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A couple of months ago, I posted about a last-minute decision to get a Surface Go 3 as a second computer. I had a few different reasons for the purchase, the biggest one being that I was going on a trip and didn't feel comfortable taking my regular laptop (my lifeline, basically) on the trip with me. So I got a mini computer, basically, that I could load all the important stuff onto, and just took that.
I posted a review of the Surface Go 3 after the trip, but I'd only been using the laptop for a short time at that point, so I wanted to post about it again now that I'm more familiar with it.
As it turned out, buying the Surface Go was a really good decision that I've been very happy with. As its name suggests, it has been a perfect "go computer" that I can take with me while leaving my important work machine at home. It's not as powerful and has nowhere near as much storage, and I had to leave "S mode" to install non-Windows apps (like Scrivener and Plottr). But I keep most of my work in the cloud to switch easily between the two computers anyway, and breaking it out of S mode doesn't seem to have harmed it any.
One of the things I like best about it is that I don't always feel like I have to carry it in a laptop bag or backpack. I got a really nice drop-proof case for it, basically an Otter Box for a Surface, so I just carry it with me by itself.
I wasn't sure I would use it much once I got home for a trip, though I liked the idea of having a backup computer. As a writer, I've always found that computers tend to die at the worst times, and my main computer is admittedly getting older. It's nearly three years old now! So having a backup is a good idea.
But more importantly, I've been able to take the little Surface places I wouldn't want to take my regular laptop, and with an ease I wouldn't normally have. It's easy to carry with me, and I don't worry about losing everything should the computer be damaged or lost or stolen. I can tuck it beneath the seat in the car instead of carrying it with me everywhere, and no one knows it is there. It makes it easy to take it with me when I want to work somewhere else: in the car, at a restaurant, or even just in bed.
It's not good for my main laptop to be plugged in all the time, so I need to start using it unplugged more often. But I am very much enjoying the flexibility of the little Surface Go, and I love the security of having a backup machine!