The old laptop was starting to show its age. Its disk (really static RAM) was almost full. Just like the old joke about when to buy a new car (when the ashtray is full) I felt it was time for a new machine.
After some research, I settled on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
After some research, I settled on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
- It's lighter than my old laptop, by almost a pound.
- It will run Birder's Diary, the program I use for bird sighting records.
- It has enough memory and power that I think I should be able to use it for web development, namely the famous Annual Report.
- It is much better for reading a Kindle book on the plane.
I considered a Lenovo Yoga 3, which is cheaper, but not as powerful.
I am now almost thru the first week using the machine. I am happy to report that it is working OK. There are a few quirks, particularly dealing with Roboform, the password manager I have used for years.
It took me almost a day to reproduce the old style interface I was used to, but now I have that. Now, I am trying to learn the new, smartphone-style, version.
I am looking forward to using this on the road to see how well that works. So far, I have only ventured as far as Philo, CA, not a true test.
