This is quite interesting that Microsoft is rolling out new iterations so quickly. It was only a 8 month gap between the Surface Pro 1 and the Surface Pro 2. If a Surface Pro 3 makes a debut next week, that would be approximately 7-8 months since the last iteration yet again.
For comparison, it Apple refreshes the Macbook Air and iPad about every 12 months.
Do they really have a choice? For better or worse they aren't getting traction with the Surface family, so they need to keep trying new stuff in the hopes of finding a device that consumers want.
Linux has a larger market share on the desktop. Did I miss the year of Linux on the desktop? Sounds like you are making that "one millllliiioooon" number sound bigger than it is.
I'm not saying they are kicking butt and taking names. Just that they clearly have found some people interested in the device. I don't think you can move a million units on accident, even if it is a tiny piece of the market.
They are certainly putting up a fight. Anything could happen in the future but I think getting excited about a million units shipped is a bit premature.
Why do you think it's such a big deal? First off, the latest Surfaces came in the middle of Intel's chip cycle. And now they are launching it at the beginning. That's how they are are able to launch with a "new" Intel chip - which isn't really new anyway, just a repackaged Haswell (2014 was supposed to be the year of Broadwell, not Haswell repackaged).
Second, Sony and LG are already launching "new generations" 6-8 months later, too, with the Xperia Z2 and LG G3. Just because you put an incremental number at the end of the product, doesn't mean it's actually a "next generation" one. I doubt you'll see 1440p resolution and double the storage for the same price on this one for example. They were probably just working on Surface 2 and Surface 3 in parallel, too.
For comparison, it Apple refreshes the Macbook Air and iPad about every 12 months.