Re: Well MSFT needs some $$$ to...
"you might as well get a lappy" - and this is what it comes down to.
Developers and geeks don't really do tablets. Yes, we may tinker a bit, but to actually do anything of meaningful value, you need a "proper machine".
Managers are the people who do tablets in a big way. And since they're all about swanking it up in front of their peers, they need to be seen as "cool".
And Microsoft has not been cool for a long time - too much muddy water under that bridge.
The only way Microsoft has into the tablet market is the long game - make something a bit different that eventually proves to be as good an option (if not better) than everything else. At this point in time, it's difficult to see how the Surface may be that device.
I'm not saying that Microsoft should dump the Surface - not yet at any rate. But by rushing to try and grab a slice of the slab/phone action, they've gone off half-cocked with a desktop OS that is a bit too different and lacking in key familiar features, and a mobile counterpart that could have used a bit more thought.
Personally, I hope it catches on (eventually) - I've got a nasty feeling that a Google-controlled IT monopoly would be even worse than Microsoft...