I think it's a little early to say that Windows 8 will only make for an adequate tablet interface. Windows Phone shows they know what they're doing when they put their heart into it.
I don't think Apple wants to sell desktops at all. I think they'd like OS X gone in 5-10 years.
Re:Ubuntu for Android
by chrisballinger on Saturday February 25, 2012 @02:11PM
(#3633585)
How would you write your iOS apps?
Yes, why do one thing well when you can do two things adequately?
I think this fundamental difference separates Apple from nearly everyone else in the markets in which they compete.
Apple's vision is similar to Sun's: one ID that allows you to transport your data (incl. apps for appropriate platform) to all your Apple devices... Have you ever used a Sun-Ray[1]? It's like that, except for apps/data, not sessions.
Personally, I don't think Win8 is anything like Ubuntu for Android. Microsoft has the same problem as Apple: they don't want you to stop buying desktops, as both companies make a lot of money on continued sales of traditional computers. Whereas Apple created a whole new device platform in the iPad and iPhone, Microsoft is trying to merge the two markets back together... while at the same time relying on the computing profits to keep their overall margins up. Meanwhile Google and Canonical would happily cannibalize any revenue from desktops for the much greater potential in mobile.