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I'm looking into buying an economic, portable computer to present websites hosted on the local machine, and maybe make minor code edits to the site as well.

I was considering the Surface RT, but I wasn't sure if it had the necessary power/capability to run an Apache server (for local testing/presentation), and how easy/convenient/pleasant it was coding on it.

General_Twyckenham
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You can't run 3rd party desktop applications on Windows RT (without using a jailbreak). So the RT is not what you need. Buy the Surface Pro where you can install any development tools you want.

magicandre1981
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    Even with a *jailbreak*, you'd need the software compiled for ARM on Windows - which is fewer and further between. Hence why the RT is flailing. Of course, then the question becomes - do they really need a surface pro vs. an alternate PC that has better battery life and some more screen real estate. I like my pro since I wanted a full pc in a tablet, but not necessarily the case for everyone. – nerdwaller Aug 05 '13 at 14:14
  • @nerdwaller I was considering the pro, but for my usecase I wasn't sure if it was worth the price. I could probably use a cheaper, mid-range ultrabook in much the same way, but I figured I'd look into RT first. – General_Twyckenham Aug 05 '13 at 14:32
  • @General_Twyckenham - If all you need to do is demo prototype websites just go our and purchase the most basic x86 laptop you can find. – Ramhound Aug 05 '13 at 15:04
  • @Ramhound Thanks for the suggestion, but it wouldn't just be prototypes, it would also be on the fly coding/changes, if not full fledged codewriting sessions. – General_Twyckenham Aug 05 '13 at 15:10
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    @General_Twyckenham - Sounds like you want a full developement laptop. Which means you should find the correct blanace between cost and performance – Ramhound Aug 05 '13 at 15:13
  • @Ramhound Yep that's the plan. :) – General_Twyckenham Aug 05 '13 at 15:14
  • ok, because you asked for a Surface RT and used the Surface Tag I assumed you want a Surface at all and you were unsure if the Pro is needed or th RT is enough. MS cuts the Pro price by 100$: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-cuts-price-of-surface-pro-by-100-for-limited-time Maybe this is what you want. Otherwise buy a normal laptop/ultrabook, but **not** an **Intel ATOM** based tablet which is too slow to handle development tools. – magicandre1981 Aug 05 '13 at 18:56