At the risk of alienating international readers and appearing a little insular, please excuse us for reporting on a local (Australian) highlight, albeit released to little fanfare.

What seems like 35 years after it was released to the rest of the world, Microsoft has finally launched its long-awaited Windows 8 Surface Pro tablet computer to the Antipodean community. Available in two configurations (64GB or 128GB of SSD memory), we presume Microsoft has been waiting for electricity to be invented Down Under.

Some readers may not understand what the fuss is all about. After all, the Surface RT has been available since last year. The key difference is that the Surface Pro has an Intel processor, which means it can run regular Microsoft Windows programs, unlike the Surface RT tablet which uses ARM processor architecture.

It will be interesting to see what impact the Pro has on what is becoming a crowded tablet market. With a dual core, 1.7 Ghz Core i5 processor latched to 4 Gigabytes of system memory, it does sport a functional 10.6-inch screen with a high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. We already have the Pro and have found it a useful addition to the kitbag of toys required by the frequently flying consultant.

It will be interesting to watch initial local take-up; we presume many early adopters will have already smuggled in overseas versions.

Coming soon: we comment on unconfirmed reports that overseas inventors will be introducing something called the wheel to Australia…