My wife has an original Surface Pro and it runs AmiDOS fine, but you're correct that even though the Atoms are much faster than the old ones, at their heart they are still an Atom. I wasn't aware of the compromise on the harddrive. My concern is that the Surface Pro seems too big for a tablet and I want something that would fit in a man bag. I've looked at the Chinese hybrid devices and they don't seem to have it right.

Look at this video which gives it a pretty good review on a regular Surface:


Listen particularly at time stamp at timestamp 7:10 (Surface, not Pro) and 8:52 virtualization kicks on following a reboot but you get the original message that virtualization is a problem.

I like that the Surface 3 can be charged from an ordinary power bank which includes coach seats on many planes or cigarette lighters in many cars. Unlike many people, my draw to the Surface 3 is not money. I'm willing to pay i7 prices for the format of my choice.

Here is a good review of the device:


I've seen some discussions of the Cube i7 which I'm thinking about as well, but I also like the finish a ton. I'm a Mac guy and kind of disappointed with the iPad Pro which I had been waiting for.