I agree that we'll see the boundaries between Windows and Linux blur, but I don't think we'll ever see Microsoft give up the decades of backwards compatibility

I agree that we'll see the boundaries between Windows and Linux blur, but I don't think we'll ever see Microsoft give up the decades of backwards compatibility that have kept people on Windows since the beginning. There will always be demand for running older Windows apps (games, legacy business software, etc..) on a modern OS, and I don't think Microsoft will cede that space to a competitor (and with good reason!) It will likely continue to shrink as a proportion of revenue, but it will be worth much more than that to keep it as a toehold to deliver other software and services: Xbox game pass, visual studio, azure services, etc...