[stonetools]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Some pundits think there is method to Microsoft's "madness":

http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...le-doesn't

I rather like the vision they describe and not just for the tablet form factor.

Good article, and Microsoft's vision sounds appealing ( more "open" than Apple, for people who prize that sort of thing). But note the caveats:

While I have outlined what's promising in Windows 8, I have fears about how it will be used once it's launched. Beneath the slick Metro look and feel is something that resembles all too well the older Windows interface. That is a must for Microsoft to guarantee compatibility with any app that ran on Windows 7, but that might be its Achilles heel. If developers keep writing for the classic environment, we'll be kept from the new fresh user interface. I can sense major headaches if half of my apps are Metro and the other half are Windows 7.

And if we must have full-blown Windows on our tablets, will our on-the-couch reading reveries be interrupted by an obnoxious pop-up request from Adobe to update Flash for the umpteenth time? The reason I love my iPad is precisely because it's not my computer.

Finally, will Windows 8 be able to meet the requirements set by the iPad, that a great tablet must be incredibly thin yet deliver 10 hours of uninterrupted battery life? This is of course the great concern, shared by Microsoft and its fans and foes alike. But that really will be the dealbreaker. If every Windows 8 tablet weighs two pounds and lasts less than five hours of battery life, all this goodness will be wasted.

Note the bolded statement. I think that a big mistake for Apple competitors is that they have wanted to make their tablets into mini-PCs. While the techies want that , the average consumer wants something lighter and simpler.