Review: My Year With Microsoft Surface Pro

Just shy of 12 months ago, I transitioned from a MacBook Pro and iPad combination to a Microsoft Surface Pro 128GB. In mild of this week’s declaration of Surface Pro 3 and my acquisition of a Surface Pro 2, I suppose it’s time to reflect on what that revel in becoming like. Like maximum folks, I turned into a touch skeptical about the concept of combining a laptop and tablet right into a single unit. Would it’s too heavy? Would the overall performance be too low? Would the battery life be awful? And what approximately is the brand new Windows eight OS that’s been the subject of a lot of teeth-gnashing? I’ll try to solve these types of questions and extra as briefly as feasible. Hit the leap and allow’s get into the query: what is it want to stay with Microsoft’s vision for computing in the destiny?

Windows eight.1 Update 1 had an excellent head begin with Windows 8, as I started using it at some point of the first publicly to be had betas approximately nine months earlier than launch, twin booting on my MacBook Pro. That enjoy gave me plenty of time to discern how to navigate the OS nicely before launch, so I didn’t have the conflict that many people did. Of course, it probably helps that I experience exploring and coming across new matters. The early Windows 8 enjoy did have its struggles, although. I’d become familiar with the iPad and even with my Windows Phone 7 tool, both of which had plenty of apps available for their stores. Windows eight’s save become notoriously barren by way of comparison, which caused some early frustration while looking to use Surface.

Pro as just a pill. Too many apps and features had been missing to make for a fulfilling experience. Nevertheless, the device’s capacity to deal with legacy Windows desktop apps with aplomb kept me happy enough to preserve. The app saves catch 22 situations becomes much less vital throughout the day. If there may be one factor Windows truly desires to restore, it is its way of imparting the desktop. The computer continues to be wrapped inside the trappings of an archaic system whose time has exceeded, and it is time for Microsoft to update it to a more modern-day presentation that has fonts massive enough to examine on high DPI screens and substantial sufficient to perform with a finger.

With eight.1 and the brand new eight.1 Spring Update (clearly? We could not simply call it eight.2?), simply all my complaints approximately Windows eight evaporated. While some dislike the new aesthetic, I’ve personally loved the flat colors, active tiles, and removal of extraneous outcomes. My sincere desire is that as Windows evolves, it receives even more balance, and the metro aesthetic becomes more pervasive.