Fresh Off the Dock

I just picked up the Dock for my Samsung slate from the Microsoft Store. (If you order your slate online from Microsoft, they are currently giving you a free dock.) It is a well made, brushed aluminum stand that has five connectors on the back:

1. DC Power Jack
2. Wired LAN port
3. HDMI
4. USB
5. Headphone Jack

There are a few things to note:

•  It is recommended that you turn off your slate before installing or removing it from the dock. You cannot hot-swap it. Putting it to sleep is not enough, you need to actually shut it down. The system seems to behave in a strange manner if you just sleep the device. Since the Slate powers up and down so quickly, this is not a problem.
• When you are using the dock, only the full-size HDMI connector on the dock is usable. The micro-HDMI connector on the edge of the slate is inoperable. I haven't actually tested them while using the dock since my extra monitor is at the office, but the manual that comes with the dock seems to be clear about this.
•  When you use the dock, initially, the default speaker device is the USB audio in the dock (the headphone jack). You need to go into the Sound section of the Control panel to switch the default sound back to the Realtek drivers if you want to use the on-board speakers. Once you change this, it seems to stick for succeeding sessions, you will not need to change it again. There does not seem to be a way to use both sets of speakers simultaneously. You can change the effects for both while in the control panel, but the system seems to only use one set for normal operations.
•  Yes, both USB ports will work at the same time. I was worried that one would be disabled like the HDMI and sound devices, but I tested them with USB sticks and had no problems. I would have liked more USB ports, but you take what you can get. An eSata port would also have been nice.

I purchased a cheap Inland 7-port USB hub from Fry's. It came with an external power supply that I use when I am running off of battery power and I want to attach power-hungry devices. It is not necessary for keyboards and mice, however.

Windows 8 Developer Preview seemed to work just fine with this device.No apparent differences.