They just might extinguish Windows with that. Think about it: if the next Windows release becomes just another Linux distribution with some fancy proprietary features, and proprietary driver/hardware support they just might convince enough Linux firebrands switch over. The Bulk of their income is not the sale of Windows Licenses anymore but cloud services. If enough developers get around the idea that a "Windows flavored Linux" is not such a bad thing after all, they might be able to establish it as a de-facto standard platform for desktop and servers (and someday maybe even embedded devices).

I am also slightly uncomfortable with that, but they are not the player they once were back in the 90ies, they definitly don't have an OS monopoly these days, and that is a good thing. Everyone who wants to use other distributions is free to do so.