How might Microsoft’s OEM partners feel post-Surface RT?

A lot has been written about how Microsoft’s OEM partners might have felt when Surface was announced. The overt message was rather one of “you guys don’t know what you’re doing — we’re going to show the world how it’s done”. The two products that came out of this was Surface RT and Surface Pro.

From a mature, learning perspective, it seems likely to me that much of the management of the OEMs could well have found this cathartic. A very motivated, well-moneyed partner was helping them to actual...