Sheesh...I just read your links.  Man it is depressing that MS is so stupid.

I think their goal is to develop separate OS's for the business and individual user and to leverage out the power user and small business user who doesn't invest in the corporate client.

It also sounds like with the dropping of media players and the like that they want the room to sell their own or cleint's paid software.

All for a better computer experience.  I predict business sales of Linux are going to boom and a lot of PC users will finally migrate to Macs.

I don't think that's the whole story. I think Microsoft wants two major things:

1. Dominate the tablet market as they do the desktop market. Their plan seems to be to make desktop users get used to the new Windows UI on desktops and therefore demand the same thing when they buy a tablet.

2. Get 30% of *every* single 3rd party application that will ever be made without even lifting a finger, like Apple does with their App store. Since Windows is pretty much an open platform, the only way to accomplish this is to force users into a different closed platform where software vendors can only sell through Microsoft (and are forced to buy Microsoft tools to develop applications in this new platform). Enter Windows RT and Metro Apps.

It won't work, of course. They seem to have forgotten three things: first, the only reason the PC succeeded was because it was an open platform, both in terms of hardware as well as in terms of software. Second, Apple is only able to get away with what they are doing now because they were a closed platform from the very beginning *and* because Steve Jobs had *taste*, something Microsoft NEVER will (just look at how ugly that Metro UI is).

Windows 7 got very close to being a beautiful UI (as its success proves), but instead of learning from this, Microsoft got greedy and, once again, decided to go on a totally different direction.

The only consolation I have is that I am pretty sure a very large percentage of Microsoft employees disagree with the direction Steven Sinofsky is taking the company. I bet they secretly wish Windows 8 to be a HUGE flop so they can turn things around again... and Steven Sinofsky needs to learn a turtle neck and brisk manners does not a Steve Jobs make. You need to have an innovative vision *and* good taste too.

microsoft growing ANYTHING other than BLOAT is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE, and based soley on the version number I am expecting windows HATE to be an absolute disaster for microsoft as I will NOT recommend it OR willingly supply it OR use it(as I did for vshita (windows 6), and will only support it AT TRIPLE price as it will take three times longer to fix the problems that happen in normal use( and also will NOT warrant the work done as the HATE will attempt to stuff things back to the way they were stuffed up before I fixed them by claiming that un-authorised changes have been made, and the system 'NEEDS' to restore thing back to before the changes.

harpo

Newest version!

Microsoft can shove Windows 8 where the sun don't shine! Looks like I will be cancelling my Technet subscription too, it will be of no use to me.

With all the new changes MS has identified for Windows 8 and the list of features being dropped one has to wonder if their Corporate Financial Strategy for 2012 is to have a lose for tax purposes by their OS Division. 

It is a U.S. Presidential Election year, hmmm, they could blame it on the bad U.S. economy. 

The way it's going, it's unlikely they'll sell enough to shore up a teetotaler's bar bill

As we say here in Oz, the bastard who came up with this Win 8 concept "couldn't organise a root [intercourse] in a brothel"

Eheheh. That has the Metro look.

well.. seriously don't see the big deal regarding wmp... don't people just use vlc? (well... vlc 1.1.9 anyway... vlc 2 dies on me for whatever reason.. haven't tried newer versions of that) it's free (eh.. don't know about businesses but what do i care about them?)

heck.. i only use wmp when listening to online radios from a different country. which is rather infrequent.

But I knew that before this article.

Well... they've lost me as an early adopter at least.  Hoping they get blown out of the water, fire some idiots, and come up with something useful.  Go go windows me.

Shame windows 7 is actually good.  Well.. shame for them... really nice for my wallet. 

Yes....and that'll weed out all those Eye Dee Ten Tee error people too when they get the famous "You must reinstall windows" message.

Can't say I see any dramas with what MS is doing with 8 ....it's just another Vista cock-up that will be 'fixed' on the next OS release.

The Metro interface is clearly a 'push' by MS into the hand-held market....at the expense of their current 'sheep' er...consumer base who will either bleat forlornly, make half-hearted attempts to escape the paddock to other pastures...or just wait [like me] whilst eyeing off the sheepdog suspiciously...