If your Surface Pro 4 is starting to bug out, you're not alone. Over a thousand people have reported issues with the Microsoft-made device's screen flickering to the point that it's barely usable, and some have even taken to freezing the gadget to get it working again. One person claims they got 30 minutes of use after leaving the Surface Pro 4 in their freezer for 10 minutes.

The Microsoft Surface line of laptops, desktops and convertible notebooks all feature an optional Surface Pen -- Microsoft's stylus that lets you write, draw and annotate documents and images. It works fine right out of the box, but if you find yourself at all frustrated with its functionality, you can customise it to fit your writing and drawing habits.

A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft pushed out a firmware upgrade for the Surface Pro 3. At the time, the release notes were a little thin on details but newly released notes deliver some happy news. The three year old device now supports the latest Type Covers.

Consumer Reports is a US-based not for profit service that gives people recommendations on whether consumer products are worth buying and live up to vendor claims. Getting a tick from them is a big deal, especially in US markets. And a black mark can be a massive cause for concern which is why there will be a bunch of people at Microsoft HQ panicking at Consumer Reports' dumping the Surface from its recommended product list.

The Surface family of computers is a big part of Microsoft's resurgence over the last few years. The Surface Mini was meant to accompany the Surface Pro 3 back in 2014 but Microsoft held it back. While it looks a lot like a Surface Pro that's been cut down, it ran a Snapdragon processor, just 1GB of memory and 32GB of storage.

Microsoft's Surface Book has always been a unique gadget -- a great ultraportable laptop, with the extra appeal of a completely detachable tablet screen that contains all the smarts and processing to run proper Windows. The newest Performance Base variant of the Surface Book adds double the graphics power, without making any significant compromise on battery life -- but it's also using tech that Microsoft's competitors have left behind.

Dear Lifehacker, I am looking for a new laptop. After pricing up a few different options I've settled on either a MacBook Pro or a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (i5, 256gb). They are similar specs for a similar price. As much as I prefer OSX, I'm leaning towards the Surface because it doubles as a tablet. Am I making the right decision or should I stick with Apple?

Microsoft is doing a voluntary recall on the power cords for its Surface Pro tablet range due to an issue with the cable that causes the power supply to overheat, which can pose a fire hazard. Hundreds and thousands of Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 users could be affected. Here's what Microsoft has to say about the issue.

In a little under an hour, Microsoft will open its first Australian store in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall. The two-story facility will showcase a range of top-tier Microsoft products including the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book and Band 2 wearable -- all of which are available for the first time today. But arguably the most intriguing feature is an in-store Answer Desk that promises to service and debug any Microsoft product for free, even if it's running on Apple hardware.

Usually, businesses are the last to adopt any kind of new gadget, given that they actually rely on laptops, tablets and smartphones to make money and can’t risk any first-day adoption glitches. Not so with the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft’s upcoming laptop-tablet hybrid.

Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet finally launched in Australia today with the base 64GB model selling for $999. Unlike the ARM-powered Surface RT, the Surface Pro is a fully-fledged PC that runs on the full version of Windows 8 Pro. It comes with a third-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a full-sized USB 3.0 port. So, are any readers planning to snap one up, or is your heart set on a competing tablet or ultrabook?

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers including: Google and NASA launch the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, Microsoft Surface Pro review, get a free flexible bike mirror.

Microsoft promised us last month that the Surface Pro would go on sale before the end of May, and that's going to happen -- just. The tablet goes on sale online and through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores on 30 May.

Back in March, Microsoft said its Surface Pro tablet would be released in Australia "in the coming months". We now have a slightly firmer commitment: before the end of May.

Australia missed out on the initial batch of Surface Pro tablets from Microsoft, but we have landed in the second group of countries to score the tablet. A brief statement from Microsoft today confirms that Australia (and New Zealand) will see the Surface Pro released "in the coming months".

Australia's received the short end of the Surface Pro stick, with no details on a local release forthcoming. That said, you might have given it a miss anyway, with tear-down site iFixit handing it a score of one out of ten in the ease-of-repair stakes.