Should I buy a Surface to "keep up"?

[blackoutz]

I am in academia. Based on my observation, people in humanities and some social science tend to use more macs compared to hardcore science. So I am biased, but to me, mac users are artsy and sometimes lack in substance. Also undergraduates tend to use macs more than graduate and faculty. So I would say using macs seems more trendy, using surface more... tech savvy.

 

[The Clark]

I am in academia. Based on my observation, people in humanities and some social science tend to use more macs compared to hardcore science. So I am biased, but to me, mac users are artsy and sometimes lack in substance. Also undergraduates tend to use macs more than graduate and faculty. So I would say using macs seems more trendy, using surface more... tech savvy.

Interesting, I would actually argue the opposite. Most of the Engineers and Computer Scientists from my faculty use Macs.

 

[aneftp]

Uh... I am already thinking about virus software, constant OS updates, and the sea of sub-par cheap windows devices with their below quality screens, awful speakers, annoying keyboards and touchpads, and generally bad user experiences. I know the higher priced devices are good, but the cheap ones can be pretty bad.

That's the reason you should get a surface pro 4.

People on these boards tend to be Apple bias. (Duh. It's Mac rumors!).

Cheap Windows laptops come with a lot of compromises like you state above.

The surface line high end. It's also Microsoft being like Apple. Hardware and software. The screen on the surface pro 4 has been rated extremely high. It's SSD is fast (assuming 256gb or higher).

I've tried buying a "cheap" Windows laptop in the past (around $600 which is generally the sweet spot in terms of performance and specs and pricing for most Windows laptops. But was not satisfied. My Windows laptops generally have average $1000-1200. So the surface line filled that slot.

Try it. You got 30 days from Microsoft. Hassle free returns if you don't like it.

 

[emembee]

I used Windows for many years in a work environment and would say that once it is setup correctly, it works easily as well as any Mac UNTIL there is a problem. Also a shed load of more software and also hardware accessories (Where is the blu ray player for a Mac?) ...

Troubleshooting though can be very tricky, luckily we had masses of experts around to fix the issues (though this sometimes took days).

Haven't tried Win10 but 7 is stable apart from all those updates ...

 

[sracer]

That's the reason you should get a surface pro 4.

People on these boards tend to be Apple bias. (Duh. It's Mac rumors!).

Cheap Windows laptops come with a lot of compromises like you state above.

The surface line high end. It's also Microsoft being like Apple. Hardware and software. The screen on the surface pro 4 has been rated extremely high. It's SSD is fast (assuming 256gb or higher).

I've tried buying a "cheap" Windows laptop in the past (around $600 which is generally the sweet spot in terms of performance and specs and pricing for most Windows laptops. But was not satisfied. My Windows laptops generally have average $1000-1200. So the surface line filled that slot.

Try it. You got 30 days from Microsoft. Hassle free returns if you don't like it.

For the purposes that the OP stated, the Surface (any of them) are overkill and overpriced. It's not going to be his main system, but one for becoming more knowledgable with Windows. He can buy a $300-500 notebook that will be of decent quality and be able to do the basic things he needs it to do.

Suggesting a high-end device (such as the Surface) for those purposes is not financially prudent.