(Updated). Microsoft's Rebirth: Windows 8 on Phone, Tablet, & PC

An update on an earlier interview with me about Microsoft's Windows 8 And Mobile 8. Dave Needles of TabTimes published an interview with me in February, 2012. Now, on March 23, 2012 he has released a second column based upon that interview. In this note I update my earlier release and give the relevant background information. The main message is still the same: Microsoft is back. Windows 8 is brilliant, and its principles have been extended to phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop machines (and larger -- for example, Surface), whether operated by gesture, mouse and keyboard, or stylus, but with appropriately changed interaction styles for the different sizes of devices and different input devices. Android is pretty much a copy of Apple iOS. Not Windows 8: this is a powerful rethinking of interaction in the age of gestures, touch screens, and Kinect.