Re: Windows 8
"I imagine the resulting loss of sales will encourage manufacturers to reconsider their stance"
I think, in the manufacturers' reality we are light years away from reconsideration. The manufacturers need the volumes Windows brings and even more so as the margins they get from the Win-hardware are minuscule. There just isn't any remarkable alternative/channel to offer the volumes, that an OEM could abandon Win8-label/OEM-contract for sustainable revenue. And that is the position Microsoft takes full advantage of and has nursed it well for taking it over the PC business as witnessed here.
The episode put simply; this is the end of an open PC era. There are now only Apple and Windows computers available easily. This is a take-over of PC brand as an open platform as people, especially techs, are used to think about it. And as this is a tech forum, there are and will be hugely Microsoft-fans among techs, who don't give a s* for alternatives, what should also make a point to a tech to think about.
I just think that playing with Microsoft and Apple for "their" hardware to be useful with alternatives is just worthless when thinking in scales. The options like cracking the Secure Boot or playing the games Microsoft sets just don't work in scales. Something big needs to happen and I can't see any of that big yet, but this Microsoft's move will certainly raise needs for the big to happen and that is good.
The big needs to take a feasible piece away from Microsof's OEM stranglehold ie. Microsoft needs to set up its own hardware and channels like Apple does. And that I find Microsoft's disadvantage. They really need to maintain the general attitude toward Windows as an open platform, at least more open than Apple. Now a buyer has alternative brands to choose hardware to run Windows and now that is more than enough for many. But the game isn't over.
The big could come from Google, since I find that Microsoft's position and history of actions does warrant Google for actions here. But what I can tell, it seems that Google has only toyed with something like Google-terminals for its services and Google may be pleased with and set to Android. And I, at least, am not interested in yet another game console alike.
Another approach may come, or may not as this is pure speculation about the big, from the change of the ISA platform as what goes as PC platform in future. The change may open the game better for ARM and for other specifications/chips and for game setters. Intel may not like this much and warrants its actions to maintain the open PC platform as we are used to know it.
UEFI Secure Boot and Microsoft's position over the signature key are definately a hallmark in PC business as open technical platform and as an platform to make business free from players like Microsoft.
This is just my interpretations. I may be wrong and do not warrant for any correctness and/or suitability to others mindset, get it as "as-is" as usual in software licenses.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
