According to early Informa estimates, over 70% of PC users will be on Windows 8 by 2014, with 36% using new touch-enabled hardware.

The analyst describes the Windows 8 launch as "a new strategic direction" not only for Microsoft, but for the way PCs are used-- from a user experiences locked on desktops and notebooks to the "Personalised Computing" framework.

Of course we all know how the PC market is shrinking as a result of cannibalisation by the tablet market and slower PC replacement cycles. Consumers refuse to upgrade PC hardware unless it offers major enhancements in both performance and user experience (it is telling how over 30% of PC users are still on Windows XP), while vendors prefer to focus on higher-margin products.

The rise in popularity of tablets and smartphones also represents a shift away from keyboard and mouse as input devices. Consumers are more and more familiar with touch-, gesture- and voice-based input, forcing the development of applications using alternative interfaces.

The long-term Microsoft goal is to enable a unified user experience across multiple UIs (keyboard, touch, gesture, voice) and devices (PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones), with Windows 8 as a common platform. Will it manage to do exactly that?

Go Windows 8, Goodbye Personal Computers, Welcome Personalised Computing (Informa)