Milanesi, however, had the most insightful comment of the day as she broke down the keynote's sequencing, and what that progression said about Microsoft's strategy.

"They started with talking about existing users upgrading their software, then moved on to OEMs and finally their own hardware," said Milanesi of the Sinofsky-Larson/Angiulo-Ballmer chronology. "That line of positioning shows that the core of their message remains software, and that the Surface is a marketing vehicle for them."

By starting off with Windows 7's success -- Sinofsky said Microsoft had sold over 670 million licenses, while Ballmer repeated the number as the possible pool for developers' Windows 8 apps -- and then touting the $39.99 Windows 8 upgrade, the company tipped its hand.

Even though the company has dipped into hardware, even though , "We see ourselves as a devices and services company," the reality is different, Milanesi agued.

"The core of their business is still the software," she said while reading between the lines. "That's the way they're thinking about their business. It's software still."