This is true however they were able to do this in an era where there was no real competition to the PC. It's a very risky move to make now. I think a lot of people looking at buying a new PC in the next year are on the fence about buying an iPad instead. Windows 8 has the potential to push massive numbers of people towards the iPad. Maybe Microsoft's gamble is it will push some of those people into Windows 8 tablets instead. I really don't see how many consumers are going to willingly buy Windows 8 PCs. The backlash is going to dwarf Windows ME or Vista unless they make some major changes over the next couple of months in my opinion.