Do people really want their PCs “DUMBED DOWN” to an app mentality? Microsoft is gambling it is yes. If enough fuss is raised, then Microsoft might bring the classic start menu back for Windows 8.
Microsoft’s old operating system strategy was withering away. People are less and less interested in having a dedicated device that does everything locally and stores everything locally (and has to be backed-up and maintained locally).
With the growth of “the cloud” (which is just a fancy name for remote date storage and access) devices and their applications are becoming thinner.
And, after all, what is an app? Microsoft Office is really just an app. Apps can be as simple as a game, or as complicated (and large) as an office suite.
An app is just a different approach to accessing an application.