I personally didn't read it like that, but your interpretation makes sense. After thinking about it, I think your interpretation of the post is superior.

Yes, that's what I meant. Windows was a commoditizing force on PC hardware makers. Microsoft did the commoditizing here by taking their market power that came from controlling the thing people wanted most, and enforcing standards that hardware makers had to meet in order to reach the market MS controlled.

It's the same in travel, where the airlines and hotels are selling commodity products, and the high value is in the brokers people trust to select among the commodities. But the brokers here are also in still competitive positions, because it's still easy for consumers to switch compared to something like an OS or social network.