Honestly, I expected this ever since release of Windows 8, the current environment surrounding Windows, and the current general-computing environment:

1. MS wants to unify Windows's GUI across PCs, mobile, and I would also presume Xbox. The Desktop just stands in the way of this vision as far as MS is concerned.
2. MS and others want to kill off the Win32 API and imagine as if it never existed because of alleged code rot and inefficiency stemming from years of development. WinRT which comes with Windows 8 (and lots of baggage) is MS's answer.
3. Metro serves nicely to allow MS to actively control what is allowed to run on Windows and take a share of all profits driven from software sales, a marked difference from the current Desktop which is a completely open ecosystem. All hail closed ecosystems with "app" stores and the people behind it who care not for a developer's or user's freedom or wants, all that matters is money and whether MS approves.
4. The entire computer industry is (whether we like it or not) moving out of local hardware/software and onto remote hardware/software, the so-called "cloud". Metro is the perfect environment to facilitate a "dumb terminal" to serve the cloud as much of it and Windows 8 are already internet-reliant.

And while there's still a chance MS might decide to keep the Desktop, it's simply highly likely it will get axed because there aren't any long-term repercussions at the end of it:
1. Linux desktops, while certainly enticing, are in no position to replace Windows on most consumer and business computers because of lack of familiarity and software (for consumers) and technical assurance (for businesses). Ubuntu's LTS, which only lasts 5 years, is a far cry from MS's offering for example, XP has lasted 12 years and will be supported for 1 more year still!
2. Macs are not a proper answer to replacing desktop Windows given Apple's closed-ecosystem nature, plus the pricetag is simply not appropriate for just everyone.
3. ChromeOS, while a nice concept, is even more cloud-reliant than Windows 8 and its presumed successors will be and thus cannot serve as a desktop OS.
4. Major software developers and vendors like Adobe will simply have to develop for Metro and WinRT when Desktop and Win32 get axed, to not do so will mean that they will then lose a major revenue stream. Desktop Linux is simply too decentralized and too minor to invest in; Macs might work out for investing in (I hear Macs have an awesome array of graphics and video editting software already), but who knows?

So do I expect the Windows Desktop to die at MS's hands? Yes. Am I sad and aggravated at MS's current path? Yes. Do I see MS realizing the folly of just forcing Metro on everything? No. Do I see a practical replacement to Windows? No. Short of a miracle like a complete change in Microsoft's management, I doubt we're going to see anything that even closely resembles a happy ending.

I was talking in regards to desktop usage of Linux, IE workstations used by employees at a company to crunch spreadsheets and write up paperwork or your at-home PC that your mother might use to calculate taxes or manage her blog.

Server usage of Linux has always been a major player alongside Windows servers and Red Hat is a shining example of it. Sadly though, bringing up the success of server Linux in a topic about desktop Linux is akin to comparing apples to oranges; they're both Linux, but their intended markets and uses are completely different.

The Desktop is going nowhere. MS would not survive without it. The gaming industry will keep it alive and well.