In just a few hours, Microsoft's latest push into the hardware world will start in US and Canada with the Surface Pro tablet going on sale in those countries.
So what about Australia? We contacted Microsoft's local spokesperson to get a handle on local availability and pricing.
The spokesperson told us that there is no word from Microsoft head office as to when the Microsoft Surface Pro would be released in Australia and there's no word on pricing.
When the Microsoft Surface RT tablet was released in November 2012, it was just a few days after the US release that we could purchase it locally - although that was only online.
It took a few more weeks before Microsoft changed its strategy and released the device through bricks and mortar shops.
Our best guess is that Microsoft will gauge demand for the Surface Pro in what it perceives to be its highest volume markets and then decide on a global release strategy. If they decide to release the Surface Pro globally, we'd expect that to happen within a few weeks.
If you're desperate for a lightweight tablet that runs Windows 8 Pro then several other vendors are shipping products.
Lenovo, HP, Acer, Samsung and Asus have all released tablets that are no doubt stealing sales as Microsoft dawdles on local release.
[Update] Meanwhile, here is the Surface Windows 8 Pro TV commercial:
