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Written by Josh Ginter.

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My 8-Hour Workday Impressions of the Surface Laptop 7

Saturday, Oct 05, 2024

The Surface Laptop 7 is a wonderful little laptop, but ultimately ran into a number of hiccups in the first eight hours of use. Above photo shot with the new iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x camera.
The Surface Laptop 7 is a wonderful little laptop, but ultimately ran into a number of hiccups in the first eight hours of use. Above photo shot with the new iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x camera.

I came into this experiment with the most open-minded approach to Windows in my entire life. I went to bed the first night with a plan: I would be excited to move my work life into this beautiful Surface Laptop and perhaps pick up a fun MacBook Air for anything personal I still wanted to do at home. Likewise, I would use the iPad at the office for the minor personal stuff required while working. I would downgrade my computing life from a hefty 16-inch MacBook Pro to the svelte and less expensive Surface Laptop 7.

That dream was crushed within 3.5 hours the next morning.

The saying goes, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks", which puts the onus on the experienced individual's inability to build a new skill. Perhaps this is partially true. In reality, though, I'm willing to bet it's more about how much information is packed into that old dog's head. Cramming new information in there unnecessarily — when the payoff is but a tad bit more productivity — doesn't come off as a wise bet. And change is stressful, especially when the plate is full.

That's how I felt the next morning. Every minor change required a mental investment to determine a solution, determine whether that solution was palatable and had a long life, and determine whether that solution was better than the solutions I had already developed.

The serious mental gymnastics were wide-ranging. I considered whether I should create keyboard macro shortcuts for oft-used keystrokes. I researched methods to replace my most-used apps on the Mac (like Textsniper, Alfred, Notion, and more). Not only that, but I even found myself down a rabbit hole about how the Apple Studio Display interacts with the Surface Laptop.

The mental overhead this morning was significant. I had a headache by lunch and I had hardly completed a single task for my day.

I'm not sure this old dog was up for learning new tricks.

Miscellaneous Head Scratchers

There were other breakdowns, however. More technical breakdowns. Breakdowns I could possibly overcome, while others I most certainly could not. In no particular order:

  • I raved about the Surface's function key row, and specifically the inclusion of Home/End/Page Up/Page Down across the F9-F12 keys. I still love this idea for a small laptop like this. But the functionality of jumping in and out of media keys is head-scratching. In Excel, if you want to move between worksheets, you need to hold Ctrl and shift between sheets by pressing Page Up or Page Down. But to achieve this, you have to unlock the function row (making the media keys active). If you keep the function row locked, you'll inadvertently create macro sheets, open the Save As dialog box, and more, because you're effectively running a Ctrl + F12 keyboard shortcut. Then, if you want to lock a cell in a formula or jump into the cell to edit the cell by hitting F2, you once again have to re-lock the function row. The absolute focus you have to have to know whether your function key row is in the right mode is off the charts.
  • The dedicated Copilot key is in a really awful spot next to the left arrow key. I accidentally launched Copilot six different times while meeting with a client today. All I wanted to do was some simple cellular math in Excel, and I continually hit the Copilot key rather than the left arrow key when attempting to sum a series of cells. The correct answer is "Josh, you'll get used to it." But when under pressure, I'm not sure if I have the patience for it.
  • The Surface Laptop at one point today completely crashed, on the spot, with no warning of what was coming. I haven't had a complete and utter computer crash in probably 10 full years. I thought I might have caused the crash by installing Beeper (an x86 app), but I was able to get Beeper installed after the reboot. I'm not sure what caused the crash. But that's quite the experience to relive after all these years.
  • Speaking of x86 apps — Apple is better at emulating x86 apps in an emulated Windows 11 environment (via Parallels) than Windows 11 is at emulating x86 in its own native Windows 11 environment. Where I expected our archaic Intuit ProFile tax software to run better on the Surface Laptop, I found my 16-inch MacBook Pro could run circles running ProFile in an emulated Windows 11 environment. I was also hoping for a range of document generation and printing fixes, but alas, the Surface has the same (if not more) errors to work through in ProFile than my MacBook Pro does.
  • The lack of proper messaging apps in Windows 11 is terrible. I really, really hoped I'd be able to send iMessages via Windows Link to Phone, or via Texts.com, or via Beeper. Nope. Not one. Apple's locked-down ecosystem officially bit me in the butt today.
  • Lastly, I was blown away by the poor coverage of Windows for ARM apps out there. Notion Calendar — a newer app than Notion itself — is still x86 and runs like garbage on the Surface Laptop. Notion itself isn't all that much better. Google Drive for Windows? Nope, x86 only, and there's not even an option to emulate it. I thought I'd be able to work through these app shortcomings. But that was no small task.

I have a few thoughts on Copilot relative to the iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence betas, which I'll explore another day.

Miscellaneous Delights

Of course, it wasn't all negative. Apple really needs to take a few things out of Microsoft's playbook, if you ask me.

  • The smaller trackpad on the Surface Laptop is great. It doesn't feel as responsive as a MacBook trackpad, though it's far better than any non-Apple trackpad I've tried. More importantly, the trackpad's size is ideal — it doesn't cause nearly as many inadvertent taps as the ginormous trackpad on my 16-inch MacBook Pro. The result is that my hand (my left hand in particular) can rest on the body of the laptop when typing, which causes much less strain than the wrist hovering I have to do on the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
  • How I adore having a built-in USB-A port. I know the Apple world loves to hate on old ports. But hopefully, there's a chance for a USB-A return inside Apple's latest fascination with old-fashioned buttons.
  • The Surface Laptop's keyboard is to die for. I want to keep using this computer simply because of the keyboard. I brought it home today to write this out, just so I could use this keyboard. It works so well with the old Surface Numeric Keypad I had kicking around.
  • The Surface's display is glorious. Again, not as good as any of Apple's XDR displays in the MacBook Pros, but I'd love to see this up against a MacBook Air display. I love the 120 Hz motion. I love the vibrant colours. I specifically love the way the Windows 11 rainbow blob wallpaper pops out. Everything about this laptop looks and feels great.
  • The svelte Surface Laptop chassis has quickly reminded me how much I don't care for the gigantic 16-inch MacBook Pro. I love the screen real estate, but I love the tiny, take-anywhere attitude of the Surface more. Assuming this experiment falls apart, I am for sure moving back to a 14-inch MacBook Pro, or something even smaller if possible.

Day One Wrap Up

I went to bed that first night thinking this was the beginning of a new era in my life — operating a Windows laptop for work, seamlessly separating work and personal space between two inexpensive notebooks, and happily skipping down the sidewalk along the way.

I went to bed the next night thinking about whether I should return the machine, or if I can find someone else in the office who would enjoy a new computer. (The second option seems much preferable to me). (Update: I found someone in the office who was more than happy to keep the Surface.)

I never could have imagined the experiment would fall so quickly onto its face like this. And really, I think I could probably trudge through the experiment and find workarounds and solutions for most of the hiccups I faced that first day.

The problem is that this old pupper dog isn't yearning to create new solutions to old problems (and certainly old problems already solved on another operating system). I never calculated the mental hula hoops to work through before the Surface Laptop 7 arrived. Now, after experiencing that first eight hours, I'm fairly certain I'm going to need a truckload of creative energy to ever go down this path again.

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My Three-Hour Impressions of the Surface Laptop 7

Monday, Sep 23, 2024

The new Surface Laptop 7 — a wild experiment for a guy who hasn't truly worked on Windows in 5+ years.

There's so much to say about this wild (for me) experiment. We could talk about why someone might want to move from macOS to Windows 11 right now. We could talk about how to transition from one operating system to the other, specifically in terms of applications or file storage. Likewise, we could discuss high-level fleeting topics too, like whether all laptops should have touch screens or not.

My scope is limited today: Here are my very, very initial impressions of the new Surface Laptop 7 after about three hours of use. These impressions revolve around hardware, mainly, but will venture off from time to time, I'm sure.

The Surface Laptop's Physical Chassis

This is the very first non-Apple device I've ever found to be beautiful. The Surface Laptop 7's hardware here is unlike any non-Apple laptop created, but is a lot like a MacBook Air. This Platinum colour is very reminiscent of any Apple silver colour, as is the wedge shape, the logo-free display bezel, the haptic-only trackpad, and more. But why reinvent the wheel? The MacBook Air is a winning physical design, and so is this Surface Laptop.

The aluminum finish feels slightly less dense than any MacBook I've tried. This also keeps the Surface Laptop lighter in the bag. The aluminum finish does feel different to the touch though — when running my finger back and forth across the body, there was a sort of tingly, scratchy feel. Perhaps this will go away over time.

I forgot how much I missed the wedge shape of past MacBook Airs. The shape is extra comfortable for writing. I can't help but feel this is the most blatant Microsoft rip-off in terms of the visual design of the Surface Laptop. But again, winning combo.

The wedge shape hides the Surface's thickness. For an ultraportable like this, the Surface Laptop is actually quite chunky. The Surface Laptop is just a shade less than double the MacBook Air's thickness, likely due to Microsoft hiding a fan inside the Surface Laptop. And really, you don't notice the thickness on its own. You just notice it when up next to a thinner laptop, though.

Overall, the Surface Laptop's design is a winning formula for me. It's a cold-blooded rip-off — and a bad comparison — to the MacBook Air. But it's a great, great rip-off if you ask me.

The Keyboard

The Surface Laptop's keyboard was the biggest selling feature when demoed at Staples. I think, right now, it's the best laptop keyboard on the market.

Microsoft has the best laptop keyboard on the market right now. Surface keyboards have been great for ages — the Surface Ergonomic is one of my favourite keyboards of all-time, and the regular ol' Surface Keyboard is equally great.

The Surface Laptop's keyboard is softer than Apple's option (I expect this is due, in no small part, to the thicker chassis and more space underneath each key to dampen the bottom of the keystroke) and has a tremendous bounce back after bottoming out. Of course, Apple's keyboards are spectacular out of the box as well, and I'll be curious to see if this Surface keyboard holds out in the long run.

There are a few other keyboard niceties here as well:

  • Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down all replace relatively useless function keys found in other keyboards and laptops. This is a giant win in my book — there's no more two-handed finger gymnastics required to navigate lengthy PDFs or worksheets in Excel.
  • Simply tapping the Fn key in the bottom row flips between media keys and F-keys in the function key row. This is far better than Apple's option of having to lock things in place in the System Settings.
  • The dedicated Copilot key, in my opinion, is a waste of key real estate. I don't use the right side modifier keys at all, but this is still a waste of space.
  • I tend to prefer the shape of Microsoft's arrow key layout. Apple enthusiasts are big fans of the inverted-T shape, but I feel full-size right/left keys are better for navigating. Full-size keys are also easier on the fingers.

Of all impressions, the keyboard stands alone. I'm in love with the feel of this keyboard, and it may well be the element that overcomes a number of other Surface shortcomings.

The Display

I have the sense that those who use a MacBook Pro with a Studio Display don't immediately notice the difference between the Pro's ProMotion display and the Studio Display's lack thereof. Admittedly, I'm not sure if I notice it all that often, either.

I immediately noticed it on the Surface Laptop, though. 120 Hz just seems to jump out at you. Perhaps it's because I haven't normally seen it on any PCs in the office. But the smoothness of this display has really stood out to me.

So, too, has the shape of the display. The rounded corners look very Apple-like (though there's an odd difference in the curvature of the display's corners and the lid's corners, which may be distracting for some design-minded folks). The display is a 3:2 aspect ratio, which differs significantly from what I'm used to from the MacBook world. The extra vertical real estate is very much appreciated.

Lastly, the glossy display is the best non-Apple display I've ever seen. Whether there is incredible colour accuracy here, I'm unsure. But the rainbow Windows 11 blob wallpaper just jumps off the screen. This isn't as good as an XDR Display found in any MacBook Pro right now, but for whatever reason, it seems just as good.

Quick Aside: USB-A Port

A proper comparison of the Surface Laptop's I/O options is to the MacBook Air and not the MacBook Pro, but stay with me here — I truly appreciate having a built-in USB-A port in this laptop. Clients submit financial data on USB-A drives all the time, so I keep a USB-C to USB-A adapter around at all times. I need that adapter at least 10x more than I would ever need a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

We do, however, regularly connect our laptops to our conference room Samsung Frame TV via HDMI. And for this task, having a dedicated HDMI port in the MacBook Pro is fantastic. During tax season, I use this port multiple times a day. During the off-season, I use it maybe once a week.

I use a USB-A adapter probably twice a day, all year long.

It never occurred to me how annoying that USB-C to USB-A adapter was all along. I'm going to have a hard time giving up that dedicated port if I don't stick with the Surface Laptop.

Wrap Up

I could write for days right now (though everything would mostly be garbled, incomplete thoughts bubbled up in a honeymoon phase) about the Surface Laptop. Time will tell. For now, the Surface Laptop 7 has provided a great first impression and opened my eyes to the world of enjoyable non-Apple notebooks for the first time in my life.

I'm excited for the remainder of my testing period this week.

A Comprehensive Review of the Ugmonk Gather System

Sunday, Jun 23, 2024

The Ugmonk Gather collection is the best set of desk accessories I have ever tried.
The Ugmonk Gather collection is the best set of desk accessories I have ever tried.

It’s time for some post tax season catch up. Back at the end of March, I put together one of my most comprehensive product reviews ever for The Sweet Setup. Jeff Sheldon at Ugmonk was kind enough to provide a complete Gather collection for review. It’s one of my favourite product sets. Ever.

I don’t believe a collection of desk accessories could be better than Ugmonk’s Gather collection. I find the entire set to be very difficult to nitpick. The Gather collection is:

  • Of the highest quality;
  • Made in America;
  • Thoughtfully designed;
  • Aesthetically unique;
  • Modular and suited to your needs.

For everyone, the Gather collection comes down to price. These accessories are expensive — American handmade goods with American materials come at a steep cost. You get what you pay for. But you pay for it.

But like most impeccably-made, high-priced set of goods, you are more likely than ever to buy once and never think about desk accessories again.

Ugmonk’s Gather collection sets the bar for desk accessory systems available today. I’m excited to see how Jeff builds out the system further over the years to come. (He’s already announced a few additional accessories in the last few months!)

Go check out the big review over at The Sweet Setup.