Many people often ask me what I use in my day-to-day tasks, and also about my personal experience with laptops. The answer is: that I take a lot of care of my devices, and I keep them longer than expected.
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My love story with Windows
First, you need to know that I’ve been using Windows since 1988; I was a C windows developer on Windows 2, and I’ve never stopped using Windows. I’ve followed, and I’ve used every single iteration of the NT kernel since the early beginning of the product because I was a fan of Vax VMS, the OS created by David Cutler who was also the creator of the Windows NT kernel.
I recently started using Linux, and last year I purchased a Mac Book Air M1. But Windows 11 is my favorite OS.
My current configuration
My day-to-day machine is a 1-year-old Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 with a core intel 7 (purchased in July 2021) and with 16 GB Ram. I really love it. this machine is beautiful, fast, robust, and stable. It is the machine on the right side of the picture.
My backup machine is a 5-year-old Microsoft Surface Laptop 1 with a core intel 5 with 8 GB Ram. It is the computer on the left side of the picture.
I always carry these 2 machines to every conference/workshop where I’m a speaker. During my Ignite presentations, my 2 machines were running side by side with the same config, and same labs, in such a way that in case of failure I only lose 15 seconds max.
Important note:
I purchased a Mac Book Air M1 last year: it was an awesome machine; I like what Apple did with the M1. The machine was fast and silent, and it had great battery life. It took some time to get used to the Mac Os, but after about a month, I was very comfortable with it. I enjoyed it, and I still miss the AirPod pro experience on the Mac. Update: I don’t miss the AirPod pro anymore; I’m using the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2. I’ve been using this machine for 6 months every day. However, I didn’t like the multi-windowing system of the Mac OS (it was inferior to the Windows windowing system), the machine crashed 1x/per month, and I couldn’t use Power BI desktop + some specific Powershell scripts. My initial goal was to fully migrate to Mac OS (even though I liked Windows 10), but I came back to the very stable combo Microsoft Surface Laptop + Windows 10. I can honestly and objectively compare these 2 systems, but that’s not the point of this blog post. Anyway, I gave it to my daughter.
Accessories
With this machine, I use a 3-year-old Microsoft Surface mouse Arc and another one (6 years old) as a backup. I guess I’m too old to use the trackpad. I prefer the mouse + a combination of keyboard shortcuts. I actually tried the trackpad on my Mac Book Air, and yes, the trackpad experience on Mac is superior, no doubt about it.
This machine is connected to a 5-year-old second-hand Pluggable USB 3 hub and to a Novoo 4K Usb c hub. I used these hubs on my Mac too.
My monitors are 2 Japanese IIYama Prolite 27′ 4K.
I don’t have any external keyboard; I use the excellent keyboard of my Surface Laptop that I’ve placed just in front of my 2 monitors to also benefit from its integrated display. I really like its Alcantara soft feeling.
My printer is a 3-year-old white HP Laserjet Pro MFP M148dw (only black & white).
My webcam is a 1-year-old Logitech Webcam C920 HD Pro. It is not expe
My headset is a (red) Plantronics Blackwire C5220 and an antique but very robust (2014) Bose QC25 that I’ve been carrying in every travel since Ignite Chicago 2015.
My speakers are antique, but more than excellent 16 years old Yamaha RXE818 speakers connected to a tuner (I’ve re-animated my old RXE810 Yamaha HiFi micro-chain).
I also use a Boya BY-M1 Microphone to record my videos, and recently I purchased a WinCret 12” Ring Light.
My chair is Secret Lab Titan 2021 dark soft.
My phone
My phone is a 3 years old Samsung Galaxy S10 and I use the Windows 11 phone app to mirror its display (for testing the mobile Power Apps applications that I create). Ok, 3 weeks ago, I did upgrade my old Samsung Galaxy S1O to a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4. The Samsung phone integration with Windows 10/11 is really nice: I answer my phone calls/messages from this out-the-box app.
Yes, I’m an Android user, I’ve never used an iPhone in my life. I was a very early Windows Phone user, and I migrated to a Samsung Galaxy S7 when MS decided to stop the Windows phone adventure. The Galaxy line is very great, robust, and fast. This very old S7 is still used as a backup phone, but I don’t get any security updates anymore. The S10 still gets security updates, and I was very happy to learn that Samsung will provide 5 years of security updates to most of its phones. I don’t feel the need to upgrade my 3-year-old S10, so I will probably skip the Galaxy S22 for an S23 in 2023. Update: I’ve purchased a new Samsung Galaxy Fold 4. This phone/tablet is really great, and I use the SPen to take notes; this is really changing my digital life. No paper sheet anymore.
My love story with the Microsoft Surface
I purchased the first Microsoft Surface RT (still running well, but I don’t use it anymore) in 2012.
I got a Surface RT 2 from Microsoft (MVP Summit in 2013)
7 years ago I purchased a Surface Pro 3 core intel 7 & 8 GB Ram in Canada that is still running well with Windows 10. My business partner Isabelle bought the same machine.
2 years ago I purchased a second-hand Surface Pro 3 with a core intel 5 & 8 GB Ram that is still running well with Linux (I’ve created the Power Platform BPM Toolkit on this machine). This machine is also probably 7 years old.
3 years ago, I won a Surface Go from Microsoft (MVP of the year, on the Microsoft Campus) with core intel 3 / Windows 10 that is still running well: I use it almost every day in my bed to watch Netflix/Youtube/Prime videos. Of course, an iPad would be better when it comes to battery life But this works, and it is a gift (from MS).
My wife purchased her second-hand company Surface Pro 3 & core i5 8 GB Ram 3 years ago, and we are using it as the family laptop. This machine is running well with Windows 10 and is 6 years old. In a nutshell, I’m very happy with the Microsoft Surface material. I really take care of my devices, I manipulate them very carefully, and this is probably why I can keep them longer.
And then a Surface Laptop 1 in 2018 followed by a Surface Laptop 4 in 2021.
It is well known that the Surface Laptop is more robust than the Surface Pro or the previous Surface Book. Also, the device drivers of the Surface Laptop are very good and reliable (probably well tested by the Windows team -they eat their own dog food). Microsoft is a bit conservative when it comes to new technology in their devices (lack of thunderbolt, old charger,…), but I really don’t care. It just works. And I can reuse older accessories.
I almost never add any other device with device drivers that can potentially crash my laptop. I do it on the old Surface Pro.
I also share the same approach with my business partner and MVP Isabelle Van Campenhoudt. When we travel together for the conference, we use each other devices and surface accessories as a backup.
Now 5 minutes ago, Isabelle told me that she purchased a new Surface Studio with 32 GB Ram.
Well, that’s about it. Now you know 🙂
Serge Luca aka "Doctor Flow" (Microsoft Power Platform/Business Applications MVP) 