What do you mean risk doesn't pay off? AS SEEN WITH WINDOWS 8.
As I've always stated, Windows 8 is a mixed bag for desktop users. Some people will absolutely abhor it, and others will come to accept its shortcomings. ModernMix and Start8 get me past the problems that I see with using the desktop, primarily the only mode I find myself using. Thats the facts for me. Windows 8 was never really a risk for Microsoft. They have complete dominance in the desktop market. It was a calculated attempt to bring their software and hardware into emerging areas that they have no leverage in. The tablet market is dominated by Google Android and most smart phones are running Android or iOS.
Yes, they needed to create minimal trouble for mouse and keyboard users, but we heard about this Surface rumor back in 2009. Initially it was advertised and marketed as a large device, such as a coffee table, or the table at a restaurant. It would be interactive and responsive to touch and allow you to place an order at a hotel. Miniaturization and quick moves in the tablet and PC markets ensured that the first Surface devices would be a very expedited release of a new version of Windows that had a touch screen UI.
The conceptualization of these ideas is nothing new. We have seen "pads" in science fiction like Star Trek. By the time Star Trek: The Next Generation had aired, the starship Enterprise even had its own fictional touchscreen user interface called "LCARS". So it is not something that people did not foresee happening, it was just a matter of when it would become affordable and take off.
This originates with Apple's publication of the iPod, which, really, was not the first device to read MP3 off of a laptop hard drive. There were others, but they figured out a way to mass produce these devices very affordably and in large quantities. That, of course, involved globalization and using a labor force in countries that have little to no wage standards. We see this in China and it is the rule, not the exception, for these types of devices. It is how they are sold cheaply and how they make an enormous profit for semiconductor companies like Samsung, etc.
The goal of making these items "hip" to the public was nothing but profit motive, but it worked. With Steve Jobs, you could say the man had a vision, especially with that Wosniak fellow, but now that company is still embroiled in patent wars, even with companies that manufacture their own processors. So, you see clearly now that Windows 8 is Microsoft's attempt at catching up with these developments.
As I demonstrated quite awhile ago in a video using Windows 7 on Teamviewer for Android, it is impossible to use a graphical user interface that uses icons and so forth on a portable touch device. It is just not really feasible. My point is that Microsoft could afford to aggravate some of their desktop users, a bit, by introducing these new enhancements that make Windows compatible with new hardware, because there is no real alternative for desktops other than Linux. It would be interesting to find the business adoption rate for Windows 8, as I would assume it is quite low. However, because it is bundled with new PC sales, it is not at low as it would be.
Normally, businesses do not want the hassle of upgrading to new systems. This requires the cost of retraining of the staff, many of whom, are trained to use a certain application and that is absolutely it. Many businesses continue to operate with Windows XP, Windows 7, and Server 2003, if only to avoid any kind of major change. Many of them continue to use old versions of Office. When it becomes profitable for productivity to upgrade, they will, but not unless it is absolutely necessary. So the impact of Windows 8 has not been immediately felt, in a way. It will require more time, and perhaps full acceptance will never take place by a lot of people. Most people interact with computers on the most basic level, day in and day out, through the use of hardened backend systems that utilize things like Java under a proprietary system. A basic example of this is billboards, the use of a Jukebox, checking out at the supermarket, or even using ATM/bank services.
So there is no escaping technology it just depends on what is most profitable and that is what businesses do. Large corporations are accountable to their shareholders and beholden to them more than their customers when future earnings are at stake. In my opinion, Microsoft could not sit idly by while Google and Apple absorb the tablet and phone markets with their offerings. That is what Windows 8 is really about.
