Who would have ever put these words together in the same sentence:

“Is that cool or what?”

And:

(Anything) Microsoft.

But those were the words the Skinny heard Friday morning as Microsoft opened its so-called “pop up” store at Streets of Southpoint mall and began selling its new Surface tablet.

No, I was NOT at the glitzy Apple store just outside the main mall building at South point.

Yes, my hearing aids were working; I checked.

From its touchscreen, light weight, rapid response, crisp screen, enticing graphics and impressive speed to accessories such as magnetically attached keyboards (in a variety of colors), Surface wowed prospective shoppers, and many turned into buyers although it’s pricey starting at $499. Most tablets are cheaper.

While the demand for the Surface as well as Windows 8, which also went on sale Friday, didn’t trigger the big, excited crowds one finds at Apple launches, more than 50 people waited in line before the store, which will be open through the holidays, opened.

By the time the Skinny left an hour later, the line had grown to more than 70.

Microsoft is betting a great deal of its future on the Surface, which is the latest entrant in an increasingly competitive market that’s already dominated by Apple. And earlier this week Apple rolled out a iPad Mini ($329) that’s basically the same size of smaller tablets such as the Surface.

Don Hill, a retired Silicon Valley programming veteran who calls himself with pride an “IT guy” and now runs two businesses in Siler City along with his wife Karen, was among the first to buy a Surface. After a quick test drive and having already viewed the specs online, Hill proclaimed the “really cool” endorsement.

“Everything,” he replied enthusiastically when asked what all he had bought. Accessories included the keyboard and cables for video as well as high-definition output.

Hill is not an easy customer to please. He uses an iPhone loaded with apps, including links to the exotic cat business (Beautymuscattery.com featuring Sinapura and. Devon Rex kittens). He also spent 15 years in the Valley as a programmer.

“I’m an old PC guy. I grew up with PCs,” he recalled. So why buy the Surface? “This is the first time the hardware and the software in the box works at the same time.” For example, he said the Surface and the new Windows 8 RT specifically designed for mobile use should integrate with his home system without having to worry about loading drivers. “There are always technical glitches,” he said, but he hopes not this time.

“I’m very happy,” Hill added. “This should make my life easier.

He calls the Surface and software “intuitive” and will keep him linked to his business whenever in range of a WiFi network. That means having the ability to respond quickly to customers. And when out of WiFi coverage (Microsoft says its chip extends WiFi range) he still has his phone. The apps he can add or are included already on the Surface (such as grouping news and social media with automatic updates from email to photos to Facebook posts) are his “friends.”

Not that Hill is fully ready for touch screens. Nothing he had trouble texting with his thumbs and adjusting to the hand motions to manipulate a screen, he made sure to buy a keyboard.

Another capability adding to the Surface’s appeal, he added, is the fact the built-in camera is set at a 22-degree angle. In other words, video can be taken as if the Surface was being held level even with the tablet resting on its kickstand.

Later, Bill Garner of Raleigh and another PC guy who waited in line for a Surface, was asked if he could believe Microsoft had developed something as graphic, appealing and simple as an Apple product.

Without hesitation, he responded: “Yes. Think of the Xbox 360. Microsoft went head-to-head with Sony and Nintendo in the videogame business, and look what happened.”

Will the Surface and Windows 8 RT make Microsoft as competitive in tablets as it is in videogame hardware?

Apple has a big lead, but Microsoft still dominates PC software. If Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT proves stable and free of bugs while avoiding the Microsoft curse of bloatware, they watch out.

If a lot of people start calling the Surface “cool,” then Microsoft is in the game. Big time.