The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft wants PC package to appeal to the eye

Two key reasons why Microsoft is proactively working with PC makers on new designs: 

More than 80 percent of the revenue Microsoft generates from Windows sales comes from computer manufacturers who pre-install versions of the operating system on machines they sell. That sales channel was worth at least $10.5 billion to the company in the last fiscal year, according to Microsoft's most recent annual report.

[...]

"Apple Computer has shown that if you control the software and you control the hardware, you can make the two fit harmoniously into a beautiful, elegant package," said Don Norman, a former Apple executive who now consults with Microsoft and wrote the 2004 book "Emotional Design: Why We Love (or hate) Everyday Things."

See the article for more details (inlcuding some reasons Don Norman thinks Apple went too far).

Source: The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft wants PC package to appeal to the eye