In an annual report that it submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday afternoon, Microsoft finally conceded something that has been rather obvious to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the personal computer industry and Microsoft’s historical role in it. On page 14 of the document, Microsoft acknowledges that its Surface family of tablet computers could weaken support for Windows among Microsoft’s partners in the PC industry, known as original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs for short.
The company says in the document that “our Surface devices will compete with products made by our OEM partners, which may affect their commitment to our platform.”
It’s a short, clinical comment buried in a document more than 100 pages long. But it comes closer to describing one of the big risks Microsoft faces with Surface than anything the company has said publicly before
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