Chromebook, Surface 2, Surface 3, and the Neverending Advances of Technology
As if to prove a point, technology decided to mess with me this week by coming out with the Surface Pro 3 two weeks after I bought my first Surface.
Last year, I thought I wanted a Surface tablet, but I read some reviews, and I wasn’t convinced it was right for me. I wanted something with long battery life, was easy to type on, and didn’t weigh a lot. I ended up getting a significantly cheaper Chromebook.
Chromebook
If I weren’t so married to Scrivener, I might have stuck with the Chromebook. It requires adapting to the Chrome OS, which is essentially a Chrome web browser. It’s a bit strange having everything in tabs in a browser, but it doesn’t take long to get used to it. The battery lasts forever, and I was able to use it to take notes at an all-day conference workshop last year, even without an Internet connection. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details of specs, but the main reasons I was left wanting is I’m unable to review Microsoft Word documents, and of course, no Scrivener.
Surface 2 vs. Surface Pro 2
The Surface 2 came out in the meantime, and reviews were much improved over the original Surface. It met my requirements for battery, typing, and weight, but I wasn’t convinced until one of the members of my critique group got one. She loved it, and I was sold.
After minimal research on the difference between the Surface 2 (S2) and the Surface 
Pro 2 (SP2), I was mistakenly led to believe Scrivener could run from a flash drive on the S2. The S2 was half the price of the SP2 and included a free copy of Microsoft Office, so I went and bought it. Then I found out that no, I could not run Scrivener, even from a flash drive. Further research, which I should have done previously, confirmed this.
The next day, I was trading my S2 for the heavier, thicker SP2. It was worth it! It had the advantages of a tablet but was still a PC. My novel could go with me wherever I went. I was satisfied. I was happy.
Rumors Can’t Be Trusted! Oh, Wait…
While doing my research, I saw a couple of rumors about the Surface 3 coming out, but there was nothing definite. I figured the price would be much more than I was willing to spend, and how much better could it be? Then I watched the unveiling of the Surface Pro 3 yesterday and started drooling. The screen is bigger. It’s lighter. It has some super-cool writing features that I would definitely use. Most of all, I would have the same computing power for the same price.
That’s when I started fretting.
All Aboard the Worry Train
Anyone who knows me knows I worry too much. I consider more possibilities than are healthy. First, it was the restocking fee I expected. Then it was the minimum one month wait before the SP3 even starts shipping. What about the keyboard? If I only have 14 days to return it, I have to decide TODAY! Wait… I can’t find the receipt! Where the hell did I put the receipt? Is it in the car? I will clean the table. I will look under the furniture (holy dog hair!). I will go through the trash! Still no receipt. They’re never going to take it back now! Never! NEVER!
Meanwhile, John makes the mistake of telling me not to worry, which only makes me worry more. But he also contacted a friend at the store who assured us we can not only return the unit, there will be no restocking fee, no receipt is needed, and I can order the SP3 at the same time.
John was right about that again. I shouldn’t worry so much. That makes our score 2,852,439 to 3 in my favor. And no, I haven’t learned my lesson. I’m a born worrier. Thanks, Mom. 🙂
Latest and Greatest
I am not the type of person who must have the newest version of everything, but I only got the SP2 two weeks ago! It doesn’t make sense to spend the same amount on an older version. The only thing that gave me pause was the one month (or more) wait, but I lived without one this long. My friend, Marty promised me it would fly by. Since she is a gracious resource for my novel, and she’s from Nebraska too, I will listen to her.
Next week, I’ll likely be whining about how much I miss my SP2. Be prepared.