Originally Posted by Stuart

I have. I support a lot of Windows users as part of my job, and I get all the Microsoft development stuff (including OSes) for free, so I've had Windows 8 on my home PC since release, because regardless of my own opinion of it, I will have to answer questions on it at work, so it's in my interest to keep up to date with new OS releases.



You really don't understand, do you? Microsoft are not directly competing against OSX or any of the Unixs or Linuxs. What they are competing against is the rise of Android and iOS in the workplace. As tablets get ever more powerful, an increasing amount of companies are replacing PCs with them, which is reducing Microsoft's target market. Combine that with Microsoft's apparent inability to sell tablets (which is odd, as the Windows based tablets I've used have been good), and you have a recipe for problems. It's also worth remembering that in the light of the success of iOS, Apple are also seeing increased sales of the Mac in it's various forms. To both home and commercial users.

Problems not helped when Microsoft introduce a new version of the OS with a new UI. Company staff will require training and any software may require updates. Combine that with the cost of testing and deploying Windows to hundreds of PCs and it stops being so expensive to switch to a new OS. Thus, they are running the risk that a lot of their existing customers will switch.