DescentBB

Any opinions on the new Surface tablets?
Seems that the version to be released in January that uses win8 is the one to get.
I have a mac laptop, but cant stand the OS, so an ipad is pretty much out of the question for me.

It isn't like you can do much of anything useful on a tablet anyway, so getting an ipad would be fine too.

I think I'd recommend try-before-you-buy on these like nothing else. It's kind of hard to fully grasp quite what you'll be getting without it. Surface is an interesting take on the form factor though; only complaint would be that it doesn't hold its own weight well enough to act as a laptop. You basically need to hold it flat or use a desk/bench.

windows 8 doesn't do enough to be productive with its metro interface. the potential is there, but MS never fully committed.

I would seriously consider an android or a apple tablet over windows 8.

I don't think commitment was the issue, more time and people.

They at least should have taken more time for polish. For instance, they removed aero from the desktop UI, so why does the installer / recovery console / etc. on the disc still have aero window borders? I could go on, but I doubt anyone wants to hear my list of gripes.

And the taskbar.

That happened very late (literally in the RTM phase) which was probably at the point the project managers were saying "screw it, this is good enough, let's ship it and pretty it up more later".

Conjecture, but still By the point Win8 was released, its primary form factor (tablets) was already in a problem point - lagging iPad by something like two years. Holding it up starts to hurt at that point, especially if you miss Christmas.

Thanks for the input.
Have been waiting for the surface, but looks like it'll be better to wait for another generation.