This is a one time issue I ran into on both my first Surface Pro and its replacement, so I think it might be just a corrupt preinstalled driver.

The symptoms are if you, within the first week or so of using the Surface Pro, start having limited connection with any WiFi or Bluetooth network.  For Bluetooth, you may also be getting the option to connect via "Direct Connection" instead of "Access Point".

The fix is to go to the Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Device Manager > Network Adapters.
Just uninstall all devices and restart.
Windows 8 will automatically reinstall the default drivers and everything works again.

Note: For Bluetooth, you also need to pair up your phone and laptop again.  This is the case even with Windows Update updating your drivers, which can be annoying.

Island Song by Ashley Eriksson

So I picked up a Surface Pro on its release a couple days ago.  Funny enough the Microsoft Store in Corte Madera was fairly empty and there was no trouble at all picking one up in 128GB (plenty of stock).  Guess they aren't very good at marketing.

I installed pretty much everything I normally keep on my laptop onto it without a hitch.  Virtually no cons so far.  Runs Photoshop, Premiere, FL Studio, Visual Studio, WinSCP, etc all just fine.  Type cover keyboard works great and I'm able to run anything I normally do on my regular desktop.  If you don't like Windows 8, you can just download ClassicShell which brings back the Start menu and lets you switch to Desktop mode permanently, making it essentially Windows 7.  Even the lack of 3G/4G is easily fixed by tethering it via Bluetooth to the cellphone in my pocket.


The only thing that bugged me so far is the type cover sometimes is not responsive; noticed this occurred the most when the device was left charging overnight or running on the carpet for a few hours.  Reconnecting doesn't help; usually it just resolves itself if you turn off the unit for some time to cool off.  Maybe heat or static charge bugs it or something, I'm not sure, but the few times that happened were when the tablet got warm lying flat on carpet or on someone's lap.
*Update 20130218: Contacted MS's Surface team about the keyboard issue and they promptly shipped me a new Surface Pro.  New one works fine so far, so no more issues there.

Otherwise pretty content here, don't think I'll be bothering to look for competing products (currently none out in release).  Been waiting a long time for a real upgrade to my existing Dell M1330 laptop that would be significantly lighter and still as powerful for video editing etc.  The stylus and touchscreen are just pluses on top of that.

In retrospect, the lack of demand in the store and all the bad press just makes it more perplexing whether I'm missing out on some defect of the product or something.  I don't really understand the comparison to regular tablets (lack of apps, etc) since the functionality is entirely different with it being a full-featured computer, but Microsoft supposedly only stocking 1-2 Surface Pros in some other retail stores around the country doesn't really help its own case either.

Mischief in Your Daydreams by Blake Robinson

Dark Pools by Scott Patterson

I've been trying to find  something  similar  to  the  Surface  Pro  but  even  lighter,  faster,  and  more  battery  life.  Seems  like  the  only  other  tablet  in  the  same  vein  is  the Kupa X15?
http://www.dynamism.com/top-notebooks/kupa_x15.shtml

I  haven't  been  following  this  stuff  for  years now  though,  so I  don't  know  if  my  Google  searching  skills  are  up  to  par.

 Anyone  know  of  anything  even  better?

In loneliness, we run away... but the farther we run, the more isolated we become.

Fearing the future, if only because it may not exist.

Floating Away by Blake Robinson

Adventures in Your Sleep by Blake Robinson

God ceased to exist when people doubted him and he lost the confidence to believe in himself.

The flame that burns too quickly, too brightly in the darkness, becomes a mere flicker in the light.

Tales of a Murderous Tooth Fairy by Blake Robinson

Life is an infection of the inanimate.

Hard to let go of the past when it's the only thing that keeps you looking forward.

As I gaze into the empty night, the cold warms me.

Autumn Spirits by Denny Schneidemesser

Evil never grows. Good just shrinks.

Things not to do and things to remember about C#...

Just notes and things I want to remember when I'm coding C#.  Sometimes these things take hours to catch when the fix is simple, if you knew about them in advance.
RichTextBox.Text - do not update in a background thread even if each thread has its own RichTextBox (building multiple control objects in parallel, for example).  This will cause a memory corruption error and either cause your program to crash or hang every so often (which makes it even harder to notice).

What do you do when you've done the impossible but no one believes you?