I think that's what RdM's point was (or am I wrong?)
They'll be able to scale the OS down in the "tablet version" so that it can do what typical users need, but be powerful enough so that a power-user can still use it for what they need.
A network admin may want so additional tools that could let him/her work wirelessly at a NOC while wandering around the server room, but the tools may require some other client that a base user wouldn't need (citrix, et. al.)
No reason to tie your hands or paint yourself into obsolesence just because most users aren't power users. Windows 7 Home is fairly different than Windows 7 Ultimate, but it's the same base OS.
well, prior to Win7 (as i can't confirm), the only difference was registry settings. The server OSes gave priority to services, and the desktop flavor gave priority to applications. the binaries were essentially the same.
in any modern OS, the OS is responsible for:
network stack
GUI stack
process management
backend services (hidden processes)
file system access
security and user identity/authentication management
the problem with MS, is they turn on a zillion theme features, so the start button looks pretty and animated, the desktop has floating widgets, etc. You start turning that stuff off and your rig will look like a Windows95/W2K box.
most of the problems with Vista is all the crap they turned ON that wraps all the basic stuff. File copies take forever from a Vista machine because it does a validation on EVERY file, something NT never did before (as it generally was not needed).
The list of OS responsibilities exists in my BB, my Android and in my iThing. It's all been there since we all moved off DOS.
so when people say they want a full featured OS, I gotta ask, what feature?
I have an 8-track DAW in my iPad, courtesy of GarageBand or similar apps
there are graphics programs, spreadsheets, word processors, mysql interfaces, Remote Desktop and VNC clients, even Webex and Citrix. I can probably find packet sniffers and wifi decryptors if I tried. There are SMB clients, etc, so I can navigate file shares. I can remote into a terminal servver or your PC if I really need "full featuredness"
The full featuredness lies in the apps available (which admittedly, Apple can hamper, Android does not).
The only real limit the hardware/OS places is screen size, and the multi-tasking experience. You can't see 2 apps at once, and unlike the TaskBar in Windows, what's running and how to switch isn't in your face on the mobile OSes.
So I ask, what does Win7 actually give me that I don't have in iOS/Android that isn't "art" or pre-packaged crap I could have installed independently.
Apps that simply can't exist on mobile devices are more likely constrained by memory and practical usability. Visual Studio would be a PITA on a small screen with no keyboard/mouse to write code with. an iScreen with a keyboard would therefore be a desktop computer, and would be usable. In which case, I don't see any technical reason Visual Studio for iScreen couldn't exist. I also assume, a larger form factor would pack in more memory, as the size of the screen lets them pack in more flat hardware across its form factor.
