The idea of the unified system is to supposed to help this situation. The idea is to have an app store suitable for desktop, tablet and phone. I have a feeling, and this is just a feeling, that future versions of Windows desktop will move away from a desktop type of environment. This is just speculation I have nothing to back that up with. So with their system you would technically only need to write one app for all three systems.
I'm sure Microsoft will sooner or later have one app store, and allow one app to run across all types of device. I also suspect Microsoft planned to move away from the desktop on PCs, but I think this might have changed following the negative reaction to the Metro UI on the desktop. Yes - I'm making another assertion that a Microsoft technology is unpopular! I will produce some evidence - well, at least statistics suggesting that Metro doesn't seem to be used that much by desktop users. See this report -
https://www.soluto.com/reports. The thing is, I think (no evidence) that the traditional desktop is actually a pretty efficient way to display multiple applications. Right now, I have a web browser open, my e-mail open behind it (and I can see the inbox so I know when something has arrived), and a document and a file explorer open on my other monitor. All are visible and usable just by moving the mouse. No weird key combinations. Now, this arrangement doesn't work well on a tablet, which has limited screen space and no mouse, so MS were quite right to do something different there, but it is (in my opinion which I offer without supporting evidence) a good way to use a desktop.
This leaves our friends at MS in a tricky position, but they are clever girls and boys and there is an obvious solution. Allow Metro apps to run in a window on the desktop. Probably this isn't even very hard. With Windows 8.1, Metro apps can be resized more or less arbitrarily, so it should be possible to run them in a resizable, movable window. API extensions could allow these apps to provide a tradition menu when running on the desktop.
To summarise - I agree that Metro apps and a single app store are the way forward (hopefully not so locked down that apps can't be installed on desktop machine by other routes). I don't think the traditional desktop will disappear, as it's too familar and useful. Getting rid of it would push a lot of people on to other platforms (in my opinion which I offer without supporting evidence).
The issue here is that Xbox represents their entertainment arm. Which is where I think they want to keep it. If anything I think you would end up with a Surface Phone first.
Surface is also a good suggestion. It's a tricky one... 'Windows' emphasises the phone OS's integration with desktop and tablet, and maybe the business features. 'Xbox' emphasises games and entertainment - which is also a very important use case for the phone. As for 'Surface', I'm not sure what that stands for in consumers' minds.
So, if I was Microsoft (which obviously I'm not. Microsoft is a corporation and I'm only a person), I would decide how I wanted to market WP, and deciede whether to change the name then. If I wanted to promote business use, 'Windows' is maybe a good choice (
assuming it doesn't have any negative associations). To promote games and entertainment uses, 'Xbox' would be better.
clickbait = someone who clicks on online articles by tech journalist who purposely puts exaggerated titles to ensure people 'click' on them. Hence the 'wet dream' comment.
Can't remember who called me that (not you, I'm sure!). Seems like an insult, no? I fear the work of an Apple ******, hidden in our midst. Ladies and Gentlemen - beware!
There was no argument about your PC startup time, the issue was people got the impression you were using that as a subjective experience of Windows, which it isn't.
My PC start up time is not a subjective experience of Windows. It is an objective experience of Windows. Objective meaning it can be dispassionately measured (as the dictionary says: "Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts"). Believe me, I have measured it.
Now, I don't want to start this up again, so let's put this in context. Do some other people have similar experiences? Yes. I have met them. Some are sitting within mere metres of me as I write.
Is it a typical experience? I don't know.
A universal experience? No.
But it is most definitely an objective experience of Windows.
Also, I don't know why you use Linux. You can download W8 you know.
I could explain why I use Linux but to be honest it's quite boring and I don't think anyone here would be terribly interested.
I didn't know you could download Windows 8. Indeed, we learn something every day. If they made a version that would upgrade from Linux while preserving all my data and automatically install equivalents for all my applications, I might even be interested. Otherwise, I have better things to do than switch over. It's only an OS.