I think the major difference is that Microsoft is able to strongarm 99% of PC manufacturers due to their dependence on Windows, whereas Apple can only control their own hardware.
A more apt comparison would be if Dell decided to enforce UEFI secureboot (with no way of disabling it). The users wanting to run linux would be able to simply not buy from Dell anymore, just as right now you can still choose not to buy an iPad.
But the concern here is that Microsoft will control ALL PCs (minus the small minority of computer manufacturers willing to stand up to them), meaning a Linux user's options are to pay more for "unlocked" hardware or jailbreak a Windows 8 machine.
A more apt comparison would be if Dell decided to enforce UEFI secureboot (with no way of disabling it). The users wanting to run linux would be able to simply not buy from Dell anymore, just as right now you can still choose not to buy an iPad.
But the concern here is that Microsoft will control ALL PCs (minus the small minority of computer manufacturers willing to stand up to them), meaning a Linux user's options are to pay more for "unlocked" hardware or jailbreak a Windows 8 machine.