It seems to me that Windows 8 is following the Ubuntu playbook by aiming for both the desktop and mobile markets. I think the Unity controversy is a sneak preview of the reception of Windows 8. I think Windows 8 will be a flop and possibly an even bigger fiasco than Vista was. The average Windows user is even more resistant to change than the average Linux user is. Windows 8 will be very different from 7 and Vista and be an even bigger shock for people still using XP. Windows Vista was Microsoft's Chevy Vega. I think Windows 8 will be Microsoft's Chevy Citation. The big test for Microsoft will come in 2014 as Windows XP support ends. If Microsoft can't hold onto the XP users, it will lose market share. If Microsoft goes down, its decline will be much faster than that of General Motors. Unlike Microsoft, General Motors didn't have the everybody-else-uses-it network effect. -- Jason Hsu <jhsu802701 at jasonhsu.com>