As a reviews editor, I need to be aware of the vagaries of the major operating systems in use today. So I have a 13-in. Mac Pro with Retina (which is what I also use for my daily work), a two-year-old Samsung Chromebook (which at some point I plan to replace with a more up-to-date model) and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for Windows.

Well — I had a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. Until Saturday, when I accidentally nudged it off a desktop, resulting in a rather nasty crack across the screen.

Now, I admit I can occasionally be clumsy with my tech devices, but (except for a cell phone that fell in the ocean) on the whole, I’ve been lucky. I’ve dropped my various smartphones several times, but even when they hit a hard surface, they’ve tended to bounce insouciantly back with a surprising lack of problems. (I do have a slight dent in my Moto X , but that just gives it a bit of character). The Chromebook and the Mac have also suffered several indignities, but they are both still pushing through with élan.

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