Bugga, I did think Windows 8 was put out there a tad fast.

I don't know about Window 8 but Windows Phone 8 was put out there real fast. Some engineer were saying they didn't have enough time to do x, y, z etc. You had 5 years to make an OS for god's sake.

I had the "pleasure" of trying Windows 8 the other day. Yep, its following the good old Windows route (Win 7 was great so that leaves few options for Windows 8...).

1.5 billion advertising and still made a profit? Sounds good to me.

I agree.

The PC is a thing of the past. Windows 8 is available for tablets now so that will drive growth in the future while desktpops/laptops sales decline.

I like the part when Kowen brings up Google.

I don't think it has to do with Microsoft releasing a product too quickly, I think it is that the product is built around a flawed concept ...

In most cases, if you wanted to build an operating system that worked well for a desktop computer, videogame console and mobile device you would develop a very strong kernel and then develop a GUI for each of the devices to ensure the best user experience possible with each device. Unfortunately, Microsoft sees the UI and many programs as being part of the operating system core and when they developed a cross-platform OS you end up with a user experience that is bad across all devices.

While I have seen growth in Tablets, I have seen little evidence in a decline in Desktop/laptop ownership; and any "decline" in sales of these devices is far more likely to be explained there being less need to upgrade systems after a few years, because a 5 year old system is still very powerful for most people's usage.

Precisely. Desktop office computers today use the same tech and chipsets as expensive gaming rigs but with different size and clock rates. PC's simply last longer and there are still a multitude of task, especially in the industrial sector, that quite simply cannot be performed fully or at all with tablets and other lightweight devices. Same goes for gaming, the very nature and design of most games aren't adaptable to tablet/phone format, controls, processing power, sound, display, plug-in's, the works. The funniest thing to me is this; the tablet/phone sector of gaming is the worst and most costly one when it comes to hardware purchase and upgrades, people replace their tablets and phones practically every year, yet another poor trait of these platforms as far as gaming goes, not only does it offer a technically far inferior experience, its also more costly and less immersive.

This notion that the PC is dying has been around since I started gaming on it in the early 90's, since then it has seen growth every single year and the PC remains supreme in digital distribution and streaming and multimedia purposes as well.

The PC as a gaming device is not going anywhere and is breathing and thriving, the PC as a tool is still crucial to all of modern society and is certainly not going anywhere either.