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  • edwpang - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    I have ASUS VivoTab™ Smart(Clover Trail). I don't think I like the connected standby, since the tradtional desktop apps are actually suspended in this mode. For example, iCloud, UPNP servers, and Canon Wifi paring service, are all unusable because of this. Only Metro apps can take advantage of it, but I cann't think of any usable apps for me. Another thing I don't like about it is display off equals connected standy. There is NO way I can turn the display without going into connected standby like traditional PC/laptop...
  • eddman - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Of course they are suspended. They must be updated to take advantage of connected standby, and not even sure if Win32 is compatible with it.

    Store apps, which are WinRT based, do support CS, since they are designed for such cases. Example are apps like skype and any app that has a notification feature and needs to be connected to internet, etc.
  • jmunjr - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Of course lol...
  • CSMR - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    Thanks for the informative article. This technology looks good.
  • jhoff80 - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    I believe a TPM 2.0 is also a requirement, based on Windows Hardware Certification documents here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/ha...

    With Surface Pro 3, Microsoft upgraded to a TPM 2.0 (previous models were 1.2).
  • Brett Howse - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    Yes that's correct it's used for the device encryption of InstantGo which is what they call the package.
  • ddriver - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    Apparently the NSA wants to spy on people even when their computers are in stand-by. Smart!
  • beginner99 - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Very clever. You get access to cams and microphones everywhere!
  • erikiksaz - Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - link

    So I wonder how long before the surface pro 2 gets the update
  • Brett Howse - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    It may never get the update it might not have all of the required hardware.
  • jhoff80 - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    As I mentioned above, the Pro 2 has a TPM 1.2 chip, which means that it can't get an update to use Connected Standby.
  • Myrandex - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    My thoughts too. I would have thought that it would get that ability eventually. I also hoped that my Surface Pro 1 would get it eventually too, but probably not.
  • bkev - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    This sounds conceptually similar to Apple's Power Nap. How different is the implementation from that technology?
  • Brett Howse - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Definitely similar, but Power Nap is restricted to certain functions that Apple has approved. And to get updates in Mail and Notes, they have to be left running when you put your system to sleep.

    Conceptually they are similar, but the implementations are quite different. Connected Standby gives instant resume, with Wi-Fi already connected. And the background tasks are not limited to system tasks, or 1st part tasks, because any app written in WinRT can support background tasks. Also background tasks can respond to a specific network event, which is why the networking stack is part of the system requirements. If not responding to a specific network event directed towards an app, the app gets CPU time no more than every 15 minutes.

    Apps on the lock screen are allowed extra time.

    So definitely similar in concept, but dissimilar in execution.
  • Medallish - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    AMD afaik supports Connected standby in Mullins and Beema.
  • Brett Howse - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    I linked to Anand's preview of Beema/Mullins and he said: "AMD sees no value in supporting Microsoft's Connected Standby standard at this point"
  • MrSpadge - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    They could support it nevertheless ;)
  • juhatus - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    On Sony Vaio Pro 13 (Haswell, I7-4500U, win 8.1 x64, no-lan, Intel 7260ac-wifi) I think this should qualify, but checking "powercfg /availablepowerstates" shows Standby (S3).
    Standby (Connected) - Firmware does not support.

    Was the support removed? I remember there being a Connected Standby - driver or such on Sony Updates.. Any way to enable?
  • Klug4Pres - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Connected Standby doesn't seem to be very well implemented in general. There are a lot of complaints about excessive battery drain, resulting in devices dying while asleep.

    Also, it is unfortunate that in Windows [8, 8.1], Connected Standby cannot co-exist with "legacy" sleep modes, e.g. Suspend-to-RAM aka ACPI S3, hibernation (ACPI S4), or hybrid sleep (combined S3 and backup S4). Some (but not all) machines have a "BIOS" switch that can signal to Windows whether you want to boot with the traditional sleep options or boot only with Connected Standby. I think it would be great to be able to choose as a standard feature and also without a reboot.
  • eddman - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Did you read the table?

    "x86/x64-based Connected Standby PCs must also support Hibernate."

    Also, from the SP3 preview article:

    http://images.anandtech.com/doci/8037/connectedsta...
  • eddman - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Off-topic: Will you ever update the comment system and add an edit feature? Come on.

    You are correct about the rest though, S3 and hybrid, but IMO connected standby easily replaces those.
  • Klug4Pres - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Thanks, I missed that in the table, and I had based my observations on a Microsoft tech blog, so this may be a new requirement, or else I misinterpreted what I read, or ...

    I suppose if the hibernate function works reliably from within Connected Standby, to rescue a machine that is running out of juice, this would indeed mostly eliminate the need for the other options, but options are always nice to have.
  • edwpang - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Definitely, I can setup my Asus Win8 Tablet to hibernate when battery drops below certain percentage. I can even force hibernation using command script, but I cannot enable the hibernation option in shut down menu on it.
  • javier_machuk - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    I agree with you, i own an asus t100 tablet and sometimes the battery drains quickly when in connected standby mode. This happened after i downloaded a few third party apps and configured them to receive updates when in standby. Since i figured this out i limited the apps running in standby to only 2, both of them from microsoft and the problem is almost solved(there are still sometimes when it drains the battery).
  • KonradK - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Is S4 distinguishable by hardware from a simple power off? As far I know I can hibernate a system, then unplug a power cord, plug it again and then launch computer and successfully unhibernate the system, or boot from diferent drive.
    For me a S4 is more a feature of a system than actual power state of hardware.
  • eddman - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    S1,S2,etc. are the names of different power states and all fall under the G1 state. They are not exact hardware features.

    For example, a PC that is completely turned off and unplugged is considered to be in the G3 power state.

    Read this for further information:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Configuratio...
  • eddman - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - link

    Ok, maybe I got it wrong.

    Yes, you are right. They are the power states of the whole system.

    Since the system, when hibernated, saves everything to HDD/SSD and doesn't need any power to sustain itself, you can unplug it.

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