This is a superb article written by Steven Sinofsky of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz about making the switch to a 9.7-inch iPad Pro and leaving his laptops and other desktop OS-based computers behind. Sinofsky details many of the tactical aspects of moving to a new platform, but the heart of the piece is really an incisively articulated argument for why and how these kinds of technological changes happen.

…In times of platform shifts there are two types of people. There are people that embrace the shift, perhaps out of enthusiasm, fandom, or maybe just because they don’t know any better. Then there are people that do know better, but just see the challenges in changing and use those challenges to anchor criticism.

While I am optimistic about change, I am realistic about the pace that change can really permeate through the broad range of people, organizations, cultures, use cases, and more. The fact that change takes time should not cause those of us that know the limitations of something new to dig our heels in. Importantly, if you are a maker then by definition you have to get ahead of the change or you will soon find yourself behind.

It should be noted that Sinofsky is a veteran of Microsoft, having worked on several of the company’s biggest franchises, including Windows 7. His openness to an iOS laptop replacement is remarkable.

If you’re at all interested in the future of productivity computing, this post is really a must read. The full article is at medium.com. There’s also a sort of “companion” episode of a16z’s podcast called “Finally, A Tablet That Replaces Your Laptop” that’s similarly essential.