30 Days with Surface Pro

SurfacePro

30 Days with Surface Pro: Day 1

I’ve done a few Morgan Spurlock-esque experiments over the last few years where I immerse myself in a new platform or technology for 30 days and blog daily about the experience. I’ve switched from Windows to Linux, from Microsoft Office to Google Docs, and from my iPhone to a Windows Phone smartphone. This month, I am starting a new adventure with Surface Pro.

I have long been a proponent of the tablet as a PC replacement. Actually–to be more precise–I maintain that a tablet is, in fact, a “personal computer” as well, and that it doesn’t “replace” the PC because it’s really just a different form of PC. In the summer of 2011 I did a 30 Days series where I gave up my Windows laptop (to the extent it was possible) and just used an iPad as a PC replacement. I had mixed results, but in the end I still felt that most users could ditch their PC for an iPad.

So, why now? Why the Surface Pro? Why here?

First, as I mentioned above I have always been a champion of the tablet as PC. With Windows 8, though, the entire debate shifts. I don’t have to argue about whether or not a tablet like an iPad can replace my Windows desktop or laptop PC, because I can have one device that fills both roles. The answer to the question “PC or tablet” can now be “Yes, please.”

There’s a reason I’m not using a Surface RT. I have a Surface RT, and I think it is a solid tablet, but because it runs Windows RT rather than the full Windows 8 Pro, it also has other limitations that make it closer to an iPad or Android tablet than a Windows PC. The purpose of this 30 Days experiment is to see how well a Windows Pro tablet–specifically a Surface Pro–can function as both a PC and a tablet.

I am using the Surface Pro, as opposed to a Samsung Series 7 Slate, or Dell Latitude 10, or any of the multitude of other Windows 8 Pro devices because I feel like it’s the flagship Windows 8 Pro tablet. If it’s not, it should be. Microsoft invested a lot and risked offending its OEM partners by stepping on their toes so it could develop a marquis tablet that lives up to the potential of Windows 8. If Microsoft itself can’t get it right, then maybe the concept just won’t work.

This blog isn’t intended to be a tech news or tech reviews blog. The focus of the Bradley Strategy Group is to provide industry analysis and insight more than news. But, it seems apropos for me to live through this 30 Days experiment here as I “eat my own dog food” so to speak, and try to see if my rhetoric about the convergence of tablets and PCs, and the future of computing matches my reality.

Keep coming back. For the next 30 days…well, 29 now…I will share the trials and tribulations, as well as the victories and triumphs as I make the switch to using the Surface Pro as my one and only PC..and tablet. I will replace both my MacBook Air and my iPad with the Surface Pro, and we’ll see if the experience can live up to my expectations.

A complete list of all of the posts from the 30 Days with Surface Pro series:


Comments

45 responses to “30 Days with Surface Pro”

  1. […] 22 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series is all about using the Surface Pro tablet with the digitizer […]

  2. […] that I’ve cut the cord and taken the Surface Pro mobile, Day 21 of 30 Days with Surface Pro is focused on getting the Surface Pro connected from wherever it is I may […]

  3. […] 18 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series takes a closer look at the Kindle and Nook apps for Windows 8, and examines how well the […]

  4. […] Day 17 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’m taking a closer look at how Windows 8 handles split screen. It turns out that it […]

  5. […] so that seems silly. Basically, the Surface Pro and Windows 8 Pro tablets of all shapes and sizes (as long as they’re under 16 inches) could […]

  6. […] naked without a Touch or Type cover. Now that I’ve gone mobile, I’m spending Day 20 of 30 Days with Surface Pro taking a closer look at the Touch and Type […]

  7. […] vast majority of the first 18 days of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series have been dedicated to using the Surface Pro as a desktop PC–connected to a keyboard, […]

  8. […] the most common uses for tablet devices of all shapes and sizes is as an ereader. For Day 18 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I take a look at how the Surface Pro handles my digital library, and how it fares as a […]

  9. […] not very efficient if you literally have to switch between them each time. For Day 17 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’m examining how Windows 8 and the Surface Pro handle split screen–enabling me […]

  10. […] not very efficient if you literally have to switch between them each time. For Day 17 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’m examining how Windows 8 and the Surface Pro handle split screen–enabling me […]

  11. […] with customers, partners, or co-workers via video chat or video conferencing. For Day 16 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’m checking out Microsoft’s flagship video apps–Lync and Skype, and […]

  12. […] using a Surface Pro as a replacement for both a MacBook Air, and an iPad for a month, but 30 Days with Surface Pro is not the first immersive experience we’ve […]

  13. […] 8 on the Surface Pro, but there are other browsers to choose from as well. For Day 15 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’m taking a look at the browser choices to figure out which one I should […]

  14. […] 30 Days with Surface Pro […]

  15. […] nearly half-way through the 30 Days with Surface Pro experience, and so far I’ve managed just fine using a mouse at while using the Surface Pro at […]

  16. […] around Windows 8 using a mouse, but it’s a touch-oriented operating system. So, Day 14 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series documents my switch from a mouse to a Logitech t650 […]

  17. […] the course of this 30 Days with Surface Pro series so far, I’ve been using the tablet mostly as a “desktop […]

  18. […] memory and solid-state drives (SSD), though, which are significantly more expensive. For Day 13 of 30 Days with Surface Pro, I take a look at what it’s like running Windows 8 on a device with only 128GB (or even 64GB) […]

  19. […] is that the Surface Pro only has 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. So, for Day 13 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I am taking a look at how that impacts the way I use the Surface Pro, and what some […]

  20. […] a Start button in Windows 8 that the operating system is just useless without it. For Day 12 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I examine the Charms Bar, which basically replaces the functionality of the Start […]

  21. […] Start button at the bottom left corner, and voila! But, Windows 8 has no Start button. Day 12 of 30 Days with Surface Pro is devoted to exploring the Charms Bar–which more or less replaces the functionality of the […]

  22. […] 11 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro journey focuses on using Microsoft Office on the […]

  23. […] in Microsoft Word, or listening to music while reading a book in the Kindle app. For Day 10 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series I am going to see how well the Surface Pro handles […]

  24. […] of apps designed for the Modern (aka “Metro”) interface by default. For Day 9 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I am taking a closer look at the three most useful ones when it comes to productivity: […]

  25. […] Day 9 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I spent some time digging in to some of the default apps in Windows […]

  26. […] on Day 6 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series I spent some time looking at the Windows Store, and exploring the apps available for Windows […]

  27. […] you think investing 30 days to immerse myself in a new technology is impressive, then this might blow your mind. One man gave […]

  28. […] Day 6 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series I explored using the Windows Store to find and install new apps. In a business environment, […]

  29. […] that I’m all logged in to Windows 8 on my Surface Pro, it’s time to start digging in and figure out how to get around this […]

  30. […] spent Day 3 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series going through the initial boot of Windows 8 on the Surface Pro, and the ins and outs of the […]

  31. […] it changes the debate from PC vs tablet, and allows you to have both at one time. I will spend the next 30 days trading in both my MacBook Air and my iPad, and using just a Surface Pro to learn whether it can […]

  32. […] talked on Day 3 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series about the process of just logging in to Windows and setting up a user profile. Today, […]

  33. […] next step in the 30 Days with Surface Pro adventure is to get the Windows 8 Start screen configured the way I want […]

  34. […] 8 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series is devoted to customizing the look of the Windows 8 Start screen (also known as the Modern […]

  35. […] today’s 30 Days with Surface Pro adventure, I’m going to dive into the Start screen–the Windows 8 Modern / Metro […]

  36. […] I first boot the Surface Pro, I’m greeted with the new Windows 8 interface. It was called the Metro UI–and many […]

  37. […] spent Day 6 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series exploring the pros and cons of the Windows Store. On a Surface RT (or other device running […]

  38. […] that in mind, the first few days of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series have been dedicated to just getting the Surface Pro out of the box, logging in to Windows, […]

  39. […] post from the 30 Days with Surface Pro series is dedicated to getting it set up in my office, connected to an external monitor. For those […]

  40. […] 3 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro experiment is all about just turning the Surface Pro tablet on, and getting logged in to Windows […]

  41. […] some point in this 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I’ll focus on its functions and capabilities as a tablet. But, first I am trying to […]

  42. […] I turned the Surface Pro on for the first time, I had to run through the initial configuration. After selecting English as […]

  43. […] the second day of my 30 day experiment, I took the Surface Pro out of the box, and set things […]

  44. […] the second day of my 30 day experiment, I took the Surface Pro out of the box, and set things […]

  45. […] need any more gadgets right now. I’m not saying I won’t buy one (we’ll see at the end of the 30 Days I guess), but I just want to be clear up front that this isn’t my Surface […]