A keynote does not a company, or even a product make, but the analysts had strong opinions on how effectively Microsoft made its pitch today.

"[This is the] most polished Windows launch since [Windows] 95. Perhaps more so," Gartenberg tweeted during the event.

Moorhead agreed: "Best Microsoft launch I've seen."

But Gillett took exception. "None of it was news," he said. "There were no interesting nuggets. At the end, all I could think was 'Is that all?' And they continue to be unhelpful and opaque in their communication about Windows 8 and Windows RT, and the differences between them."

The opening keynote, and several other videos -- including one that introduced the Surface RT -- will be available later today for on-demand viewing from Microsoft's website, probably its .