Quote Originally Posted by SJWhiteley View Post
Windows, on the other hand, is a much more open model. But the 'App Store' for the desktop, which potentially restricts the distribution channel, may turn off a lot of people. The 'classic' desktop is still there, but if a lot of people go back to the desktop, what is the advantage of upgrading to windows 8? (Microsoft's forced obsolescence not withstanding). The phone/tablet market is obviously booming, but MS is a notorious failure, here.
I think people have many misconceptions about metro and the start screen. The "app store" is really mostly for metro apps. Metro apps must be installed through the app store, and that is a good thing. Desktop apps can be installed through the app store or any of the traditional ways we have always installed apps. people think of "metro" and "desktop" as these 2 different modes on windows 8, and in some ways they are, but the more you use windows 8, the more that the desktop just becomes a "metro" app. I find it pretty easy to navigate around and get to what I need to get to. It did take a little time to get used to it, but everything they have done makes pretty good sense once you start using it.

I also wouldn't call MS a failure in the phone/tablet market. Windows Mobile did pretty well for a long time, and had tons of features prior to things all going touch screen. WinPhone7 clearly doesn't put up the numbers that android and iPhone do, but I don't think MS expected to spearhead into the market and grab an instant lead in market share. I think Windows Phone 8 is probably going to be the start of their marketshare gains there. The problem is going to be getting people away from the iPhone or Android, not just winning over some of the people who haven't moved to smartphones yet.

In the tablet space, I am not sure how MS is considered a failure when they have never really launched a tablet OS/device yet. If surface bombs, then we can call it a failure, but it hasn't even launched yet. With BB going down the crapper, we could see the enterprise really embrace WinPhone8, Surface, etc. because of its superior management and policy capabilities. iPhones and Android are a free for all in that department.