December 15, 2014
Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback! I jumped on the Surface early, had an Original Surface Pro for years, pretty much used it for everything... sort of. It was just a little small: The screen was a touch too small for my comfort, and the keyboard was as well. Plus it was clunky (compared to the 3), coming in almost at an inch thick, it was a seriously heavy tablet. But I loved the idea, and I demonstrated to myself that I could use it in any situation: work, home etc. But I kept using my 15" MacBook Pro as my primary computer. And believe me, I have a huge dislike for Apple (long story, used to be huge fan, burned, never going back) so really it came down to the simple productivity it provided.Then a two months ago I was encouraged to get the Surface 3 by my CEO, less because he felt I needed it, more because he thought a new 'toy' would be good. So I got the i5 256, and I have not looked back. My setup is simple, and I have it twice (once at home, once at work):Dynadock: This allows one USB 3 cable to connect second monitor, external keyboard and mouse, additional storage, etc. I have a drive connected that automatically backs up the sp3 when it is plugged in, simply using MS software in Win 8. XCSD Card: I got the 64 GB one, but I am finding that I store less locally than I used to. With the 256 on board and the additional 64 GB, I am nowhere near full and I have my music, movies and some choice games. The fact that it is under the kickstand means you can set it and forget it. Never pops out by accident. Second Monitor: I have a couple of Samsung 24" monitors, one at home and one at work. With the DisplayLink driver you can expand the desktop to whatever screen you like. I occasionally run into issues with Metro Apps stranded on a non-touch screen (get a touch second screen if you can, they are not that expensive). Keyboard and Mouse: I have the Apple chicklet full wired keyboard in white. I hate that it is apple and that it is white, but its a pretty good keyboard. I have the Level 10 Thermaltake Mouse, which is crazy overkill but I like how it looks. With this, I plug in the power and one cable and I have my work setup and home setup mirrored, I just carry the SP3. The pen: Yeah, the pen is not as good as the old one, at least on the surface pro (original). But it is still plenty good and I have hundreds of pages of notes and sketches in One Note. All other pen programs are really for playing. The Windows Ecosystem: I understand that there are not as many apps as in iOS or Android, but that has never bothered me because all of the 'apps' that I want end in .exe. That is what I do not understand every time somebody complains about the lack of apps: Just install the normal application or bookmark and use whatever it is in a browser. For me, this is a work computer, and that is what I do on it 90% of the time. What I do: I am the President of a web development firm. I need people to take me seriously as it relates to my technology, and I need to be efficient. I waited until after the August Wifi fix because I could not stand the idea of dropping signal every hour. That has never happened to my SP3, so I guess it was worth the wait. I do a ton of email, I am in Office all day, I use my browser to excess (four different browsers for testing as well as segmenting my work), occasionally my screen will see code, but rarely these days. I do a lot of video conferencing, Skype, Go To Meeting and other presentations. I am constantly connecting my SP3 to the multitude of client and partner projectors, networks etc, and never had any issues. I use my phone as a hotspot (part of my plan) so I am always connected to the internet and I can be almost as productive in a park as I am at home or at my desk. The second screen really goes a long way.Conclusion: I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews, including the very negative, so that I had a realistic grasp of what this thing is meant to be for. That is what I use it for. In that regard, it is incredible. Good looking, lightweight, powerful, full desktop, amazing kickstand, great battery life, beautiful screen. Would I like to play Titan Fall on it? Sure. But I have no doubt that the Surface Pro 10 will crush it. But for now, my MacBook is a cold storage machine, gathering dust on the edge of my desk.