Think demographics like students and developing countries (for price), google apps for business users (for price and low cost of training due to simplicity), and the elderly (for price and simplicity of the less computer savvy)

chromebook there are none of these since everything operates exclusively in a browser. Therefore, updates to web apps are done on the host machine, not yours.

I am actually considering getting one of these for my mom due to the simplicity and price point. Microsoft can’t touch the experience on these things for the price.

The Acer C7 Chromebook specifically comes with a hard drive and thus has the capacity for installing a full OS, etc… and it can be upgraded…

One reason people get passionate is the enormous time sink imposed by Windows 8. If a system is easy to use and responsive, it brings joy and people will flock. But if it is painful and slow, in this case quite unintuitive with a distracting and dumbed-down start screen, it levies a tax on people’s precious time. If that weren’t enough, it’s obvious that a big reason to try corralling the public into this mess is the forced adoption of a clone of Apple’s app store. Pour as much marketing as you want into it, but this whole thing is set up for failure — on multiple levels.

MS, you can pass the buck all you want, but the reason life currently sucks for you is your perplexing insistence on being a follower. Apple has an iPod, so let’s make a Zune. They have an iPhone, so let’s make a Kin. Oh, now they have an iPad and a successful app store, so let’s double down on this one.

What the hell? Stick with your core competencies.

Here we are now 3 months after release and there’s no mistaking it — the public dislikes Windows 8. Microsoft’s audacious approach blows my mind. Under the hood there’s some great technical advances, but damn it Redmond, if you stand in the way of people’s productivity just to achieve your own narcissistic goals then how can you expect success?

It’s been 3 months, and the “Bash win8 for no reason” is still eve3rpresent.

Between all the people bitching about how bad Win8 is, there are more people who enjoy it, love it, and think it’s better than win7. Me included. So think before you claim you are the correct about the OS.

Microsoft should had instead work on a super light version of Windows for the army of content consumers with no hardware limitations such as RAM and disk storage and pricing it very affordable. Also offering the Metro UI completely optional and allowing developers to openly develop applications for both Intel/AMD and ARM without the need of AppStore.

Microsoft rushed what should had been taken about five years to introduce in just one iteration. Things would get very unpleasant when Microsoft start forcing users out of Windows 7 ecosystem to very closed Windows 8′s ecosystem. Windows users will rebel and start using other alternatives, perhaps upto three different OSes, to free themselves from Microsoft. This is the time when Steve Ballmer will be voted out of CEO position by the shareholders. I would say mid-2014 is a turning time for Microsoft.

The remaining offered low cost laptops tend to be bulky and not offer good enough run times.

While the decline of the netbook market has left low cost Chromebooks as the only easily obtainable option for most people.

Emphasis on tablets and touch screen laptops typically push Windows 8 systems $500 and above, which is not optimal for people just looking for a basic system.

Chromebooks are pretty much the only option now for people who want a low cost laptop and not have to pay $500 or more…

Yes you can get a windows computer for $250 but the hardware doesn’t properly run it and it is crap. A chromebook runs quickly on low end hardware.