For months, I’ve been trying to figure out why Microsoft was so gung-ho about Windows 8. I remember someone telling me previously that they thought Windows 8 was like a beauty pageant contestant who was pretty on the outside, but not easy to talk with.

Then at the product launch for Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface, Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live at Microsoft Corp., called Surface the perfect stage for Windows 8. It clicked—when the two are used together, they shine.