Operating systems designed to run on hardware from multiple manufacturers and Java virtual machines promising portability across hardware and operating systems were part of the swing toward platform independence.

FORBES

Students, protected with a harness and safety net, swing on a trapeze bar from an elevated platform, with the ultimate goal of letting go and being caught by another swinger.

BBC: Run away to the circus in Montreal

They would have known that they would not get the Windows Phone playground to themselves, but to have Microsoft swing in and push their own handset as opposed to the whole platform will lead to some long conversations in the board room over strategy and alternatives.

FORBES: What Will Be The Impact Of Microsoft's Mythical Windows Phone When It Is Announced?