PCs are now starting to transition back into office/business/professional environments. In short, they'll be found in the hands of those that want a PC because they still create content as opposed to exclusively consuming it.... There will always be a market for a 'real' personal computer. But as time goes on, I think the PC (as we know it today) will become more and more of a 'specialist' or 'professional' device. The average person wiil be content with a locked-down appliance as long as they can: surf the web, access their social sites, send and receive text messages and email, share photos, do a little shopping, play a game, watch a movie, listen to music, read a book, and generally be a consumer.-40hz
Based on the number of devices sold and activated, this already seems to be the trend. Take any random sample of users and, assuming you could record their computer time, they likely spend more time (outside of work) playing among various social media. If for no other reason, that's what they find interesting. Google has their TV ad that states: "The web is what you make of it," and that's more true than ever. The days of buying and mastering complex apps like Photoshop -- and even MSOffice -- for the public are long gone. I see people looking around and asking: "I have $500, how do I want to spend it -- on software or a new tablet/phone? I guarantee you most today are picking the tablet.
FROM THE ARTICLE:
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When you grab Windows 7 without paying anything, Microsoft won’t see a dime from you for years.
Apple figured this out a decade ago: how to keep the sucker coming back with more cash. Amazon just figured it out by essentially charging you time (ads) or money every time you use one of their devices. Hell, even Google will rent you a Chromebook if you want. All for the built-in cash stream. And now that everyone has their own little garden to play in, notice how, one by one, they're dropping support for each other's software.
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Windows 8 faces so many mixed reviews, and is oh so very important for Microsoft’s future, that MS should really have just given it away, at least for the first few months. It could have been like a one-time pardon for pirates: Stole Windows for years? We forgive you — this one’s on the house, now buy something from the Store.
This would be especially smart if MS delivers a quick Win9 to the market, correcting Win8's least liked features. They wrote the book on getting people hooked. I bought Google's Nexus7 tablet and love it, but it came with all kinds of goodies that I didn't mind -- free book, movie, music, and $25 to spend in their Play Store, with which I promptly bought three chess games and two shooter games.
But with Win8, is it worth getting stuck with an OS you don't like? That would be the punishment.
