Apparently it's really easy to install Ubuntu [1] on a Surface Pro 3.
"...you’ll find that most things work out of the box. WiFi works, but only 2.4GHz networks can be detected. The touchpad on the Type Cover works, but the keyboard does not. You’ll need to activate the virtual keyboard in the accessibility setting to get much of anything done, and Ubuntu’s virtual keyboard is lacking in desirable features. There are some third party alternatives you can install, but the initial experience here will likely have you scrambling for a USB keyboard.
The pen works as a pointer and as a left-click when you press down, but because Bluetooth does not work out of the box you lose the buttons on the pen."
That's a big improvement, then. The original Surface Pro was awful, with serious problems [1] in the mwifiex driver. I also found its wireless support was unstable when bluetooth was also in use, even in Windows 8, which was the final deal breaker for me.
I would recommend waiting on adopting any Surface devices until there is general acclaim that they got the hardware right, beyond a reviewer who just used it for a few days then rushed to press.
Ah well that is a relief .. as long as we can boot it without having to go through arcane enchantment, we can fix all of that. I wonder why MS decided not to implement the Type Cover keyboard as a standard USB device, seems pretty weird to me, but then again maybe they've created a new accessory market for themselves, yet again ..
Good to know Ubuntu at least boots on the thing and you can get on a network. I guess it'll be a matter of a small amount of time before the rest of the device works. When that happens, I'll seriously consider getting one ..
"...you’ll find that most things work out of the box. WiFi works, but only 2.4GHz networks can be detected. The touchpad on the Type Cover works, but the keyboard does not. You’ll need to activate the virtual keyboard in the accessibility setting to get much of anything done, and Ubuntu’s virtual keyboard is lacking in desirable features. There are some third party alternatives you can install, but the initial experience here will likely have you scrambling for a USB keyboard.
The pen works as a pointer and as a left-click when you press down, but because Bluetooth does not work out of the box you lose the buttons on the pen."
[1] http://www.geek.com/microsoft/linux-users-rejoice-heres-ubun...