Stick a fork in it: Windows is done

As the article itself suggests, the better title would be "the desktop OS is dying (to an extent)".

The author states that desktop PC sales are declining, tablet sales are increasing, yet also states that sticking with Metro makes MS "idiots". Are they supposed to use the desktop UI on tablets? Of course not.

In a way journalists writing this type of article over and over puts a little fear in my heart. I don't ever intend or want to pass up my PC or laptop in favor of a phone or tablet interface; as a content developer its just not something I could ever see myself wanting to change. Sure, I own a smartphone and tablet but they're recreational at best and often used only for efficiency in my life, never a replacement for my PC where work gets done.

But what I mean when I say I'm afraid is that people listen to these articles. They believe what is said and trumpet it across the skies for everyone to hear. I'd gamble more than 90% of the consumer market are content consumers exclusively; they don't see the need or benefits to having a powerful machine that lives upon your desk. Its not mobile, its not sleek. What happens next? Manufacturers follow that market and begin to neglect the ways of old.

I never would believe the PC ever disappears but what I can see happening is it becoming a more niche market. Prices will go up and selection will go down as a result. It wont be soon but it will eventually happen. Perhaps I'm just afraid of change like my father before me. Perhaps I'm a bit too stubborn for my own good but whatever the reason I fear the day when finding a PC and OS modern enough to fit my needs isn't as easy as it is now. Until then I'm just going to keep on hoping the strong PC gaming market keeps the platform afloat.

"Done" in the sense mainframes are done.

So a guy who was wrong last time he said it, says it again. Ho humm.

Thing is I think we all believe that the demand for desktops or high end laptops is probably going to flatline. The classic example is graphics cards for games. 15 years ago, a generation of cards made a massive difference to the quality of the games visuals. Running Half-Life with software rendering was awful compared to my Voodoo2.

Nowadays the progress is purely a small refinement, my desktop from 3 years ago is still more than adequate. Meanwhile the other end of the scale people don't want a proper PC, they want a locked down, does what it can simply, with no side-effects life.

But to suggest the end of Windows is to ignore their core business model.

I'm using Windows 8 with the aftermarket StarDock start menu, and I've pretty much forgotten that I'm not using Win7 until I accidentally blunder back into Metro. I thought Metro was really neat for the first 20 minutes after I upgraded - until I realized that the mail indicator inexplicably doesn't connect to Outlook. It works with Windows Live/Outlook.com/Hotmail, but not Microsoft's flagship office software suite.