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Surface pro as a work replacement

Interesting article. Thanks for the link. I completely agree with the author about the Modern versions of Office being available. I would have thought that would be a necessary pre-requisite for the Surface devices. Hopefully, by next year, this will be the case. Having read this, I am thinking of writing a similar article for the Surface RT. It has now occupied a key role in my work-flow and it has made me a lot more productive. However, my caveat is that my work flow requires me to have a desk-bound machine, which I do, with the "cloud" - specifically Skydrive (but it could probably any other similar service) - playing the role of the connector between my devices.

Having said that, yesterday, I had an interesting experience. I was reminded as to how my work habits have changed over the past 24 months. Here is an example:

I have been a member of Amazon Prime for sometime. A couple of days back I discovered that I can "borrow" a book for free from Amazon every month and I found a such a book. I downloaded it to my Kindle (first generation). I then proceeded to read parts of that book on the Kindle. A couple of hours later, I had to work on some documents but did not feel like doing so in my office-study. So, I went out to a coffee shop with the Surface RT. I worked there for a couple of hours. When I was done, I saved a local copy on the Surface and uploaded a working copy to a relevant folder on Skydrive. I returned to my digs and wanted to explore Steam (yes! I know, I just signed up). I downloaded and played for an hour or so on the demo version of Company of Heroes 2. I then went back to work on the document by pulling it down from Skydrive. Again, I saved a local copy and uploaded the latest working copy when done. After dinner, I wanted to watch some episodes of Yes Minister, which I proceeded to do on my Nexus 10. I then went back to my document, but this time on the Surface since I wanted to work at the dining table. The same saving protocol followed. I then went to bed but wanted to read some more, so I took my Kindle with me and read a couple of chapters before passing out!

So, the work-flow involved - e-book reading (Kindle) + document creation when mobile (Surface RT) + static document creation (including doing some online references) (desktop machine, currently a ThinkPad hooked to an external monitor) + gaming (desktop machine) + movie watching (Nexus 10). Not bad, I think and a far cry from what would have happened if I did not have the Surface RT. I say this because I have had the Kindle and the Nexus 10 and the desktop set up for some time now.

I should also mention that I pulled out the Kindle (which I don't use too often nowadays) only because of that book from Amazon, which was not available in ePUB format. Most of my digital books (and I now have close to 3000 titles) are either in ePUB or in PDF format with only very few in the Djvu format. I use both the Nexus and the Surface for reading too.

The above description is, however, not a typical workday, but it is close to it. More typically, I spend at least 8-9 hours on the Surface RT (this includes working online and on documents) and, I should add, the battery works out just fine!
 
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My Surface RT is now the primary work device. That's what I use for email, worksheet, documents, and so on.

My Acer S3 is dedicated to running Hyper-V, Ubuntu (Hyper-V mode) and Visual Studio. The Surface Pro, as much as want it won't handle the load I have on the S3 (i5 vs i7, 128GB vs 256GB SSD), and I am waiting for the day when a Surface with 8GB of memory and 256GB of disk surfaces (sic).

My colleague owns a Surface Pro but she use an Asus 15.6" with i7, 8GB of memory and 1TB of hard disk for her work.
 
I had a macbook pro, a iPad and a iPhone 4. First, I switched from iPhone to Lumia 710. As a digital marketing strategist, I felt Microsoft was bound do regain market and buzz with the new Windows 8. So, I got a WP to check the vibe and feel and see if people would use it. Well, I never went back, I'm stuck with WP for good.

Later, I switched from my old macbook pro to a old core 2 duo (temporary machine) with Windows 8, just to test it too. I loved it.

Well, I now gave my iPad to my wife, sold my iPhone and sold my macbook pro.

I use my Surface Pro as a work station. Word, PPT, Photoshop and lots and lots of e-mail. Surface will demand some time for a regular user to get used to it but after a while you will get it.

All I can say is that this damn little thing got me pretty good.

Oh, one thing to mention about the Surface Pro is the WOW factor. You go to a meeting with a client and you see all those guys from other agencies with their macs and iPads and you have this thing. They look so boring. Clients always go WOW on Surface.

This beauty worth every penny.
 
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I wish I had some important meetings to go to, I'd love to see people's reactions!
 
The Surface Pro and RT replaced my work laptops. I use the Pro for everything, other than serious DB work, since I deal with TB's at a time.
 
The Surface Pro and RT replaced my work laptops. I use the Pro for everything, other than serious DB work, since I deal with TB's at a time.

Have you tried the new office 2013? You can save and open files on Skydrive with one click. It's magic! All my professional data is on the clouds now! It's awesome!

I had that with Google Drive, but people here in Brazil see that as a 'domestic' solution. When you say you use Microsoft professional (ha ha) cloud storage, they look at you like "well, well, mister fancy pants"...

Priceless... hahaha
 
Completely replaced my laptop for the last 4 months with the Surface Pro and love every minute of it. Works 100% of the time, does 100% of what i need it to do. It runs all day long (charging of course) without a hitch. I have many meetings, where I can now quickly pick up my Surface and take it with me, while everyone else is lugging around 8lb laptops walking from one end of the office to the other.
 
My Surface Pro has completely replaced my work computer, however it did not replace my "work" as thread title suggests.

I arrive at work and plug my HP 3000pr docking station into Surface Pro USB port and it drives a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, and two monitors. At home I have similar setup minus the keyboard. So it is a seamless transition from work to home. Bada bing, Bada bang. Bob's your uncle.
 
Have you tried the new office 2013? You can save and open files on Skydrive with one click. It's magic! All my professional data is on the clouds now! It's awesome!

I had that with Google Drive, but people here in Brazil see that as a 'domestic' solution. When you say you use Microsoft professional (ha ha) cloud storage, they look at you like "well, well, mister fancy pants"...

Priceless... hahaha

Is this the traditional Office 2013 or Office 365?
 
. . . because of that book from Amazon, which was not available in ePUB format.

KristalSoldier --

Couldn't you have also downloaded it to your RT read it in the Kindle app? You can't sideload books in that app on the RT, but it does read Amazon's format.

Interesting observation about workflow evolution. You may recall that I bought the first Pro for my Ladyfriend, to replace her laptop for travel. The Pro has now made two international trips, and she is delighted. Her three work locations are office, home office and portable. She uses USB drives to coordinate among and between them. Recently, she came over, and I had my Pro set up with external monitor and keyboard just to show her. She's a bright Lady, so it took her about 20 milliseconds to grasp the concept and what a great time-saving arrangement it would be. Now, she is set up that way at both home and office. Her Pro is her primary computer, and she doesn't have to worry about whether she offloaded her latest work to her USB drive.

It's a thang of beauty.

Take care,

Russ
 
Any version of Office will save to your SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro but for SkyDrive Pro File Sync you need Office 2013 Professional Plus or download the client for x86. But to actually have the place where SkyDrive Pro saves its documents you need Office365 Business or a SharePoint 2013 environment.
 
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