 For two years, Microsoft has been pushing the Surface as a no-compromise solution that scratches your laptop itch and your tablet itch equally. But this year's Surface Pro 3 brought a change. Microsoft is directly challenging the nearly ubiquitous 13-inch MacBook Air. During its keynote today, the company took pot shot after pot shot at the popular laptop, going so far as to leave a scale on stage showing just how much lighter the Surface Pro 3 is. But how do these two devices actually compare? Well, to start, one is a Mac and the other is a PC. But if you can set aside your software preferences and just look at the hardware, the comparison gets much more interesting. The MacBook Air is almost universally considered the best all-around laptop on the market. It's a thin, light, powerful workhorse that gets super long battery life and it's pretty fast. It's also, well, a laptop, meaning it works really well on your lap. The screen stays where you put it and the keyboard always feels sturdy. The Surface Pro 3 is this amalgamation of a tablet and a PC. It has a keyboard dock, sure, and it has a kickstand. This year, Microsoft made a kickstand that uses friction to stay in place, which means that it can go basically in any position you want and stay there. Microsoft says that it has great lapability, which is their word, not ours, and basically the company wants you to feel comfortable using it on your lap. It also did this clever thing with the keyboard cover, adding extra magnets to make a sturdier connection. All that's great, but unfortunately setting up the Surface Pro 3 is still a multi-step affair. You pull down the keyboard, you kick out the hinge, and you spend a bit of time futzing around. Is it way better than the last Surface? Absolutely. Is it a laptop? Eh, not really. It's a fairly big tablet and maybe not exactly something you'd want instead of an iPad Air either. But there's so much other stuff that's great about the Surface, it's getting harder and harder to complain about feeling a little awkward on your lap. It's lighter than the MacBook Air, it has a high-resolution touchscreen, and it even accepts pen input. Microsoft says that it should have all-day battery life, too. Frankly, it's the best PC hardware I've seen since, well, the MacBook Air. But which one should you get? We're not quite ready to answer that yet, and certainly not ready to restart the great Windows vs. Mac OS debate. But we're intrigued, and eager to give this brave new PC a shot. You can expect a full review soon, and yes, we'll do our best to write it from our lap.
 For two years, Microsoft has been pushing the Surface as a no-compromise solution that
 scratches your laptop itch and your tablet itch equally.
 But this year's Surface Pro 3 brought a change.
 Microsoft is directly challenging the nearly ubiquitous 13-inch MacBook Air.
 During its keynote today, the company took pot shot after pot shot at the popular laptop,
 going so far as to leave a scale on stage showing just how much lighter the Surface
 Pro 3 is.
 But how do these two devices actually compare?
 Well, to start, one is a Mac and the other is a PC.
 But if you can set aside your software preferences and just look at the hardware, the comparison
 gets much more interesting.
 The MacBook Air is almost universally considered the best all-around laptop on the market.
 It's a thin, light, powerful workhorse that gets super long battery life and it's pretty
 fast.
 It's also, well, a laptop, meaning it works really well on your lap.
 The screen stays where you put it and the keyboard always feels sturdy.
 The Surface Pro 3 is this amalgamation of a tablet and a PC.
 It has a keyboard dock, sure, and it has a kickstand.
 This year, Microsoft made a kickstand that uses friction to stay in place, which means
 that it can go basically in any position you want and stay there.
 Microsoft says that it has great lapability, which is their word, not ours, and basically
 the company wants you to feel comfortable using it on your lap.
 It also did this clever thing with the keyboard cover, adding extra magnets to make a sturdier
 connection.
 All that's great, but unfortunately setting up the Surface Pro 3 is still a multi-step
 affair.
 You pull down the keyboard, you kick out the hinge, and you spend a bit of time futzing
 around.
 Is it way better than the last Surface?
 Absolutely.
 Is it a laptop?
 Eh, not really.
 It's a fairly big tablet and maybe not exactly something you'd want instead of an iPad Air
 either.
 But there's so much other stuff that's great about the Surface, it's getting harder and
 harder to complain about feeling a little awkward on your lap.
 It's lighter than the MacBook Air, it has a high-resolution touchscreen, and it even
 accepts pen input.
 Microsoft says that it should have all-day battery life, too.
 Frankly, it's the best PC hardware I've seen since, well, the MacBook Air.
 But which one should you get?
 We're not quite ready to answer that yet, and certainly not ready to restart the great
 Windows vs. Mac OS debate.
 But we're intrigued, and eager to give this brave new PC a shot.
 You can expect a full review soon, and yes, we'll do our best to write it from our lap.