For a while, there were concerns that Microsoft was planning to lock down Windows 8 tablets in the same way that it had locked down Windows RT tablets, which would have meant a locked bootloader and therefore no option to set up a dual-boot system. But, the Microsoft Surface Pro team has confirmed that the tablet will be able to run Linux.

The information came via a Reddit Ask Me About Anything session with Panos Panay who is a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft and works on the Surface Pro Engineering Team. Reddit user Nygmatic asked, "For the Surface Pro....is the boot loader unlocked? Can I do what I want with my (potential) property? Or am I locked in to Windows 8?" Panay cleared up any concerns saying:

"Like other Windows 8 machines, you can access BIOS settings and turn off secure boot, enabling you to load other OSes."

Continue Reading @: Microsoft Surface Pro can run Linux

Microsoft is doing a great job of keeping the Surface RT humming along nicely. Hot on the heels of an update from last month, we have a new update rolling out to the Surface RT. The update this month includes the following fixes,

• Improved Wi-Fi connectivity
• Improved performance with Windows itself
• Improvements to the volume and power buttons

If you want to find out if you have the update yet, click on the upper right portion of your display (or you can swipe in from the right edge). After that, tap on Settings, then hit Change PC settings. Finally, tap on Windows Update and Check for Updates.

Below is a link to what is in the Feb. update.

Source: Microsoft

We found a hot deal on the Surface RT 32GB version over at Staples. The retailer is selling the tablet for just $424 (which includes shipping) if you use a special coupon code at checkout. The deal is for a limited time only and is also while supplies last. To get the sweet deal you just have to enter the promo code 99279 at checkout. Here's a source link below to grab yours!

Source: Staples

Just yesterday, Bill Gates had an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit. While the contents of his discussion are quite fascinating (you can find the talk here), what we found most intriguing was his gigantic 80-inch Windows Tablet that he used to answer the questions with! It's called a Perceptive Pixel display Windows 8 touch whiteboard. Here's the picture of it above.

I guess when you are the majority owner in the company and also one of the world's richest billionaires, your Windows Tablet might have a few "improvements" over a conventional one...

Source: A Photo Of Bill Gates Using An 80-Inch Windows Tablet To Answer Questions On Reddit - Business Insider

When inventory of the 128GB version of Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet dried up within hours after going on sale Saturday, there were plenty of disappointed shoppers. But there were also many skeptics who charged that Microsoft artificially created the sell-out by under-stocking the $1000 units at its online store, Best Buy and Staples.

By the way, there's no shortage of the $900, 64GB versions of the tablet.

Microsoft's official statement is that the shortage was caused by an underestimate in demand, although there were plenty of voices on Reddit who found stores with either no 128GB units or a paltry number of them for sale.

And perhaps Chris Cook of the small consumer electronics blog Product Reviews put it most succinctly: "While Microsoft would have you believe that they are working on the lack of supply problems, we’re more inclined to say that this was all part of their plan," Cook wrote.

Why hold back?
Others are discounting the artificial sell-out theory. "People build a product based on what they think can sell," Stephen Baker, a consumer electronics analyst with the NPD Group in New York City said in an interview.

"I really don't think any retailer would purposely not buy Surface Pros so Microsoft could say it was going to sell out," he added. "There's no way that would ever happen."

If retailers didn't get a lot of 128GB Surface Pros, it was because Microsoft didn't have a lot of product or because of the lackluster sales numbers for Surface RT—Microsoft's first branded tablet—retailers ordered few of the Pro, Baker said.

Supply manipulation accusations are common when a product sells out, Baker said. "There's always those kinds of rumors," Baker said. "It flies in the face of logic, if a company wants to make money."

"The goal is to sell stuff," he added, "not to pretend you sold what you didn't have."

Companies and retailers maintain inventories based on what they think will sell, Baker added. "Everybody expected that [the Surface Pro] would not be a huge seller," he said. "It's expensive and the previous product didn't do very well so anyone wouldn't have built a lot of them."

"Did they sell out because retailers only had two or three per store?" he asked. "Maybe, but I don't see anything in the previous volumes of the previous product that would indicate this was going to be a huge seller."

Continue Reading @: Microsoft Surface Pro sell-out flap: Is the tablet really that popular? | PCWorld

It looks as if the complaints about the 128GB Surface Pro having a low amount of useable storage space are a bit overblown. The numbers are accurate. The difference is that the Surface Pro's competition, namely the Macbook Air, basically has the same problem. Here's a quote with some extra details,

One of the reported downsides to the 128GB Microsoft (MSFT) Surface Pro is that only around 70% of its advertised storage can actually be used for user data — in BGR’s review of the Surface Pro, for instance, we found that the 128GB version of the device had only around 85.3GB of actual free space. But new analysis from ZDNet’s Ed Bott shows that this is only slightly less storage than the 128GB MacBook Air, which has roughly 92.2GB of usable storage.

Additionally, there are ways to free up about 8GB of storage space off of the Surface Pro, that are not possible on the Macbook Air. There is a procedure that will allow you to move the contents of the large Windows 8 Recovery partition to a USB flash drive. The bottom line is that many folks in the community (and especially the press) have been overhyping this "issue" and blowing it way out of proportion. Share your opinion.

Source: BGR

BGR just posted an in-depth review of the new Microsoft Surface Pro. Their writeup was detailed and included some high praise for the device; however, the praise was with one caveat, and that is the question, "Will the Surface Pro be enough, and will it sell well?" They came away convinced of the potential, but also made it clear that it has some serious road-blocks as well. Here are a couple of quotes from their summary, but the review is definitely worth a read,

Here's their take on the quality of the product,

Now, Microsoft is back for round two and once again, it’s armed with a very impressive piece of hardware. Unavoidable added thickness and weight aside, the Surface Pro is better than its predecessor in every way. It’s more powerful, it’s faster, it’s smoother and it’s more useful thanks to the enormous pool of Windows applications that will be available to users on day one when the Surface Pro launches on February 9th.

Here's their perspective on its potential in the market,

On an island, the Surface Pro is a fantastic premium computer that is portable, versatile and capable. It is priced fairly and it offers novel features that provide clear advantages over rival devices. But in a market where interest in personal computers is declining and Windows 8 is struggling to gain traction, I fear the Surface Pro might not be the right product right now.

The Surface Pro is not good fit for everyone, but those who do purchase Microsoft’s new tablet for work or for personal use — whether they number in the thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions — will not be disappointed.

Source: BGR