Gabe Newell brands Windows 8 a 'catastrophe'

[Alby_da_Wolf]

famousringo said:

Soleron said:

Linux isn't ready for the desktop. Even Ubuntu 12.04 requires you to know a lot about a computer in order to set up. I'm glad Valve are porting it but it can't replace Windows unless MS screws up a lot more than they've ever done.

iOS and Android's success prove people are (unfortunately) willing to accept closed systems. It might be Gabe's priority but it isn't customers'. (I just bought an Android phone,and swapped it for iOS when I found out how locked up it actually was)

Actually, Steam itself proves that people are willing to accept closed systems...

Nobody is forced to use Steam for non-Valve SW, the fear is that MS Store (or whatever it will be named) become mandatory for all Windows SW sold online, paid certificates become mandatory for every SW, either on physical support or sold online and HW become locked and usable only with OS certified by MS or certification authorities approved by MS. Now, if MS owned both OS and HW, like it does on its XB consoles and its other first party HW like Zune, this could be acceptable, but MS wants to close the whole PC platform, of which it owns only one of the many possible operating systems, and that used to be one of the most open systems, despite Windows being proprietary. But I don't worry too much, as Android could succeed doing also on PCs what Linux failed at: tablets are Android's trojan horse for this market, and all the limitations MS imposes on portable (and cheaper) versions of Windows to avoid HW makers start using them on full fledged desktop and portable PCs instead of the more lucrative full version of Windows, will just make Windows tablets less competitive. Greed can be good up to a given limit, but too much greed can blind businesspeople. But MS, also pushed by Newell and other third parties, could do the same reasoning and realize it's pushing itself too far and give up its most dangerous plans, let's just hope it do it.