I have been using an iPad + ssh to connect to my linux desktop for a while, similar to the way the author did in the linked article. I found it to be an excellent way to work, using a bluetooth keyboard on the iPad. I did this for about 6 months before I, too, switched to a Surface about 3 weeks ago. I found that I no SSH client worked consistently enough on the iPad + bluetooth keyboard for me to get things done.
Here are my (hopefully) brief thoughts on the Surface (Pro). I agree with the author's take that it's clunky as a tablet. I noticed the same sort of rotation issues with windows resizing oddly. I find the lack of automatic auto-correct to be frustrating, since typing on the screen keyboard is hard (although in some ways I do like the Surface's screen keyboard better than the iPad's, mainly because it has a fuller range of keys, like a programmer typically expects, and I like having the number pad since you're having to switch the keyboard to get to the numbers anyway).
I also found that scrolling windows in the browser (a common task on a tablet) works considerably less well on the Surface. It seems to be best in IE, but in Firefox and Chrome sometimes my finger will scroll the window with a touch, but sometimes it just seems to select text. Window management is the same old problem as on every windowed device, but now more difficult when trying to hit the small window border with your finger. Of course, full screen is still an option.
I considered buying a MacBook Air, and in some ways wish I had (battery life comes to mind) but I like that the Surface is a real PC as well as an OK tablet, and I really wanted the Wacom pen (something I have a particular fondness for). While I wouldn't recommend the Surface generally to people, it fit my usage pattern well. I can still connect to my desktop, SSH works as expected, but I can also work locally if I want to install stuff. For me, it beats the iPad + ssh pattern, but really only in the way any ultra-portable laptop would.
Having lessened reliability is ok until the 2 that fail are the 2 you had in your truck as you're driving down a hostile road. Or if they won't work in the rain, that's ok until you have to go on patrol in the rain. Or if they won't work in harsh desert conditions... oh, wait.
It may be that being able to see all the layers of abstraction clearly helps to illustrate just how far removed from worthwhile action the task is. For people not used to dealing with abstraction, they may only sense the disconnect. This may make the problem more apparent.
Here are my (hopefully) brief thoughts on the Surface (Pro). I agree with the author's take that it's clunky as a tablet. I noticed the same sort of rotation issues with windows resizing oddly. I find the lack of automatic auto-correct to be frustrating, since typing on the screen keyboard is hard (although in some ways I do like the Surface's screen keyboard better than the iPad's, mainly because it has a fuller range of keys, like a programmer typically expects, and I like having the number pad since you're having to switch the keyboard to get to the numbers anyway).
I also found that scrolling windows in the browser (a common task on a tablet) works considerably less well on the Surface. It seems to be best in IE, but in Firefox and Chrome sometimes my finger will scroll the window with a touch, but sometimes it just seems to select text. Window management is the same old problem as on every windowed device, but now more difficult when trying to hit the small window border with your finger. Of course, full screen is still an option.
I considered buying a MacBook Air, and in some ways wish I had (battery life comes to mind) but I like that the Surface is a real PC as well as an OK tablet, and I really wanted the Wacom pen (something I have a particular fondness for). While I wouldn't recommend the Surface generally to people, it fit my usage pattern well. I can still connect to my desktop, SSH works as expected, but I can also work locally if I want to install stuff. For me, it beats the iPad + ssh pattern, but really only in the way any ultra-portable laptop would.