#call i7 my unexpected hit of the year | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amisbro · 6 years

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An unexpected gift

Fandoms: Uta no Prince-Sama/Idolish7 Rating: PG (minor language but no real overly bad stuff)

Today was an interesting day... Today was the first day of a special Media blitz that QN and HEAVENS were going to start and they were going to get it going for a good while. It meant a few things in the HEAVENS Dorm and one of them was that Shion wasn’t going to be around nor Yamato whom sometimes runs “crowd control” whenever Joshua gets swarmed. THIS was an arrangement that Shining and Raging worked out together and Joshua made them PROMISE that each side of the deal would get equal coverage for which they agreed or else they BOTH were gonna be in some crap afterwards. This was ALSO going to be one of Joshua’s “chill” days where he cooks a little food ,watches some TV and then also works on his Tetris skills so that Nagi can’t pound him into powder on the NES game Tetris 2 (even though it never works). Someone had other ideas You see...while HEAVENS was gone Joshua was free to pursue other opportunities because of his contract. Now he already works FOR... Raging Entertainment Shining Saotome (limited work and only for jobs he approves) Tsukino Talent (Select jobs) And he occasionally works for the Agency that the boys at B-Pro work for So there is NO WAY Joshua would ever consider other opportunities right? WELL... *beep beep* Joshua heard his phone going off and when he saw the name he thought it was a bit ODD but hey...what’s another Agency calling right? “I’ll take a large pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese” Joshua said in the most joking tone possible and the person on the other end laughed HARD at the joke “Okay...THAT was good. Is this Joshua Curtis ,Manager of HEAVENS at Raging Entertainment and part time idol?” The person asked and Joshua just smiled before answering “This is...do I detect that this is the Takanashi Agency which is home to Idolish7 whom won that prestigious music award recently?” Joshua asked back and the person nodded before answering formally “It is and my name is Tsumugi Takanashi. I was calling because we heard you have a concert coming up in Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Dome is that correct?” She asked and Joshua nodded before replying. “It is and I’m taking today off to get some rest before I start on my practices for it. I don’t do a lot of dance songs but I do a lot of slow songs or songs from my past in some way. The audience always seems to love the idea lately and whenever I do get to do a show its a blast for them and they always pack houses. Its weird too cos I am just a ‘Part time Idol’ like you said and even I don’t get my popularity. I’m assuming you know about this show for a reason so might I ask what this reason is friend?” Joshua asked and Tsumugi let it out “Well we are trying to get Idolish7 booked for a show even if its for the one song we wanted to do something nice for them and we thought it would be nice to have them get to work with someone like you. They don’t have to do a long set and they even said that they would be willing to take a 2 song part in the show even if its near the end. Do you think this might be possible?” Tsumugi asked and without skipping a beat Joshua gave his answer “It would be an honor and a privilege to have them on the show. I sometimes have shows that tend to end early so I would LOVE to have some extra acts on the show and from what I saw of the setlist I got this one might not be be 2 and a half hours...or if it is then BARELY so I would LOVE to have some more content on the show. I’ll get in touch with the people at the Dome and we will work on that ASAP alright?” Joshua asked and Tsumugi agreed BUT she did have one condition They wanted to do two songs...Josh was okay with this BUT they wanted him to intro one of them. Joshua agreed to this but he had one counter condtion: That song he intro’d HAD to be “Wish Voyage”. Tsumugi had no issue with that (and neither did i7) and everyone was set for that show. Alright this sounds fairly tame. Minor business call and everyone was chilled out and happy...nothing could POSSIBLY happen after that right We had to open our mouths About 3 hours after all of that (and during Joshua’s “Tetris Training”) a knock at the front door disturbed him and he was a bit miffed by this...one would think that the reporters they sometimes get would know common courtesy when no one is really home but what can you do OH BUT IT WAS BETTER THAN THAT! “Gaku...what are you doing here?” Joshua asked the Leader of TRIGGER was standing at his front door but without his other two group members...to say the least Joshua was a bit troubled. “Hello Joshua. Would you mind if I came in its a bit hot out here.” Gaku explained and Joshua nodded and gestured for the leader to come in and he closed the door behind them. “Alright have a seat Mr. Yaotome and I’ll get the sodas...sorry this house doesn’t keep alcohol but we do have some minors whom live here. Its a common courtesy I have extended outside the fact that I myself don’t drink.” Joshua explained to Gaku and the Leader took in all that information and understood and gladly accepted his soda before he and Joshua took their place at the island in the Dorm and Gaku began to speak “How have things been since you and I last talked...what was it a few months ago? I think you were sub-hosting for a variety show that TRIGGER was on if I remember correctly. Do you remember this?” Yaotome asked and Joshua nodded. “I do actually. I remember that during one of the exchanges things got a little tense between us and I later apologized on the air for my behavior. You told me to not worry about it but I think for you as the Leader of TRIGGER and myself whom gets jobs that do very well for myself and stations I think our reps would have taken a huge hit if I didn’t make the formal apology on air.” Joshua explained and Gaku completely understood “And the audience appreciated that. Tenn was a little worried and I think your intense nature scared him a little but after we went off air you and I went out and a lot of things were hashed out. I still owe you for that hangover I got though.” Gaku joked and Joshua just chuckled “Hey Mr. ‘I can hold my liquor past 5 beers’ I wasn’t expecting you to nearly get blitzed at the bar and then try to sing Karaoke with a tie on your head! We were lucky that there were no Paparazzi there or that might not have been a good look. I was trying to look out for ya and you know that right?” Joshua asked and indeed Gaku nodded before chugging his cola and then proceeded to ask for a second...to which Joshua obliged. Of course Joshua also knew that he wasn’t just there on a house call either “Alright let’s talk about why I’m here Joshua. I heard ,as did the rest of TRIGGER, that you have a big show in Fukuoka coming up at that dome they got. We also heard rumor that your show might be running short this year cos of the setlist which is...ODD! We started talking and we were wondering...do you have any space to have any “filler acts” or would that be a bit hard?” Gaku asked and Joshua knew that he did but something about TRIGGER screamed “SPECIAL” so what did he do? After he and Gaku finished their beverages they went to his office and conducted some business that they didn’t want to get out into the public...yet! The concert was set for August 4th Three days later (21 Days until the concert) Today was a good day for Joshua all around. He got in some good practice at Saotome Gakuen jamming out to some tunes as ,even if this show he was going to be in, was less about endurance, this is something that he liked to do and when he does it he likes to get one of the songs that is going to be at the show playing and then he works on some dance moves of his own for about 30-45 minutes and usually Tokiya watches him do it because of his unique style and how intense it is. Today felt different though See while Joshua was at his meeting he was asked when the last time he did a dance song was at his concert. Joshua said that it had been “Ages” cos he hadn’t a reason to really go “All Out” because of his concert style but...he could be convinced to go “harder” if the need arose. And no one knew What was noticed was that Tokiya watched Joshua make certain motions like he was looking at someone. The thing about it was that ,whenever Tokiya watches Joshua he is always behind him and Joshua was looking to his left and then his right...never behind him. It was ALSO NOTICED that one of the times Joshua was performing his moves he was facing Tokiya but not LOOKING at him. This became interesting to observe because Tokiya never saw Joshua do this and ,to be fair, the person in the other Agency never did this before either! Joshua had said he wanted to try something different with this practice He wanted to see if he could feel the presence of a person without them being in the room at the same time. He wanted to try and sync up with them by feel which was an odd idea but it was one of course was willing to be tried. WHY was this being done? Ahh that is a secret that few knew...Joshua and 2 other people knew that arranged this “undercover” project because in the past there had been some blood between the group and Joshua but after finding out it wasn’t their fault entirely (they weren’t made aware of a certain issue that happened) things calmed down but even during the time there WAS an issue Joshua never spoke against the group because he didn’t believe in smearing others...even if (Souske) Yaotome did! Yeah...they had one meeting did Joshua and Souske and it didn’t go well. To say the least the power driven president wanted Joshua to give up his freedom to become his puppet...Joshua wasn’t down for that and issues between them arose. THIS led to Joshua unfortunately having an issue with Gaku and they didn’t speak until the “infamous” talk show when things got bad but after that and they got their issues out Joshua started talking with the Leader of TRIGGER more and he even met with Ryu a couple of times after the incident but...those never made the papers Back to the issue at hand For something like this experiment its harder to be able to tell if its “working” or not because you need a second pair of eyes to work with. For Joshua that was easy cos he got Tokiya. For his friends...that was trickier because their manager WASN’T a fan of Joshua’s because of issues he had with Souske BUT they knew better than to interfere because of Joshua’s temper that stemmed from the same incident with Souske after the President nearly got pulled over the table in the Diner they were at. If Joshua didn’t have his cool that WOULD have happened and everyone in the Agency KNEW that! So who DID his friends get? “Wow this is an interesting idea for a practice. What do you think Curtis-san’s plan with it is?” Tsumugi asked and Ryu pondered this during break they were having. “We have heard that Joshua has an innate ability to ‘transform’ songs. He always likes to try different experiments and if he thinks he is close he gets this...’smirk’ on his face that let’s the person observing him that ‘it’s time’.” Ryu explained and then Gaku continued “This experiment he wants to do is something I have never thought about trying. He wants to do something to where he is able to ‘feel us’ in the room with him but not PHYSICALLY be in the room with him and vice versa. Its something I dunno if WE COULD DO with anyone but Joshua whom is a bit of an innovator in something like this. Its interesting the song he is asking us to do this with too because you almost completely need to be in the room with the person to do it and yet...we practiced a good bit today and I can almost feel being in sync with him now! I’m hoping when this is all over we can find a way to work together more with his innovations.: Gaku explained and Tsumugi agreed. While she never got to work with Joshua as an idol before she heard about his quirky ideas and how they made things work out in the end. When she heard about this ambitious style of practice she was all for watching and learning how Joshua operated...even when he really WASN’T in the same room with them! 2 Weeks until the concert Things were progressing nicely and Joshua could FEEL that something was about to pop soon! It was like he could almost feel his friends in the room and the feeling was likewise for them. Tokiya was still baffled by the idea and in many respects what was going on with him and the group from a different company altogether. “To explain this in the simplest form: two grown men had a disagreement and then one left the other be for a little while. To put it another way...Gaku has been someone that ,whenever I disappear for a little while, fans ask me ‘So when is the collab gonna happen with Gaku and his group?’ and I have to politely tell them to ‘cool it’ because of the fact that TRIGGER are busy dudes...I am too with HEAVENS my personal projects but its not like I DON’T try to find at least one day to work with them. They usually are the ones busy or that wretched manager tries to get in the way. If it wasn’t for them I think there might be a case where I would have subbed for one of them a lot more because they are good dudes. Sometimes I think some press are harder than anything on them and it sucks. I read the article that came out when they had the one song but there was a belief it might have never been theirs. That had to stink THEN and in some cases its still a little bad now. I admit I didn’t have ALL the facts but I had the ones I wanted...I own up to that as a grown man. See Tokiya I like you so having this discussion isn’t something we have to worry about a lot. The thing is though when you are a Pro (and you are as is STARISH) you answer to so many people and sponsors and its stressful and it SUCKS and people sometimes ask for things you can’t give them without issues. I’ve guested on shows they were on and while they have a very loyal base man...I’ve seen haters and I saw some of those DMs. People really wanted to ruin them and I saw Tenn one time having to go to the bathroom cos one DM he got was a troll and very much disgusting. This is sadly the world we live in as idols and managers my friend.” Joshua explained to Tokiya and when he heard his friend say all that he was BEYOND amazed at how much Joshua was defending TRIGGER there...then again he knew about their battles and he knew soon they would be over officially. The proper truce would be made soon BUT could the fanbase accept it There was only 2 weeks left to go! And then...PAYDIRT! One week before the concert There was something about this practice that made Joshua’s heart flutter and even Ryu and Gaku were amazed that they were so close! It was about then that Yaotome could feel something in the room and even Tsumugi...it was TIME! There was something about when they played the song this time from start to finish that ,the song felt the same, but the energy in the room was different and it was even more when Tsumugi and Tokiya saw the unthinkable...they started just about seeing the ghost images of the respective partners! Almost as if THEIR BRAINS were connected Tsumugi and Tokiya ,in two different rooms and in two different agencies said the following WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON! To be honest there were only a few people that knew and they were in different parts of the country! ITS ALMOST GAME TIME! After the VERY SUCCESSFUL practice Joshua called them and told them they could take off until the concert but they did have their other song to do with Tenn so that couldn’t happen and Joshua got it. What was interesting was they were doing “Daybreak Interlude” and Joshua wanted to make sure he was front row for that one so what they agreed to was something that was pretty nice and the fans were gonna love...they just KNEW IT! And they were right The day of the show Joshua made sure to get to the building early to make sure everything was in order with his stage outfits as well as the turnstiles. He remembered the incident of a very famous concert and he never wanted a repeat so every day after his practices he would go to check the stage setup cos they had a special surprise for the people coming. There was still a number of people (not a lot but a few) that believed the press that there was still tension between Joshua and TRIGGER because of reports that Souske would put out. This time this was without anyone’s knowledge and Joshua had Himura’s word that everything would go off without a hitch...so much so that he had Camus play the role of driver to get them to and from the building! Originally they were going to object until Joshua told them that “When Camus becomes your driver its less an option and more of a ‘If you DON’T get in the car there are going to be problems’ kind of thing” Believe it or not...TENN HAD NO ISSUE WITH THIS! You see...Tenn was the one Joshua worried about the most and its a legit concern. The thing was that Joshua has known that Souske is a bit of an ass...okay understatement of the year but the point is he didn’t want Tenn to freak out when Camus showed up. Camus however was a true gentlemen and made sure they got to the arena without any issues and even properly escorted them to their dressing room which ,while Joshua didn’t ask him to go THAT FAR, he was still very grateful for the Scion of the Silk Palace. As Joshua got ready for the show Himura came in to tell him that his friends arrived and managed to duck the cameras that were there. This was to be a very big surprise and he didn’t want the cameras catching it...fortunately for him Camus stayed around to act as a decoy because of what was being planned and the how -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLASHBACK] Three Days Earlier “So this is supposed to be a surprise?” Camus asked and Joshua nodded “See there are people that KNOW the truth about me and TRIGGER. They know what happened before and what turned me against them and they didn’t blame me. Other’s however...they don’t so I want to specifically surprise them BUT it might be a big surprise for everyone considering whom is going to be there along with them. My problem is that I know if the press gets a hold of this beforehand it could blow up.” Joshua explained but he forgot with whom he was dealing with! “It shall be taken care of. All I have to do is do the driving and appear at the show and that should cover everything. Once the time comes you tell me to go and it SHALL be done! Your surprise will be safe with a lot of the media cos I have told them not to accept any leaks. If they did they lose me as an interview!” Camus said with his usual authority and Joshua was surprised to hear this. He also was surprised to learn that Camus had taken care of the latter part in the days before this meeting so as to protect the sanctity of everything. He did have one question though “So if they are going to do THAT song with you then what one is Tenn doing with them?” And with that Joshua showed him the video. “INTERESTING CHOICE! If this building wasn’t going to be sold out (and Tokiya already there) I’d have to make time to watch some DVDs from them when I got a chance...can you make sure to get me a copy of this one when it comes out?” Camus asked and Joshua nodded [END FLASHBACK] So now it was showtime and when Joshua came onto the stage he addressed all that were assembled. “First of all..GOOD EVENING FUKUOKA!” *crowd cheers* “And good evening to those watching this Live or on delay. We are in Fukuoka tonight in one of my FAVORITE places and tonight is our ‘Summer Special’. As I look out into the crowd I see we are PACKED as usual which is always lovely to see...I swear you guys are making the Tokyo Dome shows sweat whenever I come over.” *crowd laughs* “Alright let’s talk for a second. Tonight we have our usual variety of songs to go through tonight BUT...we had a problem. See for the first time ever that I can remember we fell short of my standard 2hrs and 30mins that I like to do for you of actual songs. So some friends of mine called and asked if they could help out. Tonight for the first time that I personally can remember we will be having Idolish7 on the program tonight!” *crowd popped HUGE for that* “And if you are REALLY GOOD tonight...there is one more surprise coming for you all. I hope you stayed off the net for the past few weeks because tonight...OH TONIGHT ITS A SPECIAL NIGHT...BUT I need you to be really good and be patient alrighty?” Joshua asked and all the fans cheered loudly to make sure they told him they got the order “Very good...LET’S START THE SHOW!” As Joshua started his performance the fans were really digging it (like they usually do) and they all were attentive as they could be. Some fans DID wonder what his “surprise” was but they were good and waited as Joshua finished the first part of his set about 45 minutes later. His second half was scheduled to be about an hour and then the first half of the “new show” began During the intermission Joshua went to the back and Camus made sure to run the interference because of where Joshua was going next and this was about to get good “Has anyone told you how amazing you are even when you do ‘simple’ songs like that Joshua?” Gaku asked and Joshua just shrugged. “Its nothing really. Its just for me I know what its like when I did my first show years ago and its like how i7 went with that one show when things went to hell in a handbasket. I took a beating in the press but the fans literally wrote to them to make them back off and they later did for fear of boycotts to their sites and mags. Ever since then I went and learned to practice my butt off for them like you guys do and now the energy we give each other is 100x what it normally could be.” Joshua explained and Ryu was next to speak “Have you ever blacked out during a concert? Like have you ever had to go to a hospital because of the way you train and then go out for your shows? It seems like someone that goes beyond 100% would be on the verge of that constantly.” The ‘dad friend’ of TRIGGER asked and Joshua just shook his head. I have had nights where after a show I would legit go and sleep in my car before going home later. I think the closest I came to needing medical was when I went 6th gear in 100 degree weather and THAT nearly caused me to pass out. As far as doing my shows in domes though...no I never had that issue and yes...you would think that would be a regular problem with me so I understand your worry friend.” Joshua replied and then Tenn spoke up. “Just be careful Joshua. We know we aren’t HEAVENS but we worry about you even when we don’t see you. Heck Gaku had to stop Tenn from calling an arena once because he saw your physical condition but you persevered. Seeing what you put your body through is amazing and it just makes us worry one day something COULD happen. Try not to let that be a thing alright?” Tenn commented and Joshua again nodded “I promise Tenn that I will try to scale back. I have a feeling you were in the room when you saw that ‘ghost’ of me and that made you wonder what happened right?” Joshua asked and when Tenn nodded he continued. “Friend I have an amazing support system of people that are all in the industry. There are people that tell me to go disappear after one of these shows for a little while because they worry I will become so exhausted that I end up like your brother and I respect that. Its also why though I have been making sure to have guests on to help me take the load off lately because I got Himura ,my friend Camus ,HEAVENS and now Gaku and you guys I’m sure. You won’t let me push myself too hard and I appreciate that. As such well...we know why you are here and we must not let your fans down. I need to go get ready for half two and then i7 goes on before you. What song were you gonna do before the ‘special performance’...oh yeah that song! Have fun cos I’m gonna be watching from the back while that goes on. I can’t remember if I ever got to see you boys live and now its gonna officially HAPPEN and I am SO EXCITED!” Joshua yelled and the boys just laughed cos they knew he was and they all bid him aideu before he went to go get changed and then the second half started. Half two was interesting because the fans were watching Joshua as intently as always but they knew that he had a BIG surprise and Joshua was happy that made them curious. He was also happy it wasn’t a complete distraction and they still enjoyed his hour long set that he had for them. HOWEVER When the time came for the “switch” the anticipation grew. Now they all knew that i7 was first...that was going to make sense but the OTHER thing was going to be interesting for them. First i7′s intro “Ladies and gents my night is over BUT I promised you that I would bring you some goodies and tonight let’s start our ‘After Party’. FIRST from Takanashi Agency we have Iori Izumi Mitsuki Izumi Riku Nanase Sougo Ousaka Nagi Rokuya Tamaki Yotsuba And their leader Yamato Nikaidou they are IDOLISH7! After the introduction the crowd popped HUGE and as they came out Joshua smiled and bowed respectively to each of the members before their brief talk they were going to do and that was a lot of fun for sure “Gents I don’t think I need to say this but WELCOME TO FUKUOKA!” Joshua said with all the energy and passion he could and the crowd was surprised given the show he put on an hour earlier. Riku was shocked to say the least “Wow Curtis-San...you sure you didn’t overdo the caffeine again?” He asked genuinely concerned and Joshua answered in kind. “Nah my friend. I’m just excited cos you guys get to hang out in a place that has become almost like home for me and its something I am very happy about. I won’t take up a lot of your time though tonight but I know one of your songs you are going to do for us is “MONSTER GENERATION” which is going to be awesome but for the leadoff I believe you remember my one thing I asked if you boys could do for all these nice people tonight right?” Joshua asked and Yamato answered. “YEP and we are going to fulfill that request. Ladies and Gents in the audience we ,Idolish7 will now perform ‘WISH VOYAGE’!” Yamato yelled out with as much fire as he had in his 22 year old body and as they started their double Meanwhile backstage Joshua headed off to his dressing room and this time Camus stood in front of the door to make sure the camera couldn’t follow him in. This was something that Camus was so protective of as far as a secret that the fans in the building couldn’t know about it until it happened! After Joshua was ready Camus went in and they watched the performance for i7 on the big screen they had there. It amazed him how well they went through everything and it was an even bigger thing when he sat there with an opened mouth cos of how things were laid out...and he was interested in Yamato and Iori as idols himself As the i7 part ended Joshua texted the Production Assist to go get TRIGGER and that he did. Camus then went out with them to make sure they made their way to the stage with no issues but when they came up through the lift the power was out...not really! Joshua had texted the the tech to turn the lights down so that you might be able to see silhouettes of people but nothing else while the backstage had full power. When Joshua saw them make it up he did his personal intro for them “Ahh friends...did you think I was done with the surprises? Well you were VERY GOOD tonight so I must keep my word and give you my surprise for this evening...mister technician would you be a friend and bring the lights up in the arena now please?” Joshua asked and when he did...the building was nearly shaking as if it was an earthquake! Joshua smiled and then finished his intro “Ladies and gents this group needs NO INTRO but Imma do it anyways Ryuunosuke Tsunashi Kujo Tenn And their leader: Gaku Yaotome...friends I give you TRIGGER!” And with that they began the first half of their performance which was “Leopard Eyes” and the fans LOVED it! They almost all were standing during that song but they composed themselves because they HEARD that something special was going to happen with the final song of the night. What it was and how the fans would react was completely different thought process but they waited patiently as the song went on and when it ended they noticed something: Tenn bowed and walked off the stage...WHAT WAS GOING ON?! Well THEY KNEW but the audience didn’t...when they found out though it made a VERY PLEASANT REACTION! “Thank you and yes sadly that is all for Tenn on this evening. HOWEVER we do have a big surprise for you.” Gaku started and then Ryu continued. “Some time ago I’m sure you read the papers and you read that a certain member of the Managerial/Idol community had some issues with Gaku. Well that WAS true but as I am sure you know...time heals all wounds and tonight in many respects IS the end of this journey to fix that situation and Gaku asked this man if he would take Tenn’s spot for the final song of the night. Would our mystery guest sign in please?” Ryu asked and when everyone had their eyes on the lift the spotlight shown on it to reveal... “WHOA!” THAT was the reaction that the crowd gave when they saw Joshua ,clad in the TRIGGER black, walk from the lift on the walkway towards the main stage with even more determination than normal and the crowd was both STUNNED and unusually happy about this development. Sure it wasn’t Kujo but it WAS someone that they thought would NEVER be in this spot and when he reintroduced himself that sealed EVERYTHING “To all the fans of TRIGGER that might have thought my comments were out of line at the talk show and maybe in the press later for other reasons...you’re right. I have no excuse and I have no right to ever insult anyone in this industry. I’m above that and I know that. I won’t ask your forgiveness but I WILL say this: Allow me the honor tonight of taking Tenn’s spot for the final song of the night which ,appropriately enough, IS ‘Secret Night’!” And as Joshua finished his speech he bowed to all of the audience whom stood as one and applauded him as the way of saying “We forgive you”. After what felt like an hour standing O...Joshua ,Ryu and Gaku began the song and the way they performed it was such that the audience couldn’t believe the FIRE that burned in Joshua when he sang with them! It was like something made him work 10x as hard with them and they responded in kind! When the song ended and the crowd screamed to the point that the building was going to cave in it felt like they saluted and then bowed before walking towards the back having accomplished something they didn’t think possible at one time. Changing a perception of a fanbase that thought someone ,whom was very much loved in the industry, HATED one of their most loved groups! A few days after the concert Joshua was to appear on a talk show after the big concert and during the show he was asked about having TRIG show up as guests and Joshua said that “Even when it seems like it was three weeks in the making it was actually longer than that. I wanted to make the “reconciliation” for the fans something very special and the fact that after I said what I said at the concert they applauded me I was very happy...especially taking Tenn’s spot cos I know he is very loved in the group.” As the interview went on Joshua noticed that there was an audience member with two boxes and as he looked up and saw her he took off his mike and got a standard hand held microphone and walked up to the person to speak with them “Excuse me ma’am I can’t help but notice that you have a couple of packages there. Would you mind explaining whom they are for if we are allowed to inquire?” Joshua asked and first the audience member started to stammer but then she composed herself and spoke into the mike “You are. I was asked to bring these items as a favor to three gentlemen that I ran into on the way to the station. I was a bit shocked cos they told me they would be here but...yeah I can’t find them. Anyways I was told for you to read the letter on the top box first and then open them in order of top to bottom...I wish they were here to see this though.” The woman explained and then Joshua couldn’t help but notice the man seated directly in front of her stifling a giggle...this got Joshua’s attention! “Excuse me sir would you stand up for a second. I couldn’t help but notice you found that a little funny. Do you know something about these packages?” Joshua asked but the person got very serious and went “no”. After hearing this Joshua got the packages from the woman then proceeded to ask the gentlemen that were there to come with him while he read the letter on the air Dear Joshua, We wanted to find a way to thank you for allowing us to appear at the Fukuoka Dome with you about 3 days ago. We had thought of just a simple “Thank You” note but that would seem primitive after what you did for us...so we made a decision the minute we got back home and that decision was THIS! If you open the top box ,which we hope you did first,... At this Joshua looked at the the box and opened it to discover a pair of boots...black boots to be exact that Joshua knew would fit him perfectly! Something was amiss! You will notice that there are a pair of black boots. Those obviously go with the bottom box.. At this Joshua opened it and his mouth fell open and you will no doubt see the jacket we wear at our concerts along with a tie for you. We aren’t trying to make you come over to us full time because I know of the situation with my father but after what happened in Fukuoka we wanted to say “Thank you” and would like to make you an “Honorary Member” of TRIGGER. Will you accept our offer? Signed Gaku Yaotome Kujo Tenn Ryuunosuke Tsunashi Your friends from TRIGGER After the letter reading Joshua thought about this and the crowd waited with baited breath for the answer “You know...I have been waiting for this moment actually and I realized that THIS was the show that the original ‘problem’ started on. Its a shame because it ALMOST cost me a friend. If I could I would answer this publicly but it feels weird without th-- and Joshua cut himself off when he heard the crowd reacting because little did he know that when he read the names off the men that were standing next to him took off their disguises! “Well I’ll be...you boys really love shocking me and for that I am grateful...makes my life less boring”. Joshua explained and then Gaku took his turn to speak. “Its just a natural thing for us I guess. NOW...you said you would give an answer IF we were here. Well here we are so is it a ‘yes’...or is it a ‘no’ my friend?” Gaku asked and Joshua stood up ,looked out into the audience, and then too the mike up that he used earlier “If you all are thinking you are going home upset...don’t worry cos Josh is all about happiness at this point because my answer IS...YOU BET!” And with that Joshua shook hands with the men that he used to be at odds with and ,in a semi-related note, the ratings for this unplanned segment went so far through the roof they were hard to track! Oh well...just another unexpected gift in Joshua’s “crazy idol life”! Where would it go from here!

#Amisbro #fan fiction #uta no prince sama #idolish7 #TRIGGER #sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction #and that's funny considering this is a fan fic #BUT I digress

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moddersinc · 6 years

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ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 2070 MINI Review

The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2070 Mini is in contrast to other RTX 2070 cards on the market. By, in contrast, I'm talking about the physical size of the card. The Mini moniker at the end of the product name denotes a smaller, more compact version. Over the last few generations of Nvidia cards, Zotac has produced the Mini models. I got my first peek at a Zotac GeForce GTX 1080TI Mini a few years ago at CES and then went hands-on with their mini version of the GTX 1080 here a while back. The Zotac mini cards are designed to fit into most systems produced or built today. With a smaller footprint, they make for some small and powerful systems. But, does the smaller size of the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2070 Mini hinder the card? Specifications of the Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 Mini GPU GeForce RTX 2070 CUDA cores 2304 Video Memory 8GB GDDR6 Memory Bus 256-bit Engine Clock Boost: 1620 MHz Memory Clock 14.0 Gbps PCI Express 3.0 Display Outputs 3 x DisplayPort (4096x2160@60Hz) HDMI 2.0 (3840x2160@60Hz) DVI-D HDCP Support Yes Multi-Display Capability Quad Display Recommended Power Supply 550W Power Consumption 175W Power Input 8-pin DirectX 12 API feature level 12_1 OpenGL 4.5 Cooling 90mm fan, 100mm fan Slot Size Dual Slot SLI No Supported OS Windows 10 / 7 x64 Card Length 211mm x 129mm x 41mm (8.3in x 5.08in x 1.61in) Accessories User Manual Packaging Zotac doesn't deviate too far from their established box art with the RTX 2070 mini. On the front of the box, there is geometric graphics along with the product name. Flipping the box over and taking a look at the backside will give you a lot more information on the GPU housed inside as the back side of the box. Once you open up the box, you'll find the GPU wrapped in an anti-static bag and sitting in a closed cell insert.

The Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 mini is, well, just that: mini. It's small size measures in at 211mm (8.3 in) long, 129mm (5.08 in)wide, and 41mm (1.61 in) tall. Even at this smaller size, Zotac was able to fit a 90mm and a 100mm fan to help keep the card cool. On the back, the backplate actually wraps around the back edge of the card. During testing, the back plate did get a bit warm and aids in the cooling of the components. There are two different size fans on the Zotac RTX 2070 Mini and each size fan has unique fan blades, the front fan which is 90mm has fan blades that have a sharper angle to them. This allows the fan to have a higher static pressure. This fan is positioned over key components. The 100mm fan has flatter blades. This is done to maximize the airflow over the area and move as much air as possible. Under the fan shroud, you can get a peek at a couple of the 6mm heat pipes that run through the heatsink. All total there are five heat pipes. The fans, heatsink, and the backplate are all part of Zotac's IceStorm 2.0 cooling solution.

On the case side of the card, a LED-lit Zotac Gaming logo is present in the center. When in use, this logo lights up in white and cannot be changed. You can also see the edges of the backplate are bend and shaped to meet up with the fan shroud. A single 8-pin PCIe power connector is required to power the GPU.

At the rear of the card, the back plate again wraps around the PCB and meets the edge of the fan shroud. This is designed to add functionality in the form of protection for the fins on the heatsink and hide the heatsink. Because of the back plate, there are no exposed heatsink fins on the Zotac RTX 2070 mini.

While the card is small in terms of length and width, the Zotac RTX 2070 mini is still a double slot card. The I/O is a bit different than other RTX cards we've reviewed. Most do not include a DVI port which Zotac does have. The Zotac RTX 2070 also lacks the VirtualLink connector. The GPU's I/O includes 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, and 3x DisplayPort connectors.

Included with the Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 mini is Zotac's overclocking and monitoring software called FireStorm. The software is pretty simple and all the controls are laid out well. Starting at the left side, you'll see three labels, Auto, Manual, and Advanced. These are used to adjust the fan speeds. Under that, you'll see the OC Scanner. To the right, you'll see the adjustments for GPU clock speed, memory clock speeds, power and temperature targets, etc. At the bottom, once you've found the settings you like, you can choose to save it as one of three profiles.

The latest versions of manufactures overclocking software feature what's called OC Scanner. The software attempts to find a decent overclock. The scanning takes a bit of time however, it doesn't always work. For this card, it actually failed at every attempt but, that's not really surprising considering that OC Scanner fails on most cards I've tested. Auto overclocking, at least in my experience has never worked well. I prefer to tweak individual settings myself.

Clicking the advanced button on the right side brings up a custom fan curve graph. You can set the fan speeds at a given temperature.

The gear icon is the application settings as well as a monitor page. You can set up things like autostart with Windows, automatically apply settings at startup, and minimize the application on startup. You will also find help and info pages. The information page gives you specific information on the graphics card currently installed. At stock settings, the Zotac Geforce RTX 2070 mini performed well. The GPU peaked at 1785 MHz with a max temp of 66°c and the fans spinning at 58% of max, this was after 1/2 hour of letting a benchmark loop. At these settings, the card was a bit louder as far as fan noise than the other full-size cards I tested. However, given the small size of the card and the smaller size of the heatsink/fans, this was not unexpected. What was unexpected was the noise level. It was less than I expected. I could hear it on the open bench. It was noticeable but not annoyingly so.

The maximum stable overclock I was able to get on this GPU was 2010Mhz on the GPU core, 8112 Mhz on the memory. A slight bump in temperature at the 1/2 hour mark from 66° c (stock) to 71°c was recorded. The fans also spun up a bit faster at 62% of max. Again, the results were recorded after a 1/2 hour benchmark run.

Test System and Synthetic Benchmarks Component Product Name Provided By Processor Intel Core i7-8700K (Retail) Intel Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z370-Gaming 7 Gigabyte Memory G.Skill SniperX 2x8GB @ 3400MHz 16-16-16-36 (XMP) G.Skill Drive Samsung 240 EVO 256GB SSD, Crucial MX500 1 TB SATA III SSD Samsung/Crucial Video Card Zotac Geforce RTX 2070 Mini, Nvidia RTX 2080 Founders Edition, Zotac Geforce GTX 1080 mini, EVGA Geforce GTX 1070 TI Zotac/Nvidia/EVGA Monitor BenQ EL2870U 28 inch 4K HDR Gaming Monitor 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz Case DimasTech EasyXL DimasTech Power Supply Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W Cooler Master Operating System Windows 10 x64 Pro with latest patches and updates I want to thank Zotac and EVGA for providing their respective GPUs as comparison cards for this review. Testing Methodology: There are many ways to benchmark GPUs. With these benchmarks our goal is to do two things: first to show the performance of the card and secondly to make them easy to replicate. With a similarly configured system, you should be able to get similar results to compare your current graphics card against. There will always be a variance from system to system. All games for this review are tested with the HIGHEST IN GAME PRESET unless otherwise specified. No changes were made to the operating system. Synthetic Tests 3DMark Firestrike from Futuremark is a Semi-synthetic DirectX11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. Firestrike performs advanced geometry, illumination and particle tests with its Graphics benchmark and performs physics simulations using the CPU. Firestrike Ultra Kicks it up a notch and ratchets up the resolution to 4K and turns the quality up a bit.

Timespy is an additional test in 3DMark which represents DirectX 12 gameplay. The extreme version is meant to test the highest end graphics cards at 4K.

Unigine’s Superposition features both a monitor benchmark but also a VR load as well. I used the 4K optimized and 8K optimized presets. Superposition also allows you to explore the environment in VR Mode with your headset connected. Gaming Benchmarks Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Eidos Montréal in conjunction with Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. It continues the narrative from the 2013 game Tomb Raider and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider. Witcher 3 closes the chapter on Geralt’s life. The game features a massive open world that the player can explore. Witcher 3 uses REDEngine developed independently by CD Projekt RED. The game engine features stunning visuals. Middle Earth: Shadow of War is an action RPG game based on the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. It’s the sequel to Monolith’s successful Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor game and the events of the game take place after The Hobbit but before the Lord of the Rings. The game builds upon the nemesis system that made the first game such a surprise hit, and it’s just brutal to PC hardware. Far Cry 5 is an action-adventure first-person shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the successor to the 2014 video game Far Cry 4, and the fifth main installment in the Far Cry series. The game was released on March 27, 2018 Gaming Benchmarks Continued Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a tactical shooter game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective with an optional first-person view for gun aiming. Players play as members of the Delta Company, First Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, also known as “Ghosts”, a fictional elite special operations unit of the United States Army under the Joint Special Operations Command. The game can be played as a single player experience or you can invite up to 3 of your friends to fill out your squad. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action role-playing game with first-person shooter and stealth mechanics. Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a man equipped with mechanical cybernetic implants called augmentations. Battlefield V is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA DICE and published by Electronic Arts. Battlefield V is the sixteenth installment in the Battlefield series. Battlefield V features a limited single-player campaign in the form of War Stories, the rest of the missions and adventures are online multiplayer. For this specific test, I did not have DXR turned on. Raytracing & DLSS Testing At launch, the 20 series GPUs boasted the ability to do real-time raytracing and use a new feature called DLSS or Deep Learning Super Sampling, however, at that time there were no games out that supported either of those features. Without being able to test those features, I think the 20 series got off to a rocky start. Fast forward to Novemberish 2018; Windows 10 1803 update was finally released that enabled the ray tracing libraries in DX12. With that, Nvidia released a new set of drivers and EA/Dice released the 1st patch for BattleField V however, the patch wasn’t without issues and performance was at least halved as compared to non-DXR tests. EA/Dice have now released a new patch that performs quite a bit better. However, there is still a performance penalty for enabling DXR in Battlefield V. For the DXR testing in Battlefield V, I chose to use 1080p as the resolution and the base graphics settings to Ultra. DXR was set to Low, Medium, and Ultra. I also included the results with DXR off as well.

The different levels of ray tracing start to change the level of detail in the reflections. I didn’t see much difference on the RTX 2080 Duke between ultra and high and again between low and medium during the benchmark run. The mirror in the image below shows a clear reflection at all levels of DXR, however, the details reflecting in the puddles change quite a bit.

DXR Low

DXR Medium

DXR High

DXR Ultra Note: Recently Battlefield V and Metro Exodus were released with both DLSS and RTX features available. Another article is coming with our thoughts on DLSS and RTX. The only game to support DLSS at the time of this review is Final Fantasy XV. DLSS leverages Nvidia’s Tensor cores on the RTX 20 series cards. It works by basically rendering at a lower target resolution then, sends the frame to the Tensor Cores and the Deep Learning network to get upscaled and the “AI” fills in the information for the anti-aliasing. DLSS is only available in 4K. For this test, I chose to run the beginning missions around Hammerhead and occasionally heading back to the gas station.

During gameplay, I didn’t notice too much of a difference. There were some softer parts to the image once DLSS was enabled. As I continue to go through the game, more images will be captured. The Ultra preset settings were used, however, in order to enable or disable DLSS you have to use the custom option.

Final Fantaxy XV DLSS Disabled

Final Fantasy XV DLSS Enabled To start, no, I did no test DLSS/RTX in Metro or BFV. During the benchmark session, the DLSS patch for BFV had not been released yet. We are currently working on benchmarking both games with RTX and DLSS as well as image quality. The xx70 series is where I get excited. Why? Well, that's because it's where I live. My last 3 personal builds have all been the xx70 series. I play at 1080p and have branched out to 1440. The RTX 2070 does really well at both 1080p and 1440 and reaches above 60 FPS in both resolutions. While my BenQ monitor isn't on the list of G-Sync Compatible monitors, it is A-Sync compatible and doesn't exhibit any issues while gaming on it. At both 1080p and 1440 with G-Sync enabled, gameplay is extremely smooth. With RTX enabled on medium in Battlefield V gameplay was great at 1080p and decent at 1440.

While the Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 mini is small in size, it is large in performance. This is the first RTX 2070 that I've had a chance to get my hands on and it did not disappoint. As expected, it outperformed the older GTX 1080 and 1070TI by a fairly decent margin. As time moves forward so does technology, I expect to see the RTX 2070 to continue to pull away from the GTX 1080. While the performance of the Zotac RTX 2070 mini is good, it doesn't tell the whole story. The mini-series of cards from Zotac is designed to fit into many cases. A small ITX build is very possible with the mini cards and while they are small, their performance in both games and cooling is acceptable. The GPU in its stock form hit a max of 66°c during my testing. Granted the fans spun up a bit higher than other full-size cards. The RTX 2080 FE during the same test had the fans spinning around 45-48% where the Zotac RTX 2070 mini was spinning at 58% or 1680 RPM as reported by GPU-Z. Now there are two versions of Zotac's GeForce RTX 2070 mini, the OC and Non-OC. Our review sample is the Non-OC version. Overclocking the GPU resulted in a GPU speed of 2010 MHz with memory clocking in at 8112 MHz. This resulted in a temperature of 71° with fan speeds of 62% or 1800 RPM as reported by GPU-Z. Currently, the Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 mini (non-OC) retails for $529.99. The RTX series still demand a premium over the last gen cards however, the jump is a bit easier to manage. I really like the mini-series of cards from Zotac. In the past, I've used their GTX 1080 mini and was impressed then. The RTX 2070 mini is equally impressive from both a performance and cooling standpoint. If you want a small form factor gaming rig that performs well at both 1080p and 1440, the RTX 2070 mini may fill the void. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "dewaynecarel-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B07M8DY3QY"; amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "06bde0fa29d2ad2fa5b01960f3177fce"; Read the full article

#DLSS #GPU #GraphicsCard #Nvida #RealTimeRay-tracing #rtx #Zotac

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ramialkarmi · 7 years

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I'm a long time MacBook user and tried Microsoft's new Surface Book 2 for a week — here's what I learned (MSFT, AAPL, GOOG)

I have used a MacBook Pro as my main computing machine for the past five years, and switched to Microsoft's new Surface Book 2 for a week to see how the transition was.

The hardware is fantastic — but you need some time to adjust and appreciate it.

The complexity is tied to Windows 10, which is a more flexible and intricate operating system than macOS.

To fully appreciate the Surface Book and Windows 10, Microsoft indirectly asks you to switch to its suite of software and services, and my strong ties with Google's ecosystem made that nearly impossible.

I have been using a MacBook Pro as my main computing machine for the past five years, and have grown to love it. From the fantastic hardware to the sleekness of macOS, despite a few shortcomings, Apple's offering has mostly kept me happy.

More recently, I have also become a big fan of what Microsoft has been doing with its hardware, and when I got the chance to try out one of its new Surface Book 2 devices, I jumped on the opportunity.

I have used a family Surface Pro 4 extensively, and even got to spend some time with the most recent model, simply called Surface Pro, which I adored, so I had had my fair share of experience with Windows 10 (in addition to years of using Windows XP, 7, and 8).

With the Surface Book 2, however, I decided to take a different approach: I fully switched for a week, and used it as my primary laptop, as if I had purchased it myself to replace the MacBook.

This inevitably left me with some strong impressions, and a big, partly unexpected, realisation: I am more tied to Google's suite of software and services than I ever thought.

Here's what I learned:

The hardware is spectacular

This is the first thing that's immediately obvious the moment you remove the plastic wrap: The cold feeling of the magnesium casing, its softly brushed texture, the sturdiness of the device itself — it hits you right away, and it's the kind of thing you would expect from Apple rather than Microsoft.

Magnesium is also surprisingly refreshing to the touch opposed to the MacBook's aluminum as it's generally colder and it feels more genuine, as if the alloy itself hadn't gone through dozens of machines; it's not a big deal, obviously, but it's the kind of subtle, distinctive detail that shows that Microsoft cares, and it wants its devices to stand out in an ever-increasing sea of homogeneous products from all sorts of manufacturers.

The Surface Book 2 is a product like nothing else: It opens up as a laptop, but it has a fully detachable screen that turns into a tablet in its own right; or you can flip it around, re-attach it to the keyboard, and fold it, all the way down if you want.

If you do detach and then reattach the top portion backwards, there are two main positions: Flat, where you might want to use it for activities such as drawing, or with a 45-degree angle, which can be very comfortable if you plan to watch videos.

And, in any way you look at it, the 13.5-inch, 3000x2000 display is insanely gorgeous: It's sharp and detailed, with colours that really pop while not being overly saturated, and a slightly warmer tone than my MacBook's, which made it a tad easier and more pleasing to the eye.

The buttons, as well as the trackpad and keyboard keys, are stiff and with good, satisfying travel, involuntarily reminding you that this is a high-quality product. After all, at £1,500 for the base model (with an Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage), it should be (it goes all the way up to i7/16GB/1TB for £3,000).

Performance is also top notch: My device always kept things speedy and quiet — it never froze, slowed down, or needed to reboot — even with three browsers (with dozens of tabs open), Steam, Spotify, OneNote, and other apps open at the same time.

It can also run games at decent settings, but don't expect top-notch performance; if that's what you're looking for, the bigger 15-inch version has an option with a GTX 1060 GPU, which is decidedly more powerful than the 1050 my unit had (the 15-inch model is only available in the US right now).

The Book did get a little warm at times, but overall I was surprised by its performance — in comparison, my aging MacBook's fans kick in rapidly if I don't pay attention to my workload (although it too did just fine for the first years of its life).

There are other nice things you'll find on the outer case, such as two full-size USB-A ports, — the ones you won't see on more recent MacBooks — a USB-C hole, and Microsoft's MagSafe-like opening for charging.

But the most interesting nicety hides underneath the top portion of the screen's bezel, where the Windows Hello-enabling camera is nestled.

Windows 10 is a great operating system that's both powerful and complex

That camera is one of the few things that begin to really separate Microsoft's and Apple's offerings.

Windows Hello is Microsoft's system that allows biometric authentications, like fingerprint reading and face scanning. The Surface Book has the latter, and in my testing it has been consistently accurate in recognising me, as well as blazing fast.

There's something special about lifting the lid, opening it and being automatically and securely logged in to your desktop; Apple already has Face ID on the iPhone X, which works very well in my experience, but on the laptop it makes even more sense, as you're always looking at the screen at angles that don't require you to adjust.

It will probably be a matter of time before Face ID finds its way to Apple's computers, but for now, Mac users are "stuck" with fingerprint readers on MacBook Pros, which work well but aren't as seamless. For me, coming from an older machine, it was a very nice bump ahead.

Then there's Windows 10 itself — and this is where people, particularly tempted MacBook users like me, should weigh up carefully before deciding whether it's worth jumping ship.

In a nutshell, I think that Windows 10 is a fantastic operating system (OS), and one that's possibly more interesting than macOS. Whereas Apple's focus is clearly on iOS, with its desktop OS being treated more like legacy software with no real upgrades, Microsoft has turned Windows 10 into a service that's constantly evolving and adding new things.

There are two problems I've had with it, however: One is more likely to be shared by the majority, while the other one was more personal — although that, too, is an issue many might run into.

After using the Surface Book 2 for a week, I got left with the feeling that Windows 10 is an incredibly powerful, flexible, and capable OS, one that actually does much more than I need. This can be good at times, but it feels overwhelming at others.

It's a double-edged sword. Windows 10's learning curve is steeper than macOS', which remains a relatively simple, straightforward OS; but it's also a more rewarding one: The more I delved into Windows, the more I realised just how much stuff you can do.

Just think about how many ways of interacting with it you have: There's the normal laptop mode, with trackpad and keyboard; then there's tablet mode — with dedicated software tweaks — then the flip-mode; and beyond the touchscreen you can also use peripherals such as the Surface Pen stylus, and the Surface Dial (a puck-shaped accessory that you rotate and changes its functionality based on the app you're using).

They change the experience, ideally for the better, but all ask for some learning time. You are not forced to use them, and could simply stick to using it as a laptop — but then the Book shouldn't be the machine you buy. The more time passes, the more you find yourself taking advantage of all this flexibility. That's nice, but unless you are using specific applications and have particular needs (where using the Pen, the Dial, the flip-mode or else are obvious, immediate improvements), it still feels like overkill.

The Surface Book 2 is, by far, the machine that better encapsulates Windows 10: A system for pro users, who have specific needs and know how to take advantage of such a complex and capable machine. It feels like using a technologically advanced supercar, if you will — but if all you do is commuting to and from work with the occasional jaunt, you probably don't need a Ferrari.

Windows 10 only gives its best if you use Microsoft's software and services

This makes the move to Windows more of a question of having too much to gain rather risking to lose something by leaving another system like macOS, and all the acquired familiarity with it.

Personally, I believe I could switch without too much trouble and keep doing what I do. There is some readjustment — namely with gestures, which I use a lot on macOS and have grown accustomed to — but nothing that would make me wish I had never made the move. Over time, as mentioned, you slowly learn to master and appreciate the Book 2's and Windows 10's versatility, and going back to the Mac actually feels like a bit of sacrifice.

My final assessment on the platform itself is "I like it, I like it a lot, but I don't really need all this added functionality." What I use my computer for, I thought, I can do just as well whether I'm on my old MacBook or a Windows 10 machine.

Except I can't; not really.

When I considered switching permanently (for the sake of change), one aspect eventually stopped me, and that's Microsoft's suite of services. Let me elaborate:

As someone who spends the vast majority of his online time within a browser, I devoted much of my online life to Google. In this, Apple isn't too invasive, as I simply ignore most of its services and just stick to Google's.

It's what I thought I'd be doing on Windows. But Microsoft — which has an ostensibly superior software suite compared to Apple's — always tries to lure you in. And it does a good job at that, not least because of the constant pop-up reminders that ask you to try out Cortana, its Edge browser, or the Office 365 suite. It may seem trivial, but when Cortana starts opening search queries on Bing inside Edge, you realise how invasive this is.

And that's certainly annoying, but Microsoft takes it a step further. That's because its suite of products is the only one that actually takes advantage of all the hardware and software perks built into the Book and Windows. As you get more and more accustomed to Windows and start using its features, you slowly realise how insanely wide the gap between its products and those from other software makers are.

The most staggering example comes in the way of performance: Using Microsoft Edge I noticed considerable speed improvements over Chrome, and OneNote's integration with one click of the Surface Pen obliterates the poor experience of opening Google Keep in a new tab.

On that example: I love using the Surface Pen and the Surface Book's touchscreen to draw on Google Keep, my go-to notes app, but OneNote is much better integrated into the experience, so I'm torn between choosing the software I have always used and the one that actually works better.

On my Mac, using Apple's Notes app is better than opening a new tab and firing up Keep, but the difference is not nearly as big. In that case, the "ecosystem superiority" (aka sticking to what you already use) takes priority over small functional improvements.

And I use many of Google's software products: Gmail, Inbox, Keep, Maps, YouTube, Search, Photos — the list goes on, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. On my Mac — and Apple's hardware in general — it's much easier to keep Apple's influence down and just live with Google.

Microsoft, on the other hand, makes this really hard, and essentially asks for a full commitment — the OneNote example above is just one. For every online service Google has, Microsoft has a counterpart, and it often works better.

There where the hardware switch from Apple to Microsoft is feasible, the software migration over to the Redmond giant's services is not — at least not in my case. The problem is not that Microsoft's offering is bad, but that it's demanding.

If you're already a user of Microsoft's software, then by all means go for it; the Surface Book 2 is genuinely a spectacular product that will have a lot to offer — and if you think the Surface Book 2 itself is too much of a pro machine, look at the Surface Laptop or the Surface Pro, or any of the other great Windows machines manufacturers like HP and Dell offer.

If, like me, you are already tied to another ecosystem, however, you will either have to adapt, look elsewhere, or keep doing what you do with a few added annoyances. I was saddened by this, because it showed me how strong of a hold Google has on me. But it is what it is.

The whole package is great, but you need to take it all

I liked using the Surface Book 2 a lot, and am genuinely excited about the development of Windows 10. It's a great operating system, and the Book 2 is possibly its best incarnation as of yet.

But to enjoy it fully — and justify the purchase — you need to be in a very niche group of people that are both not too heavily tied to other companies' ecosystems of software and services and that can really take advantage of all of that the Surface Book/Windows combo has to give.

I, for one, couldn't justify the full switch. Even the MacBook Pro that I own, save for some Photoshop and a few heavier applications, is a machine I bought only because of my admittedly over-demanding browsing needs, but I could very well live with a Chromebook.

If only the Pixelbook were half as nice as a Surface Book, that is.

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