Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 29th Oct 2012 23:34 UTC
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Member since:
2008-08-15
I thought you weren't the "omg the sky is falling" type? Those fictional series of steps you just listed are the epitome of the paranoid quote you just said you were not.
When I was referencing Win32 backwards compatibility based on the APIs, that same dependency applies to the current distribution model of a Win32 application (On x86, the only ISA that matters for PC Gaming). In other words, Microsoft CAN'T close off Win32. Because again, the basis of what makes Windows so powerful are applications that exist today *AS THEY ARE NOW*. Closing off Win32 applications and requiring that they be installed via a Store is exactly the same as breaking Win32 API compatibility.
Why? Because by virtue of Windows rejecting an installer, it is breaking compatibility; there are thousands of applications whose installers will never be re-written. Like I mentioned earlier to Thom, this disaster scenario you are making up is making the following assumptions:
1. That Microsoft is willing to throw away all of their backwards compatibility that they worked so hard to preserve the past few decades.
2. That Microsoft even WANTS to get rid of the desktop.
3. That Microsoft even CAN get rid of the desktop.
Microsoft recognizes the strength they have with the desktop. It's why they are using it is as a selling point for Windows 8. Microsoft will not abandon the desktop until the desktop and laptop form factor themselves are dead. And the only way that will happen is if every x86 device on the planet dies and x86 is never again produced. But hey, that's another ridiculous assumption altogether.
Edited 2012-10-31 08:23 UTC