Surface Go Identity Crisis

Microsoft isn’t targeting its Surface Go at any particular customer from what I can tell. It’s not an iPad killer, it’s not going directly after Chromebooks, and it’s not really challenging $400 Windows laptops. While the Surface Laptop launched at an education event alongside Windows 10 S, the Surface Go appears to be targeted far more broadly across education, regular consumers, and even commercial usage. It’s clearly designed to be a cheaper and more portable Surface that lowers the barrier of entry for those put off by the price of a Surface Pro and its more capable specifications. It’s also aiming to be more than an iPad or a Chromebook.

Once again, instead of hitting a Home Run, Microsoft goes for a base single. A sub-par experience won’t bode well into converting or convincing future users to stay in the Windows platform but instead show them that it’s awful. I was hoping it would have been better.

The "New" Microsoft and it's Surface Book →

So Panay’s team set a different goal: to reinvent the laptop. They spent two years designing, prototyping, and fine-tuning—all to get to the Surface Book that goes on sale today. It’s the product of everything Microsoft has learned from making the first Surface machines, and from watching Apple eat its lunch. It’s a story right out of Cupertino, really: A small group of creatives sits in a room together, passionately slaving over every tiny detail of a product until it’s perfect. To go after Apple, Microsoft learned from Apple—and then found a few places to take right turns toward the future it imagines. It cost Panay much more than one night’s sleep.

This is what sets the course for success. Still at $1,499, makes it a little hard to digest but yes, it's definitely production and hardware plus excitement heading in the right direction.

Just in case you missed the latest shenanigans, PCWorld posted their benchmarks showing it beat the Apple's MacBook Pro 13" laptop not by twice but almost three times in terms of speed. Pretty impressive nonetheless, but 9to5Mac brings to light some of discrepancies. The biggest takeaway points to dedicated graphics cards do help in processing power and frame rate. The Surface Book has one, but the MacBook Pro does not.

I'm Actually Excited About Windows 10 →

Happy and engaged" is one of those talking points you hear a lot from Microsoft. Myerson used it nine times in our hour together. But behind the PR-approved phrasing is a simple truth: it’s been a long time since Windows users have been either, and Microsoft needs to fix that. It’s as good a North Star as any, especially when your product development cycle is founded on taking user feedback seriously. If Microsoft can make people love Windows again, then the rest — developers and apps — is easy.

Head on over to The Verge's awesome piece on the story behind Microsoft's Windows 10 and tell me it doesn't get you a little excited.

It's been over a decade since I've used a Windows PC in an everyday setting, but I'm admitting here and now, I'll be looking up some Lenovo notebook options loaded with Windows 10 this fall. Maybe even an Alienware or Razer laptop as long as SkyLake gets into the mix already. Or even Intel's latest storage technology. That would be awesome! Now, about those bug fixes.