The point of the article is most people don't need a Windows envirnoment because currently they don't need to run apps like Photoshop. Most people don't like the current Windows 8 interface so manafacturers are giving their customers a choice. Also if enough people get disgusted with Windows 8 you will see apps such as Photoshop beimg made available for the alternative OS. Wake up Microsoft and give the customers an OS they like for the desktop!
Hi there
It's nice to think that could be so but the development work required to get an app like Photoshop (or in particular the whole of the CS suite) to work on Android is so large and expensive that it isn't going to happen any time soon if ever.
Even the Ipad won't run Ms Office -- although some versions of Ms office were ported to Macs.
Photoshop also works fine on a Mac. While the Mac OS basically shares some commonality with Linux it's NOT the same (by quite a distance) -- otherwise if it were Adobe would have released photo shop for Linux a long time ago. The same is true of Ms Office -- while people like CrossOver Office try and make use of WINE to run some versions of Office on Linux it's by no means complete or 100% successful.
Ms if it thought this was an operation worth doing ( Ms Office for Linux) would surely JUMP at the chance - Ms office is one of its biggest profitable sources of software revenue
As far as W8 is concerned Ms could basically just quietly fix problems with it over a lengthy period (and they probably will -- most corporations eventually take notice of what the customers are telling them but in the case of W8 these same customers aren't "all singing from the same Hymn sheet" so it's not so easy to decide what to do). Ms also want to make sure that they have a presence of some sort in the emerging mobile markets.
Remember as far as Windows licenses for corporates are concerned this is where the BIG money is. It doesn't matter WHAT version they use - although its likely to remain W7.
No way in a million years will corporations switch to Android - even if the OS was free -- basic Office software won't run like that - and the literally 100,000's of "Back end applications" would all have to be re-written and tested -- not cheap even if it were remotely possible.
The only caveat with all this is that if future computers basically just contained a Browser as the OS and ran all the apps from the Cloud then it might just work but I wouldn't bet the farm on that approach for all sorts of reasons.
The only piece of kit that remotely works like that is the Chromebook --which is fine for the limited scenario it is used for -- but as a full blown computer --forget it.
In any case as has been pointed out AD NAUSEAM both here and on W8 Forum too -- the OS on the computer has totally NOTHING to do with the drop in PC sales --I'm not going to re-hash the old reasons again - they are all here in the Forums if you want to re-visit that whole discussion.
Finally YOU have a choice on what you want on your desktop --It's not Ms who decides what you put on your desktop -- if you've had it with Windows get a Mac or install one of the 100's of Linux distros out there --they are all usually FREE too. Similarly there's nothing wrong if you want to continue using Windows like you use it now to stay with W7 --it's still a good OS and will be current until at least 2020.
Cheers
jimbo