LabVIEW on Surface

[dengvall]

I'm sorry I'll have to miss the August 27th meeting.  Can someone point me to a document that discusses LabVIEW running on a Microsoft Surface?  We are considering using Surfaces for our lab test equipment.

Thanks,

Dave

[TobyHex]

Dave,

This whitepaper should help answer some general questions. When you are ready to start evaluating options, let Kellis and I know and we will be happy to stop in and chat about options.

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/pub/p/id/1679

Nick

[GreaseMonkey]

Dave,

I can't comment on the Microsoft Surface but I can for the Samsung ATIV PC Pro 700T. I use this Slate every day and it runs LV (Full Development Suit) with no problems what so ever. If you are going to use something like this for testing, minor edits or a UI, you will appreciate the high resolution screen but for full time development you will want an external screen. If you have a VI that you would like to see on this system I can run it and take a picture. PM me and we can set it up.

What are you wanting to do with it?

My brother has a Surface, he feels that it is a little under powered. (he doesn't use LV)

Hope that helps.

[dengvall]

GreaseMonkey,

This is very helpful!  Are you running Windows 7 on the 700T?  Thank you very much for offering to testdrive an application for us.  I'll take you up on that when we get ready to switch hardware.

What we are planning to do with inexpensive "tablet-like" computers is leave one dedicated to each test setup we have in our lab.  Now we are using full size PC's.

Per NKannen's comments it doesn't sound like the Surface is ready for LV.

Thanks,

Dave

[dengvall]

NKannen,

Thank you for the feedback.  This is exactly what I needed to know.

I'll see you at the fall meeting.

Thanks,

Dave

[GreaseMonkey]

Dave,

It came with Windows 8 Home. I have since upgraded to Windows 8.1 Preview. When I got it I was ready to install Windows 7 on it but I have not had a needed to do that so far.

Before this Slate I used the Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-A02US. It had Windows 7 home on it and I ran everything (LabVIEW, Solidworks, full MS Office pro...). Solidworks did lag a bit when the assembles go larger but other then that I loved that slate. The new ATIV 700T is even more responsive and faster to boot (~8 sec from a cold boot to the desktop, if it is suspended it is about 2 sec)

Any "tablet-like" slate, if it is running the RT/embedded version of windows or based on the Atom processor line it will fall flat if not be impossible to install LV. However, the Data Dash Board will work if that type of DAQ is all you need (no USB support). For the Surface Pro, and either of the Samsung slates I have mentioned, I am positive they can run LV because they have the full Windows OS with a regular processor (not to mention that I have installed and run LV myself on the two Samsungs). It will come down to what you want to accomplish with LV. If your DAQ is networked or USB based and not over the top with visualization or high end DAQ requirements then you will probably be fine. If you need high speed with streaming or other RAM/CPU intensive applications then these will fall short. keep in mind that these slates are still on the more expensive side, $800-1300.

One other thing, if you want these to be used for work/lab/bench test system I recommend clearing the "extra" stuff (or doing a clean OS install which can be a bit tricky). Of all the big names, I have been most impressed with Samsung in that the "extra" software they install is usually useful or helpful. Others install lots of "extras" that do nothing but use up memory and CPU time which slows the system down. For the Serise 7 (700T) it wasn't to bad, the ATIV 700T had more but still very usable.

I have done it both ways, a"cheep" laptop (<400) or build in an industrial PC and touch panel (not cheep). It all depends on what type of "shop" the system is going to be in. One note, if you decide on using a touch screen of any type put a screen protector on it!! Screen protectors (~$30) have saved many of my test systems.

Ryan

[James24]

Ryan, do you know if a tablet (any of them) would run an .exe that requires a USB CAN Interface (USB-8473) ?

[R^2]

James24,

The Samsung Series 7 Slate, the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (my new one) and the Microsoft Surfface Pro's (I believe HP, Toshiba, and Dell all have a i5 slate now too) all should be able to run it just fine. Make sure the prossor is at least an i5 and not the Atom. These Slates are just laptops with removalble keyboards.

On my ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T I am running the Full LabVIEW Development Suit with RT, FPGA, and now Vision modules. I have connected to USB, cRIO, and cDAQ devices with no problesm.

Let me know what you end up trying.

Ryan

[James24]

Ryan, this may be a dumb question but how would I install my NI Dev Suite 2013 on a tablet without using my install CD's? I can use my existing liscense right?

Im looking at getting the Surface Pro II.

Thanks for the help.

[Bill_Welch]

The Surface Pro and I believe also the  Surface Pro II both come with a USB port,   You should be able to use a USB DVD reader to install the Development Suite.