Opinion: RT was an interesting strategy and most people in Steve Ballmer's shoes would have taken the same bet. It came at a time when Microsoft didn't have a tablet to compete with iPad. So, what did they do? They converted their existing Start interface to occupy the entire desktop into Metro Mode. If you think about it, the desktop was always a huge waste of space. After they converted, Microsoft had couple of major issues - if they allowed for tablets running legacy apps or forced x86 on tablets, people would ignore the new interface and continue building legacy apps. The new metro was going to be used by their phones and game consoles in a one screen, 3 devices policy and in case they didn't have metro apps, their phones and consoles would suffer. Windows was always the driver - it had to be. So, they decoupled desktop from their new interface and put it in a new set of devices supporting low powered ARMs.
And as such, current Office is never really meant for Touch. So, I am guessing they were forced to bundle a pseudo-desktop along with RT to support Office which is also a cash cow. Would they have loved to remove Desktop completely? I would bet so.
Maybe Microsoft foresaw that x86 prices would fall, power would increase and battery life would increase etc., but they had to continue down this road and take a hit because they needed metro apps. My bet is that they were willing to take the hit. I don't think anyone in Microsoft had the impression that RT would come save the day. It is a necessity because of their new direction. If RT designs in app interest being generated, I would say that it did it's job to some extent. Of course, I don't know how this will play out but according to me, these are some very daring decisions being played out at MSFT and I would say better than Google.
And as such, current Office is never really meant for Touch. So, I am guessing they were forced to bundle a pseudo-desktop along with RT to support Office which is also a cash cow. Would they have loved to remove Desktop completely? I would bet so.
Maybe Microsoft foresaw that x86 prices would fall, power would increase and battery life would increase etc., but they had to continue down this road and take a hit because they needed metro apps. My bet is that they were willing to take the hit. I don't think anyone in Microsoft had the impression that RT would come save the day. It is a necessity because of their new direction. If RT designs in app interest being generated, I would say that it did it's job to some extent. Of course, I don't know how this will play out but according to me, these are some very daring decisions being played out at MSFT and I would say better than Google.