Microsoft have decided that what is needed is one OS design for all devices. You see this very strongly in their ads when they show the tiles on a phone, a surface, and a computer next to each other.
If you have only a superficial understanding of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) then this actually seems like a fantastic idea. I learn to use on MS device and I can use them all - win!
Unfortunately, if you scratch the surface even a little (forgive the pun), things start to fall apart quickly. Touch is utterly impractical for large devices like desktops and big laptops, and pointers are a terrible idea for small portable devices. Fingers and mouse pointers are very very different things, and need different interfaces to work well. What MS have done is ignored this obvious reality and carried on regardless. Believe it or not, even their new server OS is tiles and touch - bloody SERVERS!
The thing is, it gets even worse, because Microsoft have NOT made one OS that works on all devices, they have made three different OSes that look superficially the same but can't run each other's apps. You have the real Windows 8 for desktops, laptops, and the pro version of the surface (which is not out yet), you have Windows RT for the current version of the surface, and you have Windows Phone 8 for their smart phones. People are unlikely to confuse the phone OS with either of the two computer OSes, but Windows 8 and Windows RT is a customer's nightmare. Try explaining to your parents that although this tablet looks identical to this one, both can run some apps but only one can run other apps. Their heads will explode!
Now - lets only look at the real Windows 8, the one for Intel CPUs. This one has to run on everything from a surface pro tablet up to big desktop machines. Tiles that look good on a tablet will look utterly stupid on the 27" display! There is also the fact that I would need biceps like popeye to use touch on a 27" display for even an hour, let alone a working day! Then you have the converse, Office on the surface is a complete joke because people's fingers are not small enough to hit the right controls. So, you have to use a mouse on your tablet - what a way to utterly ruin the whole point of tablets!
Also - I agree with Jake, I REALLY don't want finger prints on my 27" desktop display!
As someone who studied and lectured computer science at university I could literally write a thesis crammed full with citations to explain just why Microsoft have made the wrong decision. Making three OSes look like one results in three bad OSes and a bunch of confused users.
Finally - two other points:
1) there IS a good way to add touch to desktops - don't have the touch surface on the screen, have it on the desk! This is the route Apple have gone and I just love it. I can get so much more done with my Magic Trackpad and it's multi-touch gestures than I can with any mouse.
2) even if you only look at how Windows 8 works on just a tablet or just a PC, it's STILL badly designed from a user interface point of view. One of the leading lights in the field of human computer interaction is Jakob Nielsen, and his analysis of Windows 8 is absolutely damning:
http://refhide.com/?http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html
Bottom line - you can tell Microsoft is run by an MBA and not a techie. Steve Balmer may well be a very accomplished business man (despite Microsoft's stock being stagnant for years), but he is a complete fool when it comes to understanding tech. For proof, just read the crap he was saying 5 years ago, and see how well his pontifications have stood the test of time - spoiler - BADLY!
B.
