A new laptop is a relationship more than it is a commitment. Think of how much time you spend at your keyboard; you get to know each other. I had been working from DELL Latitudes for the past ten or so years, so we were in pretty deep together. Also noteworthy: the majority of our clients use them. Aside from being stable as hell, it’s nice to become familiar with the nuances that allow me to provide better support. “Why isn’t my WiFi working?!” Well, there’s a funny hotkey you might have accidentally hit. Try Shift + F-whatever.
But … history fell to the wayside. And times change. I wanted something sleek and – in my moment of vulnerability – Sean swooped in to convince me to go with a Microsoft Surface. I mean, they really are pretty little things! We’ve been selling loads of them in all shapes and sizes, so it made good sense to become more intimately familiar with them. Sure, I could have chosen the DELL XPS, but change feels good.
So here I am, 6-months later with a Surface Laptop. I can go on about the touch screen (that I never remember to use, but love when I do remember), or the crisp keyboard that increases my type speed (actually, it doesn’t). What can I say? I do like it. It feels cool to use it.
But.
The back panel scratched while commuting in my work bag. It lost a battle to an inside pocket zipper. Who knew this Surface was such a delicate flower? I didn’t have this problem with my DELL. The real frustration? Why doesn’t the Surface Dock have a power button?! What if I want to dock my laptop out of sight, then turn it on and gaze into my high-res monitors? I cannot! I must open my laptop, power it on, wait until it connects to my display, close my laptop and login. Seriously, Microsoft. Any productive user will dock this thing at least some of the time. I chose the 13” for commute-ability, not productivity.
There’s no conclusion. It’s not perfect, but hardware rarely is these days. I think I’ll go with an XPS next time. They’re pretty, too.