[corporalagumbo]

On the contrary. If I had argued that consumers should like Windows 8, then your critique would be valid. However I never once claimed that consumers should like it. In fact, in multiple posts I've happily agreed that consumers mostly shouldn't, as it simply does not offer compelling benefits over 7 or other competing OSes.

What I am arguing instead (which you seem to have missed) is that consumer distaste for Windows 8 is an incredibly poor measure for the long-term rationality of Microsoft's business and product strategy. Because consumers are short-sighted and only care about whether a product is good today, not whether it is a transitional release laying the foundation to a competitive 201X ecosystem blah blah blah.