Microsoft designed Windows 8 so it works on what we think of as traditional PCs as well as tablets. It will include a pen you can draw or jot notes with, and function either as a tablet or a laptop. The new Surface will be sold through all Microsoft retail stores,, Staples and Best Buy, and made available in 64GB and 128GB configurations. Microsoft has just announced that Surface Windows 8 Pro, as it's being called, will be available in the U.S. Such people were counseled instead to wait about three months for the full Windows 8 version of the machine. And chief among its drawbacks was the fact that Surface RT was incompatible with all the programs that are on your older Windows computers, a turnoff for some folks who might have been otherwise inclined to buy what is in many respects an impressive piece of engineering.

But it was generally light on third party apps.

That initial Surface actually ran a variant of Windows 8 software known as Windows RT, and included specialized but complete versions of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote), as well as some other integrated apps. The slim and light touch-friendly tablet was the very first personal computer that Microsoft built itself, and was an early showcase for Windows 8. There was plenty of enthused anticipation - and not a small amount of confusion too - when Microsoft brought out its Surface tablet computer last October.

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