[Windows 8 General] garwynn:
As you said, there are shades of grey. So there has to be an understanding of the different shades and how each one can benefit from each function.

Desktop form factors, as you mentioned, may not go away but are being transitioned into many other options. The NUC is one such case where Intel feels there's a signifcant market for handling basic computing needs without the need for an ITX or MicroATX form factor. Another that continues to be an oldies-but-goodies are virtualized/mainframe desktops, again removing the hardware but still leaving the same presentation as you mention.

I was stumped on your entire Touch UI versus WIMP because I fail to see how you came to that conclusion. Touch UIs, whether it be iOS, AOSP, Windows or any other still out there, are still rooted in WIMP but have been greatly cleaned up for a mobile/touch form factor. All the things you pointed out - Windows (still there, even to the point Sammy brought back multi-window and popups.), Icons (How do we still access apps?), menus (hidden unless we reveal them but the menus still exist), and pointer (now your finger versus a mouse) are still there.

Now, let's get into some of the other stuff you mention: Touch UI was pioneered long before the iDevices came around. Where Apple struck pay dirt was finding a way to take the touch UI to a more sophisticated level while dramatically shrinking the form factor and overall end user cost and then introducing it into a highly addictive, gotta-keep-up-with-the-Jones fan/user base. The iPhone paired that with a core function of everyday life - cellular phones (which for the most part were unattractive and featureless in the US) where as the iPad won by taking all of the features and content from an existing base, allowing it to be placed in a larger form factor. Both still have their limitations, storage being one of them. Before both were released Windows and the various PC manufacturers had been trying to find a way to market a tablet segment, only they didn't solve various hardware requirements that bogged down convertible tablets at that time. (I know, I had to set some of these up for various staff at a major university at this time.)

OKB only is effective when there is no significant data entry at this point in time. There is still no full-on replacement for bulk data entry and programming. Both segments of business continue to rely on old school data entry to get the job done. Have things been simplified? In many cases yes. The number of pre-defined objects and libraries have grown in the major programming languages; various new proprietary OOP languages have been sprouting up to try and give a WYSIWYG look and feel to it. Kinect showed Microsoft a new way to look at the equation and whether it was the chicken or the egg it certainly had an effect that led to the "Metro" UI.

Voice and thought continue to be the logical direction to go away from a keyboard. Both are vastly improved from where they have been even 5 years ago but have some room to go. Voice will probably get there first but due to accents, colds, etc will still have issues. Thought is widely discussed to be the final solution because it "cuts out the middle man" from the process. And it is at that point where we may start to see device integration into the human brain in order to further reduce the unnecessary from data entry, collection and processing. Think the Binars from STTNG.

If you've done research on such a keypad, I suggest you develop it, begin tests on it and even consider applying for grants to help further your research. Without trying to attach a positive or negative connotation to it, I feel you may consider yourself to be somewhat an evangelist of technology, meaning the future only lies forwards and we are perhaps discarding the lessons of the past to create something new. I wish you luck in those endeavors - meanwhile we meager cavemen have to deal with other cavemen and women to make our IT departments get the job done and keep us in business. And in the foreseeable future most of those companies will be relying on the tried and true methods. I've been trying to introduce mobile applications here for some time and will probably be a great deal longer before management approves it, mainly due to cost and risk.