"It is a risk that must take to stay relevant in a world where mobile devices with new modern experiences are becoming the norm," according to "Is 8 in Your Future" by Gartner analysts Michael A. Silver and Stephen Kleynhans.

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By giving Windows an interface that is more in line with ever-more-popular tablets and mobile phones, Microsoft is de-emphasizing the PC as the main computing tool used for work, a drastic change given the company's historic dominance in PC platforms. But that is changing.

"Once the hub connecting all of a user's devices, the PC increasingly is simply a peer with other devices," the report says. "For many, the PC is not even their preferred device, yielding to smaller and lighter devices that feel more personal and intimate."