All Delta Pilots Will All Be Using A Surface 2

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It looks like Delta is ditching the iPad in favor of the Surface 2 for all of its pilots over the next two years.

In an unexpected turn, Delta has informed employees that it will be issuing a Surface 2 running Windows 8.1 RT to every pilot over the next two years. The airline ran an Electronic Flight Bag pilot program with iPads back in 2011, but for reasons unknown, that popular slate has since been scrapped.
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Payola much? MS has resorted to cutting a huge break on Delta's ELA (Enterprise License Agreement) renewal for all the other MS software they use on the condition they pretend to be embracing Microsoft's tablet crap, kinda like Surface showing up on weak network TV shows like under the dome.

The narrative theyd like people to believe is Delta's IT just could not wait to get its hands on the latest bleeding edge MS tablet at all costs because its just so compelling. Sorry but IT for airlines are normally pretty conservative.

On the bright side there are no apps on RT so less distractions for the pilot.
 
Probably easier to implement with their enterprise when it comes to locking down and managing devices. If they already use something for their workstations it'll easily pick up a Windows 8 device, even RT, over having a whole other solution to just manage the iPads.
 
canon.tk said:
Probably easier to implement with their enterprise when it comes to locking down and managing devices. If they already use something for their workstations it'll easily pick up a Windows 8 device, even RT, over having a whole other solution to just manage the iPads.
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I'm thinking to give the device a layer, locking out the UI and forcing map functions only.
 
canon.tk said:
Probably easier to implement with their enterprise when it comes to locking down and managing devices. If they already use something for their workstations it'll easily pick up a Windows 8 device, even RT, over having a whole other solution to just manage the iPads.
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This is the most logical reason. We are doing the same thing right now in our company. We have been rolling out to our Executives and outside reps the Asus VivoTab RT w/LTE and by next year will move to the Surface 2 w/LTE when they are released.

Our Reasons where the iPads are nice for home use but in a corporate environment, they are a nightmare. MDM licensing is expensive as well as a pain in the ass to use but the biggest reason is It would have cost our company almost $50K to develop the required front-end to access our new ERP solution which would have only given us limited use. The Surface can access it fully right out of the box with no crazy configuration.

I can see this to start to be a trend in many Companies which most corporate IT guys will be very happy about.

Also to DPI, the Windows RT store has filled out quite well now. It really is only missing a few things but on the flip side it has somethings that Apple and Android don't. In few more months I believe it will be on par with Apple and Android for quality, core apps.
 
SGTGimpy said:
This is the most logical reason. We are doing the same thing right now in our company. We have been rolling out to our Executives and outside reps the Asus VivoTab RT w/LTE and by next year will move to the Surface 2 w/LTE when they are released.

Our Reasons where the iPads are nice for home use but in a corporate environment, they are a nightmare. MDM licensing is expensive as well as a pain in the ass to use but the biggest reason is It would have cost our company almost $50K to develop the required front-end to access our new ERP solution which would have only given us limited use. The Surface can access it fully right out of the box with no crazy configuration.

I can see this to start to be a trend in many Companies which most corporate IT guys will be very happy about.

Also to DPI, the Windows RT store has filled out quite well now. It really is only missing a few things but on the flip side it has somethings that Apple and Android don't. In few more months I believe it will be on par with Apple and Android for quality, core apps.
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thats a dilemma we are facing too, custom web apps that wont run on IOS/Safari and 3rd party products that put out a buggy ass IOS app vs just running windows/android(chrome) devices
 
maademperor said:
thats a dilemma we are facing too, custom web apps that wont run on IOS/Safari and 3rd party products that put out a buggy ass IOS app vs just running windows/android(chrome) devices
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Ditto here. My workplace has free-wifi that you can log onto using a laptop, tablet, phone for work purposes -- but doesn't work with iOS/Safari...because of a small script that must be accepted about acceptable workplace usage policy, NDA, etc.

Thus iPads of any variety as a useless pos at my workplace as a tablet without internet vs tablets with internet is clear winner for the tablet that CAN access the internet. I was under the impression that a Windows 8.1 tablet could run pretty much any x86/x64 based software designed for a standard-pc? Is this view incorrect? Wasn't that the whole point of Win 8 on tablet/pc/shared metro UI, blah blah?
 
For us regular peeps though, stick with an iPad. We fly with ours a lot and the library of apps and compatible peripherals is far superior.

The long battery life, bright screen, and ulta-thin design makes it a great accessory on older aircraft.
 
BladeVenom said:
Less apps to distract their pilots.
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And as sarcastic as this is it very well may be the truth. Don't know about you but I would prefer the pilots of a plan I was on more concerned about his job than some app to get him laid at his landing. But that's just me.
 
SGTGimpy said:
This is the most logical reason.
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Yep. Apple sucks ass at enterprise management. They have no real tools, and they change their mind on how to do things all the time. You can find 3rd party stuff, JAMF is good, but expensive. MS on the other hand, they get enterprise very well. Their tools are top notch. I still haven't found a user/computer management and authentication the equal of Active Directory.

How you manage your devices is a big deal in a large enterprise on account of users will do dumb shit if they can sometimes. So I can see that making Surfaces interesting to businesses, instead of iPads. Remember they aren't interested in what has the most apps, rather they are interested in locking the thing down to run only the apps they specifically want.
 
WBurchnall said:
I was under the impression that a Windows 8.1 tablet could run pretty much any x86/x64 based software designed for a standard-pc?
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There are two builds of Windows 8.1, one for ARM and one* for x86/x64.

The software you can run depends on what processor is in the tablet. The Surface RT and Surface 2 use an ARM processor while the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 use an i5 x64 chip (the Pro is basically a MacBook Air with a 1080p pressure sensitive Wacom screen in terms of power).

Both versions can run Metro apps but the ARM tablets obviously can't run existing x86 software out of the box. Microsoft is trying to get developers using Metro since this ensures compatiblity between processors, tablet friendly controls and makes porting to Windows Phone easy as well so by default Metro is the only way to go on ARM.

However the RT build is still a full build of Windows and the desktop is in there. A relatively simple jailbreak lets you sideload applications, not just Metro apps but .NET applications as well as long as they don't pInvoke anything x86 specific. DOSBox is also ported to ARM and works on the ARM build of Windows. Microsoft has recompiled a number of their main applications for ARM, which is why IE works the same on ARM and x86 versions of Windows 8.

Other manufacturers are coming out with Windows 8 tablets with Atom chips - these provide a middle ground by providing the same x86 compatiblity as the Surface Pro but with battery life, price and weight closer to the RT.

* Well technically at least two (32bit vs 64bit) and more if you count all the editions.
 
Management - Ipad you cant do crap, you cant lock down crap, you cant use policies..

Think I.T .......Group Policies, control... safety, security,, be happy...

Apple still has no clue how to integrate with the corprate world.
 
As a former RT owner and frequent flyer, I just hope the pilots don't crash nearly as often as the apps do on the Surface. About the only thing that would work reliably was netflix, but even that was with screen distortions. I'm not flying Delta if I can help it.
 
DPI said:
Payola much? MS has resorted to cutting a huge break on Delta's ELA (Enterprise License Agreement) renewal for all the other MS software they use on the condition they pretend to be embracing Microsoft's tablet crap, kinda like Surface showing up on weak network TV shows like under the dome.

The narrative theyd like people to believe is Delta's IT just could not wait to get its hands on the latest bleeding edge MS tablet at all costs because its just so compelling. Sorry but IT for airlines are normally pretty conservative.

On the bright side there are no apps on RT so less distractions for the pilot.
Click to expand...

Yea, sure...I guess Apple didn't want the business or the publicity enough to pay for it...:rolleyes:
 
maybe I.T said hey look! an OS we can actually control and lock down and use group policies on VS Ipad we literally have 0 control over...
 
iPads can be centrally managed through one or more of the following: configuration profiles, corporate app store, exchange activesync policies, and/or mobile device management.
 
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