It's trying to scream "reference implementation!!!" I'm sure that MS wouldn't mind earning the odd nickel here and there from Surface Pro sales, but they have a much deeper interest in pushing a unified mode of computing, with one device becoming the device you need when you need it. For better or worse, that seems to be their model for the future of their OS and application software, and they seem to understand that a traditional form factor laptop or desktop is not going to be that device. The object of the game seems not so much to be to sell Surface units per se, but to persuade people to want Surface-like (or other convertible) units where there software they want to sell will make more sense.