🪟 Two Hours with the Surface Pro

I finished work early, approximately 3pm and eagerly drove home, knowing my Surface Pro has arrived. The delivery guy today was just like Santa, bearing gifts. Christmas has come early. 

I quickly setup Windows, connected to my Wi-Fi and enabled Windows Hello. Having not been familiar with it previously, it's essentially FACE ID on Windows. Within the first hour, I realized how much better having Windows Hello is compared to touch ID on the Mac. Anyway, this post is not about macOS, quite the opposite actually. 

Hardware wise, Microsoft has done a fantastic job. There is a distinct lack of similarity to any other Windows laptop. It's actually beautiful and slick to the touch. It's a delightful feeling to hold without being too heavy. The fabric on the keyboard is also beautiful and feels nice. Hopefully, it remains this way as it gets used. The kickstand's utility cannot be understated. I love it. Speaking of loving it, the OLED display 😘

I am far from completely setup but I wanted to document my earliest of impressions on my first personal Windows device in almost 15 years. I have used Windows five days a week for over 10 years for my work, but installing apps and tweaking the settings felt like an unfamiliar experience because it most certainly is. My work Windows PC is heavily locked down, app installations are blocked as are most settings. I cannot even install any addons on my browser. Installing apps on Windows differs from installing on Mac. Somehow, the process is simpler Window. I felt powerful installing apps and tweaking my device to my liking. 

Thus far, I have installed three apps and none of these are from the Windows App Store.

• 1Password: thanks to being an electron app, the experience is very familiar to its macOS counterparts. 
• Arc Brower: took some time to find the right version because to date, it does not have a native Windows arm version. Thankfully, I can still use it and will eagerly await native arm support. I considered installing the Zen Browser but ultimately installed what I am already familiar with. 
• Dropbox: another pretty straight forward experience. Stil yet to figure out a few things like how to ensure screenshots are saved in Dropbox.

There are many more apps to install like Todoist, Notion, HEY etc but no point rushing into it. I am also using this opportunity to find new apps and have a preference towards open source Windows app. Lots of research is still pending and thankfully I enjoy finding new apps. For example, I am trying to find a replacement for Cleanshot on Windows. Also eager to dip my toes into the world of Windows PowerToys.

TIP: During text entry, type Windows logo key + . (period). The emoji keyboard will appear. Select an emoji with the mouse, or keep typing to search through the available emojis for one you like.

Anyway, for now, I leave you with my Windows desktop:

So far, I am impressed with Windows, actually; I am more impressed with this dual form factor of having a tablet with desktop class apps and a real browser. 

This blog post is written and edited on my Surface Pro.. You bet your ass it is 🤣