It takes a lot of time to build and release a new OS and then jump-start a community of developers around it. The power of the PC and the reason why we'll still be using PCs for a long time is also due to its legacy ... basically whatever tasks you need to do on a PC, there's already an app for it and most people probably know about it too.
Getting rid of this legacy would be Microsoft's poison pill. Unfortunately for them Windows is being disrupted by OS X and Linux for power-users on one hand and Android / iOS for normal users on the other hand. They are in the classic innovators dilemma.
The dilemma can also be disrupted, by pulling a Henderson of some kind. Change what it means to be a PC/desktop. Put all those legacy apps in a 3D world, tool up for holographic displays, something.
Or just slowly die, filing lawsuits to retard the industry and drag out your lifeblood a few more years.
I actually agree with you. Microsoft, instead of working on mediocre hybrids, should work harder to innovate the desktop, while slowly pursuing the path of hybrids with WinPhone. The truth is the world is not ready for hybrids yet. And when the world will be ready, then I predict both iOS and Android will be there.
Instead they've chosen to handicap the most successful product they've ever had. I couldn't say I'm sorry as I haven't been a Windows user for years.
This is an excellent point. MS needs to make a lot of changes, but one of the biggest mistakes it could make is trying to copy Apple exactly, and losing out on what it already has while doing so.
Getting rid of this legacy would be Microsoft's poison pill. Unfortunately for them Windows is being disrupted by OS X and Linux for power-users on one hand and Android / iOS for normal users on the other hand. They are in the classic innovators dilemma.