So, Microsoft's big hope for getting into the tablet space is an operating system with an attractive but flawed front end that's incongruously tied to a legacy desktop, and will require different versions of applications depending on which hardware you have.

What could go wrong?

Some people point to the OS 9-to-OS X and PowerPC-to-Intel transitions as an instances of Apple forcing the same compromises. But those were . Is Microsoft really transitioning from the traditional Windows desktop? If so, why is it even present on the ARM architecture?

If Microsoft is able to move away from the Windows desktop and toward Metro, I think Windows will become more appealing to even long-time Mac fans like myself. More appealing than it was, I mean, not more appealing than the Mac. The problem in making this leap is the mass of inertia that grips Microsoft's corporate clients. Windows 8 is a huge change and many businesses have only finally upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 in the last couple of years. Many still haven't. Like, say, your dentist.

I love iOS, but let's face it, its primary user interface is just a nicer version of Simple Finder which . When Apple brought the iOS application launcher interface "back to the Mac" as Launchpad with last year's Lion release, the company had the good sense to make it optional. While Apple seems to be content to let iOS and OS X slowly get to know each other over a few years, Microsoft is throwing a Metro/Windows shotgun wedding.