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The memo has already gone out to the various book editors, news editors and technology analysts: The proper phrase is not "tablet PC" any more. A tablet and a PC are perceived by both consumers and businesses as two separate classes of device. You probably saw the TV ads this season where Santa's elves kicked out the 4G smartphones and tablets, and dispensed with the old gifts nobody wants. "Bye, bye, computer," the elves sang to an old Johnny Mathis tune.

Since its very inception, Microsoft's business model has been about leverage. It uses its established foundation in one popular platform to extend another. The advance of the tablet had been announced further ahead of time than Margaret Thatcher announced the surge on the Falklands. It's not like Microsoft didn't see this coming. But in 20/20 hindsight, it's remarkable to see now how the company appears to have actively worked to thwart that advance, to slow it down, by introducing potential form factors that could deflect interest in tablets - for example, an embedded device that could reveal the weather forecast and present your e-mails, that could be sewn to one's luggage.