You owned a NETBOOK (I'm assuming that's what you mean by the extremely descriptive term of "computer") with one. The netbook models are all, what, friggn 2~3+ years old? I know four people with ultra-books with Atom processors, and i've spent quite a bit of time with each myself, they aren't the old Atoms that struggled to run the operating system. They are more then capable for tablets (though wouldn't replace my laptop any time soon, at least not an Atom model)
And like I said before, the surface tablets are not the only ones. Pretty much every computer manufacturer has at least, what 3?
And have you seen the tools people use for school and work? You don't NEED a lot more computer. If anything, you need something small, portable and handheld. Android does a decent job at working as a work station, but Androids don't run x86 and don't have years of compiled software. iPads are just for your retired mom to skype you on. I'm not saying Win8 tablets are something EVERYONE needs, i'm saying they are hitting a fair sized market pretty well, and aren't half as flawed as people seem to outright assume.