App.net expects third-party developers to take the interface to the next level and to create the features users love.

FORBES: Twitter Alternative, App.net, Builds A Developer Ecosystem

The GoFlex Net (nee DockStar) product seems to be a bid to regain the kind of management interface that integrated hard drive manufacturers lost to set top units like DVR devices.

FORBES: Newly Competitive Seagate Spins New Ideas In Hard Drives

Microsoft is already taking a bit of a gamble with the new user interface that drives Windows 8, although the comfortable desktop metaphor is available as a safety net.

FORBES: Microsoft Has A Problem With The Public's Expectation Of The Surface