The other bit of speculation I've seen for long enough that I can't pin down when it started is if consumer windows is a large enough burden for maintenance, then what potential is there in minimizing that through virtualization, at least for the legacy compatibility. If they're making money through services, do they really care if the underlying OS is full-fat windows, a streamlined windows, or some other OS if they can support external projects doing what they need.
As far as gaming goes, I've wondered for a while how much of a burden it is to maintain directx, along with working with the hardware partners to add/maintain features when they want. With the console side there was some symbiosis, but with their current direction and recent xbox fortunes that also looks like an area they could reduce their ongoing spending to stay relevant.
As far as gaming goes, I've wondered for a while how much of a burden it is to maintain directx, along with working with the hardware partners to add/maintain features when they want. With the console side there was some symbiosis, but with their current direction and recent xbox fortunes that also looks like an area they could reduce their ongoing spending to stay relevant.