So I finally made it into the Microsoft store to check out the Surface RT only because I've convinced myself for some time now that the Pro version was what I really was waiting for and at least by playing with the RT for a bit, I would get a decent taste of what was to come in the Pro. I found the device "fun" and easy to use and seemingly sturdy and well built. Surely the Pro would be everything I hoped for especially given that I would be able to run full fledged "real" software on it and not be confined to run the half-baked, child-like, application wanna be software that seems to make up a majority of the Windows 8 arsenal (but that's a whole other joke... I mean story). Like everything in life, at least from a business perspective, deciding to purchase a Surface Pro ultimately comes down to a cost / benefit decision and for me, at least, I just don't see it as being there. As I was informed by the Microsoft Store salesperson, a beefed up Pro with the keyboard would end up running me well near the $1,100 to $1,200 range (if not more). Really? Why? More importantly, why would I want to spend that much for a device that effectively doesn't really do that much more than my $250 Netbook does? Realistically, when seated at a desk or conference table, with the Surface Pro on it's little kickstand with the keyboard flipped out, you're taking up about the same footprint as the Netbook would take up. Of course, the Netbook doesn't have the nifty touch screen that the Surface Pro has, but as far as I'm concerned, while the touch screen is a neat - even fun - aspect of using Windows 8, it's not a necessity and I've been using Winows 8 on my desktop - without a touchscreen - just fine for months now. So it's back to a cost / benefit analysis. For the same price as the Surface pro, I can buy a new, well equipped laptop which, for my needs, will perform as well as the Surface Pro, offer more RAM, more storage, more adaptability AND pop for a couple of touch screen monitors to have at my desk when I work from home AND have enough left for a decent night on the town. So while the idea that tablets are the end-all, be-all for the future of the computing world, if I were to judge that based on the Surface Pro, and If I owned a chunk of stock in laptops, I wouldn't be too worried. Get the Surface Pro down to the $500 range - with the keyboard - and then we'll seriously talk but until then, at $1,200, the cost / benefit ratio is way off base.