Personally, I am extremely excited for the Surface.
I have heard a lot of complaints from people saying Windows 8 sucks and that the interface is stupid and will never work. I believe that is because they are trying to use Windows 8 like they did Windows 7/Vista/XP/Me/98/95. Everyone knows how hard it is to break habits, and that list of OS's spans almost 20 years. That's a big-ass habit. But Windows 8 is so different, and if you use it correctly, it's a joy. I personally love it, even on a non-touchscreen desktop, because I know how to use keyboard-shortcuts. Most of your average PC users rely on their mouse though, and that experience is dreadful on Windows 8. Too much precision is needed to navigate to the corners. Even if you plow your cursor to the corner in a Viking fashion, you still have to click and move your mouse correctly to get the Start menu up. But, if you press your Windows key, BAM... big and pretty tiles elegantly lay themselves out across your screen, allowing you to very quickly chose a program to open up without much mouse agility needed. Less mouse agility = happy people.
And just as a side note, corporations are going to get these Surface tablets by the thousands. The Surface will play well with the corporate infrastructure, unlike the iPad (by the way, I don't even mention Android tablets, because they are horrid. I love Google, and I love the concepts of Open Source with Android, and at one point I even loved Android, but it's interface is childish and not polished).
More than likely, I will be going with the Pro version to get the extra options like the USB 3.0 and full HD resolution, along with the best extra option: full-blown Windows.
But I believe what I am most excited about is what looks to be a usable merger of a tablet and a laptop. Being a Software Engineer, I take pride in my gadgets, and I can say that I have tried every option possible to use my iPad as a device that I can use to develop with. Even with a bluetooth keyboard hooked up to the iPad, you still have the problem of not having development apps available. While there are a few cloud-based development web apps out there (like c9.io), they don't work in webkit browsers. So, in order to develop "on-the-go" efficiently, I still have to carry a laptop with me. Sure, I could VPN into a remote computer and get the "desktop experience" on my iPad, but trust me, it's not a desktop experience. It's an "oh damn, I need to reboot a server" experience.
On the flip-side of development, there are those 15 minute breaks where I want to browse Google News or check up on the latest Football stats. In those situations, you can't beat the tablet. It's far to easy to flip through websites with multi-touch than it is trying to maneuver around with a touchpad on a laptop that you have balanced on your knees, or flipped sideways in a 90-degree fashion so you can lay down and still see the screen, or taking up 60% of your small two-person table at your favorite fast food joint.
So, with these keyboard covers that the Surface can use, along with the much more stable-looking stand (the iPad stand-cover-conversion works, but don't tap that iPad too hard while it's standing up!), swapping back and forth between "laptop mode" and "tablet mode" looks to be effortless.
Then, you have the built-in pen and palm-detection for writing, with the rumored art-friendly touchscreen, now turning your Surface into a full-blown drawing tablet. Imagine how quickly you could manipulate layers in Photoshop with that. This also would make taking pad-and-pencil to meetings a thing of the past (if the pen works as intended on the Surface). Don't forget, while your writing your notes during your meeting, all of a sudden you need a laptop. Flip your cover around, pop out your stand... BOOM. Laptop.
Maybe I have my hopes set too high. I'm not sure. I will really only know when I'm able to put my hands on one at a store. But, with the option of a full-blown OS paired with a device that is a tablet and a laptop, that is easily switchable between "the modes", and has a normal USB 3.0 port, SD card port, HDMI port for my dual-monitor mode, and is ridiculously portable? I'm currently sold.