ssd instead of emmc drive like most tablets at the time, wifi and broacband cards also slot into mini pcie slots and its super serviceable. I did a cpu repaste on mine and i was surprised how easy it is to dissasemble and get to the cpu. Its a full on computer packed into a 10 inch tablet chassis. Its honestly such a shame this form factor didnt catch on, most modern windows tablets are 11.6 inch and its still hard to find one that has reasonable specs.
I had the venue 8 pro. It eventually broke. Had a ton of issues regarding WiFi drivers, forgetting it was a tablet, and the pen Dell sold was absolutely dog shit with phantom clicks and being horribly inaccurate/ drifty.
m.2 ssd in 2014? advanced stuff
@@servissop151 and a 256gb one at that. Thats better storage than most laptops at the time
@@Centigradius thats a shame. I ordered one of those pens like month ago from china, but im not expecting much from it. Most reviewers only draw 3 lines with it and call it good.
@@martinbernath they revised them like 3 times by the time mine broke. Eventually mostly fixed iirc. Hopefully you get a late model one!
I actually use one of those old Surfaces Pro on a day-to-day basis.
I use it to run the home assistant ui as a kiosk on my kitchen counter.
Perfect to turn lights on or off and display the regular home assistant things
as someone who owned a Microsoft surface pro, RT and the. later on the 5, onto the 6........this is insane.
Windows store hasn't been working for a while. I had a surface 2, was a great machine until 2016-17 then apps started being dropped or stopped working and I sold it before it was too late... Got a surface pro 2 with keyboard recently for $150 (on WIndows 11) and this thing still flies, it's basically as fast as my Surface go 2 with i3. Mainly got for the Wacom support, works with the Samsung s-pen. Surface 2 was a great device (Surface RT not so much), but Windows RT has been abandoned and it's now little more than a brick...
Ooh, maybe a new saga's here, the 10$ Surface
apart from that, your videos makes my day, keep up the good work! 👍
I absolutely can't believe this! I just dug my Surface RT out of the closet to do a video on it too!
Man, it's just such a Microsoft move to silently shut down the servers for a depreciated device and just assume people will figure out that their device is useless, sooner or later.
I really didn't like windows 8 on desktops, but I still have Surface Pro 2 and I really wish MS would've kept the Metro UI, but they absolute should've made division path right there. Compatibility for normal Windows desktop UI and Metro UI, but just allow user to switch between them and default to Metro with device that accelerometer, meaning tablets. W 8.1 is actually still better usage point of view than W11.
The Surface line really became great, I have always loved their Surface Laptop Go.
While I was at MS they gave these out to us for personal use, I suppose as a way to kickstart adoption (just a guess). Sad to say there was not much love for them even within MS's ranks, at least in my corner (dev tools and UI libraries - we made a version of the tile view like the start menu, but it was a different codebase from the shell). It was an interesting time. We developed a lot of the UI on clunky desktop touch-enabled monitors (tennis elbow was a thing), it was a real joy to see everything working smoothly on the first Surface tablets. There was a lot of security around the app signing keys for RT. Our team did not get access to run dev builds on these tablets! But, erm, apparently there were ways to get third-party programs to run in desktop mode (like PuTTY) using an exploit with the volume controls. I'm super glad to see a Linux effort around these, nice hardware (metal case!) shouldn't languish for want of software.
imagine if ARMv7 NT didn't have forced UMCI. i heard it was only locked down in the first place to imitate Apple, lol.
What timing! I recently just found my old Surface 3 and was wondering how well Linux would run, I'm lucky - it was the first x86 of the regular surface line!
I have a Surface 3 too, but I hear that Linux isn't a good time. Which is a shame, because I have windows 11 on mine and it's running max resources like all the time .
While it can’t do much on Windows now, you could probably install a nice Linux Distro and keep getting updates + use otherwise unsupported softwares, or even just keep it for Remote Desktop into other computers.
Well, Firefox has an ARM Window$ version that you can download, but WinRT actually blocks EXEs from running if they're not part of Window$, just like Win10 S Mode.
It's ARM64 only, it will not work on an NVidia Tegra 3 chip
@@tricountyretail992
Isn't the SurfaceRT 64bit?
@@Lampe2020 No, all Windows RT devices are 32-bit only
Windows 8 was NOT bad on a touch screen, not at all. I used to have some rando 8" Asus tablet with Windows 8, and I loved it.
5:17 that animation is so cool!
I think windows 10 tablet mode realizes what windows 8 was going for. It automatically fullscreens apps, makes tough areas bigger for desktop apps, it has decent gestures, etc. Windows 8 and 8.1 just feel unfinished since they had the 2 different interfaces and didnt really make anyone happy.
4:39 Well, not only Win8 deserved the hate, everything that followed after wasn't more than marginally better.
This thing is even more useless than I could have imagined.....
Even a navigator on windows ce would probably have more utility since you can install third party apps without using the store...
It always astonishes me how you can pick up somewhat functional computers for prices these low, laptop manufacturers selling unusable e-waste for 300$ really have no excuse.
Yeah, most of the crap tier notebooks still only have 4gb of ram for some reason
@@martinbernath and probably a terrible dual-core processor.
what is in a Xiaomi smartphone for the same price is much more productive than a 2-core x86 garbage....
The very existence of such devices is a crime against the ecology and nervous system.....
I liked those Windows tablets but i was a teenager at the time and i didn't have the money to get one. They were not that powerful but they could still run Windows apps and it looked more useful to me than Android and iOS tablets. Now the only tablet computers available are just the ones that fold up and end up being way heavier than just a regular tablet
Same here, I was a teenager when they were launched and on the hype, and I didn't had money to buy it. Now today we don't have the Metro UI or something like Surface RT or Surface 2
Ngl it's been quite a while since the last time you made a video that caught my attention, but this one was certainly it. It's sad to see how dead the original Surface actually is. If only it had an up to date browser, or at least an access to the Store
I remember the Microsoft Surface, i was upset that i can't play my Favorite PC Games Like Bejeweled Deluxe on it due to limitations on Software and Apps. Brings Back Alot of Memories.
I remember seeing a tech demo when I was like 8 or 9 where the Surface RT was running minecraft java at like 20fps. My jaw was on the floor, I thought it was the future of gaming and begged my parents for one for Christmas. They got me a Wii U and somehow they still won out 🤣
The problem is Microsoft decided to make one OS for both desktop and portable. However, the Windows 8/8.1 metro inference didn't work on desktop PCs where people still use a keyboard & mouse.
You would think MS already learned their lesson trying to bridge two technologies with WindowsME.
My first laptop was a surface. I'm a guy with a learning disability that gets easier with a computer, so it was literally my saving grace in my last few years in high school. Until it got stolen during a fire drill. (If you're the kid who stole my surface reading this, I'm still bitter about it and I want it back!)
Ok I'll give it back
Such a shame to see how abandoned Surfaces and Metro and Windows Phones all become so soon when ARM is actually usable these days. Seems like new Microsoft just kinda forgot
Apparently, although I have no confirmation, they are solutions that allow running x86 programs and whatnot in Windows RT
i remember having this one back in my younger days, the internet explorer was so slow back then, but i use this one to watch tons of movies and series with my sd card back then and it was actually good, too bad mines dead now and its currently sitting inside my closet
I've still got my surface RT that i bought in 2013, is currently attached to the wall, and I'm using it as a nixie digital clock, i managed to get some click apps before the store closed. I'm amazed the battery still works well, and the screen is not scratched and it looks brand new. Weirdly netflix still works on it and a random selection of apps. All credit to Microsoft for building a solid machine!
I had one of these long time ago. The Tegra 3 chipset was *_AWFUL_* and could barely run itself let alone a game or two, and the magnetic charger always shattered into bits after a few months of use. Went to get it replaced on the last day of warranty after the screen started to bleed and glitch out, and as luck would have it, they were out of Surface RTs and in order to honor the warranty, the tablet was replaced with the Surface 2, free of charge. It was a much needed upgrade, it was an order of magnitude more responsive, stable, and had a clearer camera (The charger was still paper mâché though). I used it all the way up until 2019, as by that point I was finally able to afford a flagship smartphone and no longer had a need for a separate tablet.
Also fun note: If you were a student at the time (which I was), Microsoft offered a hefty discount on the RT tablets, though the exact % that they discounted has since been lost from my memory.