People crave Windows 8 tablets at work more than iPads

Humans have an insatiable desire for novelty.

Ask them what they want today and it's whatever is new today.

This is something that might be music to Microsoft's lobes and loins. For a thorough piece of research by Forrester suggests that those who work in information would prefer it if they could have a new, exciting Windows 8 tablet for work, rather than an iPad.

With timing that some might see as wafting between propitious and suspicious, this research offers that 32 percent of those surveyed declared their panting desire for a sexy new Windows 8 work machine.

As ReadWrite reports, a mere 26 percent said please could they have an iPad. (Android lagged at 12 percent.)

The lovely thing about this research is that it wasn't conducted among 300 people who happened to be hanging around on Twitter, seeking a free thrill.

No, this sample size was 9,766 "information workers."

The less lovely thing is that these information workers didn't seem to offer any information as to their reasoning.

In my own dreamy mind, I hope that their reasoning was predominantly emotional, as this would signify that Microsoft is finally learning to tap right-brain juices, rather than the pedantic, plodding rational side.

With the advent of the Surface Pro, one imagines that, if this research is accurate, there might be a clamoring for the Surface range.

This would be a clamoring that has yet to take place, as some say only 900,000 Surface tablets shipped in the last quarter of 2012.

This research reflected these small beginnings, as only 2 percent of respondents said they owned a Windows 8 tablet.

In this same study, Forrester was less optimistic about Microsoft's chances in phones, as 33 percent of these same workers wanted their next phone to be an iPhone, while only 10 percent were fascinated by a Windows Phone.

This is a pity, as the Nokia Lumia 920 is -- to my human eyes -- a more than interesting alternative to the iPhone. Indeed, I have watched women flock around my engineer friend George when he subtly materializes his Lumia on a night out.

As more workers bring their own devices to work, it will be instructive as to what choices they make. Will they err toward their own sense of style and pleasure? Or will some sense of righteous businessness prevail?

Or perhaps that gap is closing.

Still, there is plenty of trepidation about Windows 8's ability to maintain Microsoft's hold on work life.

Here's a quote from an organization that professed a little knowledge: "We do not expect enterprises to adopt Windows 8 as their primary IT standard." The headline was: "By The Numbers: Is Windows 8 Dead On Arrival In The Enterprise?"

That was Forrester, too.

As my erudite friend Taylor always tells me: "We live in very interesting times. Uncertain, but interesting."