I think Nerdwriter's knowledge of AWS is superficial (he admitted just finding out about them). AWS are not licensing their tech to other companies, they are renting time out on servers using their tech (mostly software). That graphic he showed of market share is also misleading - if you look closely it's just survey results of "do you use x,y,z cloud provider(s)?" (although undoubtedly AWS is the most popular by any measurement of # of customers, but it's not necessarily the biggest - hard to say because Microsoft, Google, and Amazon don't publish their numbers).
Renting time out on a server is orders of magnitude more scalable than installing and maintaining a bunch of sensors at thousands of retail locations.
Since their patents are vague enough, they could license that "idea" out to other companies who want to attempt the same thing, but probably they want full control of any brick-and-mortar store, to minimize support costs, and provide a consistent experience.
Plus, not every retail experience is like a grocery store, so it's a bit of a stretch to say they'll take over all retail everywhere...

This guy was a Senior Software Engineer at MS? He certainly doesn't talk like one.
Also, most people in software development who use technology daily would disagree Microsoft ever had a "customers first" mantra at all.
He cites Adobe as a reason we have to continue using Microsoft products, but if he had any inkling how much data Adobe ripped from your system without telling you he wouldn't use them as an example either.
I'm glad that more people are talking about actively avoiding MS products, at least.

IF...this releases while CR still owns the company (ie, he doesn't sell the IP to Microsoft or EA like he did Freelancer), it will be an epic disappointment on a scale that will make No Man's Sky look like it was game of the year.

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You have a charming definition of crime, which seems to boil down to "I hate this behavior, so it must be criminal"? I'm not saying I approve of Microsoft (presumably*) botching their product roll-out, but you're kind of proving my point about the hyperbole parade.

Of course, everything Microsoft does could be criminal from an antitrust perspective, but that's the risk of having a platform monopoly. From that perspective, making W10 free for most users could be seen as pro-consumer or anti-consumer with equal validity.

*~35% of Windows users appear to be using W10 - I don't know if that's above or below their current target.

Microsoft are installing adware and spyware on millions of PCs without their owners' consent. They're criminals, unambiguously, and they should be punished - brutally and extravagantly.

I will never come to terms with how much hyperbole is being thrown at this (semi-)botched launch. How is the world 'letting' Microsoft have a poor product roll-out strategy? How is Microsoft more nefarious than Blackwater, or the Corrections Corporation of America? How am I more locked out of my PC when Windows stops working than I'm locked out of my DVD player when I have to return the disc I rented?

I mean - I get why people care. I have a McLuhanesque relationship with my PC that I'll never have with my phone or my tablet (devices that regularly force me to upgrade OS, and also 'siphon' personal data), and I can feel actual low levels of anxiety when my PC breaks, even if I don't need it for anything. I just don't get the hyperbole.

I have not - they warn that rolling back can lose data, break stuff, etc. I've heard from other people that rolling back is a huge hassle. When I need to do a wipe, I'll just reinstall Windows 8. I don't see much difference between 8 and 10 other than one broken program and it feels like it runs a bit slower. Thanks Microsoft, hope it was worth pissing off millions of people for, fuckers.

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Why'd he choose a briefcase to stuff electronics into?

If you were a airline security agent, (I mean YOU actually had the job) and that slid through the xray machine, what would you do?

The only reason he thought it was cool to make a briefcase clock is because of the whole "*giggle*, see!!! Terrorist alarm clock! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, cuz you know, like, my name sounds terroristy?? get it? get it ???" situation with his name.

This compares to the kid who got in shit for chewing his pop tart into a gun shape and going "pew pew" at classmates, in that Billy the Pop Tart Kid was a complete clusterfuck from the adults perspective, and this was a clusterfuck started by a juvenile joke gone bad (and then went clusterfuck).

Bomb Clock Kid is a victim of racist overreaction, not complete stupidity.

I want Microsoft to send the Pop Tart Kid an XBox.

Someone got the Microsoft hook up.

False dichotomy. There are without doubt exceptionally ethically dubious practices within the pharmaceutical industry (look up "patent evergreening" for a start).

However that doesn't mean their products don't work.

Oil companies are working hard to protect their profits by actively lying about climate change, but no-one claims that cars could run on a "natural alternative".

Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft are all spying on us to one degree or another, but we can still search the web, post stupid photos and ignore each other with our phones.

TL;DR big pharma are dicks, but at least they use science.

As a Mac and Linux user, I found Windows server 2012 (like Windows 8, which I haven't used) much easier and more intuitive than some of the older versions.

Microsoft seem to have stolen found inspiration for each new feature from either Linux or Mac