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The new Microsoft Surface

Two things arrived from Microsoft today, and one of them was the new Microsoft Surface RT.

Wow, I'm impressed!  I've been playing with a Samsung Series 7 running Windows 8 before this, but the Surface seems way better with no fans.  It just seems nicer somehow.  Starting at $499, I think Microsoft is going to get some market share with this device, and not just for people who want to be able to use Microsoft Office.  It feels different than the iPad or any other tablet I've played with.  Kind of like how Xbox felt different from all the other consoles when it first came out.

I thought I would not want a keyboard, but the TV ads convinced me to give it a try.  I actually got each of the two available keyboards and both are nice, but I'm writing this with the one with real keys and it feels like a great keyboard, with the keys in the right place for me.  The keyboard really does just snap in place like magic and then it just works.  It's actually been awhile since a piece of technology made me think, "that's cool" but this did.

 

Sizewise, it is a little bigger than the iPad 3 but it feels about the same even with the keyboard attached.  The two keyboards weigh about the same, so I'm guessing most will go with the one with real keys if they get a keyboard.

 

I have resisted keyboards on touch devices, but I'm giving it a second thought now since this one is so light and gets out of the way easily.  The photo above shows the Microsoft Surface next to an iPad 3, and the extra keyboard above that.

This is an RT version, so I was surprised that it came with Microsoft Office installed.  The one drawback to RT is that you can't just install any Windows application on it.  For that you'll need to wait for "Surface with Windows 8 Pro" which isn't available yet.

I'll do an update after I've had it for a while, but for now, I'm impressed!

Colorado Entrepreneurial By Nature

Gold Systems is now over twenty one years old, and our offices are less than a mile from where it all started here in Boulder.  It's really hard to imagine starting Gold Systems anywhere but in Colorado, so I'm happy to lend our name to Colorado Entrepreneurial By Nature.  It's a grass roots campaign to make sure the world knows that Colorado is a great place to live and to start a business.  I've benefited so much by being in a community that supports and encourages entrepreneurs and I'm happy to give back that support to the new people starting up here in Colorado.

If you are an entrepreneur in Colorado, lend your name to the effort by going here:  http://www.entrepreneurialbynature.com/

The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time

My old YPO buddy Verne Harnish has written a new book, and it is available today.  His previous book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits is a favorite of mine.  After you read Built to Last and Good to Great, read Rockefeller Habits to learn how to opererationalize what you've just read.  I'm sure The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time will be fantastic, and the forward is by Jim Collins himself.  Every time I talk to Verne, he teaches me something and helps my business so I'll be ordering the new book first thing in the morning!

Before I got this blog post published, another book arrived in the mail from my other old YPO buddy Brad Feld.  This one is Startup Communities and it is the first in the Startup Revolution series.

 

Boulder would be a very different environment for entrepreneurs if both Brad and Verne had not come to town and decided we needed a YEO chapter.  (Now EO)  Thank you guys, you've really made a difference in the community and the world, and it has been my pleasure to know you both.  Brad's book is what he's learned about helping communities attract and support start ups, and I just started reading it on my Kindle.  I'm sure it's great too!

ANZ Inovyz START announces Year One Results

In July I wrote about my experience going over to the wonderful city of Adelaide, Australia, where I was a mentor in the ANZ Inovyz START technology accelerator.  I had a great time, met some great people and found that I could be homesick for a city that I really didn't know anything about before that visit.  Since then I've been spending a little time on Skype with two of the companies, Australian Baby Bargins and Be Intent.  And there is a new company in Boulder that was part of the first group of Innovyz entrepreneurs, Beneath The Ink.  They went a long way to participate in the program!

The books are closed on the first class of entrepreneurs and they are off to a great start, and they have just announced that they have been funded for the next season and applications are already being accepted.  If you are an entrepreneur in Adelaide, Australia, or really anywhere in the world, check out http://www.innovyzstart.com/ and hit the "Apply Now" button if you think you've got what it takes to join nine or so other hot startups in the great city of Adelaide.  U.S. folks - remember, it will be summer there in Adelaide while it's winter here in the states.  Applications close November 30, 2012.  Check out this FAQ too.