To me, however, my phones are as much computers as my towers, desktops and laptops are, albeit artificially limited in what they do by default (but, like DRM, that can be circumvented). As is a modern TV, a gameboy, a router, a NAS, or ... really, anything with a programmable chip inside - some are easier to expand beyond their intended purpose(s) than others, some are closer to impossible.

Of course, for both my current and my last phone I opted for models with a physical keyboard precisely for that reason - I want a computer in my palm that I can make calls with, not a phone that can access the web - and I'll likely do so the next few times I switch phones as well.

With Microsoft working one it's own cloud based solution (if you believe the persistent rumors and the whole "in five years consoles will disappear and be replaced by streaming" they keep repeating during interview.), Sony buying Gakkai and several others in development or already working, OnLive is just the tip of the iceberg.

IMO the biggest risk with cloud is actually the console makers, they are the ones that have the most to win with cloud gaming, I can easily imagine some offer like : buy the game on PS3(or 4) and automatically have it on your Gakkai account.

For publisher it would means that : the have their games on one of the main console, and without any extra work have their games on virtually any connected device, PC included, and they don't have to worry about piracy (impossible with streaming), they have less to worry about second hand sales (the "cloud" version being tied to an account), etc...

I am sure a lot would love something like that, it would also offer them plenty of new potential commercial model: pay per play, pay for save slots, pay for better graphics quality/details (similar to how several cloud based solution works where you pay for the processing power you are using), etc...

And for poor users : if you have a PC you have to buy the cloud version and if you don't have a good enough Internet connection then all that remain is the console version.

No not really, having a market is one thing, being able to take advantage and makes money out of it is another. You cannot create a new video card out of thin air, it takes millions (if not billions) of dollars and years of research to create one from scratch, then you need to manufacture it in high enough number to keep the price down. And even if you manage to do all that, if the market is limited nothing tells you will actually be able to make any profit out it.

You can always connect one.
Surface Pro, not Surface RT. ;)

Yes, but that's really unwieldy. The biggest hurdle to tablet dominance is finding an integrated control mechanism that works as well as (and is as versatile as) KB+mouse but fits on/within the tablet itself.

Maybe an User Experience designer / engineer that actually has brain could help (relative to games)?

Keyboards are already here, you can have this, so only the mouse would be a requirement, but unless that's a competitive FPS, it can be worked around (with the point being that, most games developed for tablets, don't even try to work around that, that's why their controlling is crappy).

Don't confuse declining PC sales with declining PC ownership. The primary reason for declining PC sales is that PCs these days are so overpowered for the average person's needs that the PC doesn't need to be replaced for 5+ years. The MHz wars are over and PCs have become commodity hardware for most people; while this is bad news for the likes of MS and Intel, it's good news for game developers as the result is that PCs capable of running most games are nearly ubiquitous in households.

Windows 8 introduces a shiny new tablet-friendly user experience while still having the traditional desktop (and its full backwards compatibility) always just a click away. Tablets/hybrids may well be the next logical step (as laptops/all-in-ones were for desktops) but it's ultimately the software, not the hardware, that makes the PC what it is, and that's not going anywhere for a while yet.

Microsoft has shown little interest in cloud gaming; instead they have expanded beyond the console, offering Xbox-branded games, apps and services on Windows Phone and now Windows 8/RT. This puts them in a very strong position; the Xbox brand will be a key part of gaming no matter what happens.

Woohoo! Windows Live, Part II! *gags*

But will connecting that keyboard run the input through the software keyboard that is run on the device, like the iPad's, for instance?

If yes, a "true" physical keyboard hasn't been attained, because should the software have an issue, the hardware won't work.

Xbox for Windows is not related to Games for Windows Live. Everything works seamlessly like on the 360 and Windows Phone; desktop games continue to use Games for Windows Live, however, at least for now.

Windows 8/RT see attached peripherals as real devices distinct from any software equivalents. They are still Windows under the hood, despite the interface and hardware changes, so many of the inherent weaknesses of iOS and Android simply don't apply.

I have tried a few different ones, currently using nGlide. Works like a snap, just install it in Windows, after which your 3Dfx capable games will automatically detect and think you have a 3Dfx Voodoo(2) card in your system, and give you an option to use it for the graphics (if applicable).

I have Syndicate Wars retail, but frankly I'm not sure did it even have 3Dfx support? I guess I could try it. Anyways, nGlide works great for me with e.g. Carmageddon 2 (retail).

Also some GOG games nowadays include some 3Dfx wrappers as well. I think Interstate'76 uses dgVoodoo, and some others use nGlide now I think.

Ok, PC is dead, good for you, mobile gaming crowd. Now please, stop telling me that I'm using almost exclusively a dead platform for my gaming needs and I'm spending a shitload of money for seemingly dead new games - leave me alone, please?

Little interest ? really ? "Microsoft, Agawi Team Up For Cloud Gaming On Windows 8"

Seriously, Microsoft has been all Cloud obsessed for several years, saying they have little interest in cloud-anything is like saying that Nintendo has little interest in the Mario franchise.

I think Forbes are reading too much into this. Microsoft has helped Agawi shift to Azure and optimise their WinRT apps, but there is nothing here about Microsoft themselves adopting or backing the technology in any way. This is not a "partnership" in the manner of their arrangements with Nokia and Skype.

Microsoft's flagship Surface products lack any built-in support for mobile broadband. If they were betting on a future where games are streamed to always-connected devices they would surely want their own offerings to be ready to provide a first-class experience.

Also worth noting is that while Microsoft have put a lot of effort into making their cloud products highly reliable they always ensure that the cloud functionality is redundant with local storage where possible in the event of a loss of connection; Office 2013 for instance saves to the cloud by default but seamlessly caches a local copy of the file as well, syncing any missed changes (at both cloud and client end) once reconnected. Cloud gaming has no such fail-safe. You lose your connection, it's game over.

If anything I think Microsoft would be more likely to experiment with delivering game downloads using a form of their Office Click-to-Run technology--the apps' basic features are fully usable within minutes of starting the install, with the remaining files downloaded seamlessly in the background during use, and any patches are automatically streamed into the install without interrupting the user or requiring a restart. Streaming game files would bypass cloud gaming's reliance on constant connectivity while still providing the near-instantaneous feeling of launching a shiny new game and having it playable right away. GameTap have offered this for years and it works quite well (although some games have to pre-load a very large portion before they can be played); a modern implementation would be much more efficient.