I got mine early this year and it's been fine, given its specs. I can and do use it for work involving desktop apps, including one that runs from the Command Prompt. An RT would not have sufficed, for me, and of course neither would any iOS or Android device.
The only current problem is that it no longer charges well from a USB cable. I use the dock instead. Once the SP2 comes out, if I buy that, I'll probably send this in for repair. I can't (choose not to) do without it until then.
Ted