well, as a long time developer in financial enterprise space (18 years) I think MS made a lot of right moves already since Nadela took over. betting all your eggs on Windows dominance proved to be a faulty (and dangerous) strategy especially since a lot of enterprise started using Linux / open source. For example I know a very major hedge fund that went from Windows everywhere to using every open source database they can get their hands on. The whole container strategy is just much easier with linux as well. it's a very hard battle to win. one big co vs every startup betting on OS.

Microsoft could kill Linux's foothold in the server + SMB space right now just by simplifying licensing.

Get rid of CAL's. Charge a fixed price for a certain # of simultaneously running Windows instances, no matter how you run it. Even charging an ongoing subscription for this would be acceptable. Simplify the licensing situation for SMBs wanting to run an on-premise redundant systems, without needing diagrams to explain the difference between running, standby, CAL's, virtualization, etc.

If you're developing software for a platform, trying to figure out how to optimally license that platform should be the least of your concerns, so you can focus on your product.

This is blatantly false. You're assuming that people only use Linux because they don't want to pay or deal with licensing complexities of Microsoft which is not the case.

That's not the only reason. If the Windows platform brings more to the table than Linux, then for a developer that would weigh more heavily than the complexities of licensing it.

I've supported several Windows-centric SMB accounting platforms, including QuickBooks and trying to figure out the right way to license just Windows, in order to support High-availability or redundancy is headache-inducing at the SMB-sized server level.

>a lot of enterprise started using Linux / open source.

any major players? entire healthcare industry is married to microsoft, at least the big names. same for lots of major enterprises that i know of

Same here, but I don't see any rush to change those Windows desktops by something else, beyond eventually some Macs.

you're thinking about desktops. think servers/mobile. that's a highly competitive space you won't compete in by making windows 10% better every 2 years.

Currently Android seems to have lost the tablet war on consumer electronic shops.

People are either going for iPads, or hybrid laptops runnig W10.

Android devs are to blame, given the little effort to adapt phone apps to tablets.

>Currently Android seems to have lost the tablet war on consumer electronic shops.

And yet they still account for the majority of tablet sales.

>People are either going for iPads, or hybrid laptops runnig W10.

The W10 tablet market share is so low they barley even register. In fact, Microsoft Surface tablets aren't even visible on the following graph:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276635/market-share-held...

Most statistics, don't classify Surface Pro and other full desktop 2-in-1 as tablets. Small blip for MS was there ARM tablet

I don't see how the Surface Pro could be classified as anything other than a tablet since that's what it is. The type cover keyboard is a $160 option. It's also losing money and there are rumors that their Surface line will be cancelled in 2019.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/04/surface/

citation needed

http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide

So what, if I find a source that contradicts your's would you just put yet another link?

I know what I see when I go into a store, travel across Europe and look around for what the other passengers are using.

If you feel vindicated by posting some random link asserting you are right, so be it.

Here's another link that contradicts your anecdotal stories:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276635/market-share-held...

What you see and reality can be different. I am from third world i do not see much iPhone users at all. And from the link iPad does have commanding lead over android tablets.

i'm not posting a "random link" to prove you wrong. I googled around and saw a few sources all of which seem to agree on current market share, which made me genuinely confused by your comment.

actually, if you drill down to tablets, which the GP was referring to, the iOS has 2/3 market share.

http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide