Checked my parents PC on a visit this morning to find the latest Patch Tuesday set of updates hadn't installed automatically because Windows Update was too busy advertising Windows 10. I was also greeted with a balloon popup rather than just the subtle GWX icon in the tray nagging me to install it.<p>Microsoft are pushing this OS fervently and, given their aggressive service integration, I've recently been musing about whether the Microsoft of today are really 'better' just because they've become more open with their software, or whether they're actually just a different, possibly nastier, kind monopolistic threat.<p>We could look back in 5 years and see the majority using Bing (via the Start Menu), Cortana, IE, OneDrive, and syncing all their devices through MS servers and cringe. Microsoft can't win on the strength of their brand when it comes to consumer facing services (except for Xbox), so maybe integration will see them break through and muscle out the likes of Chrome, Google, Gmail, Android, and Dropbox.... <i>if</i> W10 on mobile takes off that is.<p>Oddly, despite not owning and having never owned any Apple product, I find myself comforted these days that they are there with an almost bottomless pile of money.