For desktop users, the upgrade will be mostly the same as in every other Windows iteration since Windows 95 - refinement. The OS is smoother, boots faster, supports newer components, and has a few great features (Storage Spaces is a great one).

I like the interface fine.. But you got me thinking: if the start hub contains links to commonly used apps or games, and the option to pin specific apps to specific spots.

The innovation is in the Surface Pro: a full

Finally, the shift we need to see to create a truly competitive landscape in product and software design. Looks good for the future! If these companies can continue to one-up each other, it can only benefit consumers. Let's hope Microsoft can deliver!

"Media Makeover" - Are you kidding??? The media app on iOS is terrible and incredibly dated in comparison! Instant gratification? Tap Music+Video Hub, then tap the "Play Music" button on the bottom. I don't understand what you find to be the problem with this.

This is an article about design. I don't think we've read the same thing.

I think most here (me included!) are really just excited for the potential of this thing to be really great. Like you, I'll try one and then decide whether to purchase it or not, but I rather go about it with optimism rather than cynicism.

That's essentially what WinRT is - a dead simple consumption device. This is the device competing with the iPad. the Surface Pro with full Windows 8 is competing with the MBA.

It's running Windows 8. Even the RT version gives a lot of control to Admins to lock it down.

The problem with touch keyboards is that you can't rest your hands in position, which means you have to keep your hands hovering above the keyboard. The Touch Cover lets you touch the keys, as it measures pressure input, not touch. The Type Cover on the other hand offers tactile feedback like any other thin keyboard,…

Yup, I'm pretty much convinced that the Surface Pro will finally replace my ageing laptop and give me a nice tablet at the same time. My usage is a mix of mobile web-browsing, emailing, Excel, e-reading and CAD applications. This device satisfies all these quite nicely.

Can you really be blamed if you were just having a walk outside with your Prime, and all of a sudden, a pigeon comes along, snatches it right out of your hands, attemps to make a daring escape over a mountain range, only to have that mountain explode into a deadly volcano, ultimately consuming both pigeon and tablet?

Ultimately depends on your needs. I'd rather get the Surface Pro than the MBA+iPad combo, just for simplicity's sake (and much cheaper)

I doubt it. Metro is a design language, not a concrete design style. As such, it's expected that it will continue to evolve, but most likely within the same clean, chromeless design language.

What's the other touchscreen Ultrabook with detachable keyboard with built-in digitizer support that you know of?

I disagree. That right there is beautiful, modern, clean, minimalist industrial design.

Well, Surface Pro is basically an ultrabook, it just needs to compete on price with the Air. And since it's smaller and lighter, it's also more portable. The point isn't that traditional laptops are immediately obsolete, but rather that they no longer represent the cutting edge of modern computing.

True, but then when you're on the go and you'd rather be using Metro, you're going to expect a decent app selection. I kind of suspect that one of the missions of announcing the products so early is to get developers excited about developing for WinRT (Metro apps).

They stated at the event that the screen's glass is Corning Gorilla Glass 2.0.

yup.