"Snark aside, I wasn't defending the closed store model. I was actually asking a serious question because of your point about losing the ability to run working software. I probably shouldn't have mentioned flash because it's such an incendiary topic. Do you really think there was or is an opportunity for a device that has the form factor and usability of the iPad, but that is also compatible with most of the existing software? Google seem to be building an 'open' tablet which may solve the store problem, but it won't solve the compatibility problem. It sounds as though this is what Steve Ballmer is suggesting when he says that Microsoft's iPad answer will run Windows, but the problem with that is they they'll have to wait for Moore's law to make the OS run well and most applications will have to be adapted for the new UI paradigm." - Robin Barooah