Already supports touch screen devices to a certain extent, has a basic tablet interface, but has a full kernel that can support regular, traditional .deb apps.

I just don't see how this is fundamentally different to the Redmond approach to Win 8, which is a step back.

The problem with legacy app compatibility and support on tablets and other mobile devices is that vendors will take shortcuts, if they address issues at all, regarding the usability of a desktop GUI designed app on a touch-screen device. We'll see skins, patches and other band-aids rather than dedicated native code written specifically to leverage a touch-screen environment.

Once you dump that legacy garbage - you get quality apps that are designed for the user I/O interface of the device in question. The NT and Linux kernels implemented *traditionally*, are always going to carry the legacy garbage with them.

Those kind of tablets have been trying to get market share for years and failing. No one wants to do that kind of work on a tablet. They want to do that kind of work on a clamshell device or a desktop. Apple has shown what people want to do on tablets - and Android and iOS and other limited platforms are best suited to delivering that.