$1-3 billions is for their laptop division, msft isn't interested in the entire company, just their laptops, so that msft can use w8 software and make portable computing laptops/touchpads. desktop/touchpads will NOT sell. Like I said before, the price of w8 increased to $200/copy has multiple purposes (monopoly and getting the competitors to pay as much as they can get).
Get it while it is dirt cheap, this supertanker is turning the course. Once it is turned, very hard to come back to this level if ever again.