Microsoft to fundamentally change way Windows is shipping

That's good to hear as long as they don't push them out too fast without proper testing.

Sounds like it will be separate process from normal updates. Those innovations would have to be presented purely as optional and without one depending to one before it, only than they would be something greater than SPs and such. All that with Nuccii's caveat of course. Ideally, they would be made as "Modules" or something in that form. That's the way I would do it. Many new technologies are coming up soon, from incredible displays, controllers by sight, movement and even brain wave input but including all of that and more in the base OS would make it unwieldy and too large and cumbersome for people not having things like that or just plainly don't want to use them. Let me use one example, Touch support is not really necessary for computers without it, Start menu works just fine without it but it would take out good chunk of code and resources if it (the touch part) was not included in base OS.
Some "Micro office" made as an add-on module could replace a bunch of smaller programs, now included but all over the place, same could be made for multimedia and other environments.