Windows 8 Is Too Big to Fail

Apple and Google are way ahead of Microsoft on mobile, but its historic dominance of the PC platform comes with some serious advantages.

Unlike your typical Apple event, there are very rarely surprises at a Microsoft product launch. Everyone suspected Apple would release a new iPad mini on Tuesday, but the new MacBook, iMac, and Mac mini were surprises.

Compare that to Microsoft's Windows 8 announcement yesterday: the OS had been available for free download for almost a year and reviews of the systems had been online for weeks. This was the first time most of the world got to see a working Surface tablet, but the rest of the Windows 8 launch seemed predictable. My only surprise was that I came away from the event predicting Windows 8's inevitable success.

There are two reasons for that assertion. First, although Apple's market share is growing, it still only has about 13 percent of the U.S. market. It is an incredibly lucrative 13 percent, with nearly all of the $1,000-plus units sales, but it is still a minority player. That means Microsoft will continue to dominate the laptop and desktop space. This traditional "PC" market is declining, but people still buy a lot of laptops and desktops.