The only path out of Windows patch hell is Linux and Mac OS. If you're not already migrating every app you have to the web you're either a masochist or delusion

The only path out of Windows patch hell is Linux and Mac OS. If you're not already migrating every app you have to the web you're either a masochist or delusionally thinking Microsoft is still focused on delivering a decent desktop experience. For the latter group I have news for you: Microsoft is going "all in" with their "services" strategy. Operating systems and fat client software don't exactly fit neatly into the "service" model. The future of Microsoft is as a competitor in a commodity cloud services market. The thinking is that they can provide value in the form of commercial web applications like Office 365. In other words, they think they can do a better job than Google and Zoho at serving enterprises things like email and spreadsheets. You know what? They just might be able to do a better job. Especially if they actually put in some effort into supporting non-Microsoft platforms (e.g. web browsers other than IE on platforms other than Windows). They also have to a long way to go in terms of federation so businesses can work with each other without compromising security. In the end though, I think it is pretty clear that Windows isn't going to be Microsoft's focus anymore. I expect they will allow the platform to slowly erode away, collecting as much revenue from it as possible while converting their business to services.