Are you READY!!! for the future of PC. Paying montly fees to use your computer.

[Hugo Drax]

Get ready!, it is coming in the near future.

Adobe CS is now rent only in the future. Office 365 is just an early start, eventually Office will be rent only as well. Everything will be cloud this and cloud that.


People are used to paying 100 bucks a month for cell service, 100-160 bucks a month for TV.

Eventually desktops will be the same.

Like Cable TV the future will look like this.


Basic Computer package (OS only no apps, internet browser and email included. ) 12 dollars a month.

All packages ride on the basic package you must pay for.

Business lite package (adds word-processing and spreadsheet lite versions) 15 dollars a month

Business package, full uncut version - 35 a month.

Video pack, home edition 15 a month (edit movies)

Video pack pro, (75 a month)

Photo editor pack (non pro), 15 a month
Photo edit pack pro 50 a month

Command line package, 50 cents a month.
IP tools pack (telnet,ssh,ping) 50 cents a month, requires command line pack

AV/malware/firewall - 8 dollars a month

Sports package, 35 a month.
Gamers deluxe package, 60 a month

etc..

Its coming, I say 4-8 years from now Computers will be like cable.



Oh and Linux will still be dead on the desktop.

 

[CPA]

The moment that happens is the moment I switch to Linux, dead or not.

There are enough free email, video and photo editor programs out there that it won't matter if MS makes their products fee-based.

 

[lxskllr]

Oh and Linux will still be dead on the desktop.

That's the way I like it. Fewer tards and crapware to deal with.

 

[waggy]

The moment that happens is the moment I switch to Linux, dead or not.

There are enough free email, video and photo editor programs out there that it won't matter if MS makes their products fee-based.

/this

sure i play games but i don't play enough to justify a monthly high price just to have the computer.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Since my gaming interest have been slowly dying, I really won't care.

Other than Anandtech....and handful of other websites......I really don't use much (even Email, hardly ever use it).

So they can go to hell.

The only thing I would miss is having access to information/doing research etc (especially for troubleshooting since I'm a huge do it yourself-er etc.

Internet access is THE only thing I will pay for. Force this crap onto me and I will disappear quick.

Also if I will not have freedom to select my own parts and build my own computer, that will be the day when computer will escape my mind forever....

 

[DesiPower]

Oh wow nice, then all you need is to pay a monthly fees for Chinese proxy!!

 

[JimmiG]

The moment that happens is the moment I switch to Linux, dead or not.

There are enough free email, video and photo editor programs out there that it won't matter if MS makes their products fee-based.

I doubt they would make Windows itself rent-only since it's the base package required for all other rental software. If anything, they might make Windows free to compete with other eco-systems.

So you wouldn't need to switch to Linux to use other programs like LibreOffice etc. in place of the rentals.

 

[Dankk]

Nice sensationalism, OP.

Just vote with your wallet. Don't use software that requires monthly fees.

Its coming, I say 4-8 years from now Computers will be like cable.

I seriously doubt it.

The moment that happens is the moment I switch to Linux, dead or not.

Linux has had a strong community for years, and will continue to have a strong community for a long time. Other OSes going sub-based will only do Linux good, too.

 

[Anonemous]

Well aren't we paying monthly fees for Internet?

 

[AstroManLuca]

The only software that is going in that direction is business/corporate software. Most consumer software is free or has a free equivalent.

 

[crashtestdummy]

The moment that happens is the moment I switch to Linux, dead or not.

There are enough free email, video and photo editor programs out there that it won't matter if MS makes their products fee-based.

That's my feeling as well. The main appeal of things like office is that everyone has it, and that most documents are compatible going back decades. I think they'll lose that if they switch office to subscription-only. People will begin moving to Google Docs and LibreOffice in droves.

Adobe, though, I can see getting away with it. While GIMP will do just about everything I want in a photo program, there are a lot of features that pros will spend whatever they have to in order to use.

Edit: I should say that I like subscription models for things like music and movies, but for productivity software, where your needs don't change that much over years of use, it's obnoxious.

 

[Vdubchaos]

So vote with your wallet. Don't use software that requires monthly fees.

If only gamers voted with their wallets, gaming world would be a different place.

 

[darkewaffle]

Considering how expensive Adobe products are, you might actually come out ahead lol.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

I have been a Windows defender and Linux skeptic for 20 years. This sort of a nonsense would be enough to move even me away from Microsoft. I already refuse to use their latest versions -- I'm writing a book using Word 2002 -- because of the bloat and the awful ribbon interface. I am very careful about what I choose to pay monthly fees for -- even our cell phone is prepaid -- and software will not be on that list.

I also have no plans to ever upgrade from Photoshop CS6. If Adobe isn't willing to sell me a copy of their software, I'll use someone else's, even if it's not as good.

Greed should not be rewarded.

ETA: Internet fees aren't a good analogy. There are real ongoing costs with providing that service -- there aren't any in most software, aside from fixing bugs that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

 

[darkxshade]

And soon there will be a monthly fee to process monthly fees

 

[Red Storm]

Laughable at best. There's too many options to try and force people into paying a monthly fee. Microsoft tried it with multiplayer on Live, and it failed horribly. You somehow expect them to succeed on a grander scale?

 

[lxskllr]

And soon there will be a monthly fee to process monthly fees

Ah, the Ticketmaster approach :^D

 

[SheHateMe]

Over my dead body.



I paid $1500 for my computer with all the accessories and peripherals included. My software is paid for up front. I will not pay monthly for this shit.

 

[Dankk]

Laughable at best. There's too many options to try and force people into paying a monthly fee. Microsoft tried it with multiplayer on Live, and it failed horribly. You somehow expect them to succeed on a grander scale?

Yup. I.e., if a new version of Windows comes out that requires a monthly fee, then simply don't buy it?

I will continue to use Windows 7 for probably a long time. (Although I recently got a laptop with Windows 8 on it, and I think it's pretty good... after modding in a proper start menu anyway)

 

[Kaido]

Get ready!, it is coming in the near future.

Adobe CS is now rent only in the future. Office 365 is just an early start, eventually Office will be rent only as well. Everything will be cloud this and cloud that.

I think it's mostly going to be limited to pro apps. Photoshop on subscription sort of makes sense...you can get into it cheaper and supposedly it will cut down on pirating (sort of like Steam did ) since updates and stuff are only going to the subscription versions.

I think what we're really paying for is compatibility. Photoshop is a standard business app. Office is a standard business suite. There are plenty of alternatives...Gimp, Paint.NET, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, etc. if you simply need to do a task, but you'll have to pay to play with everyone else.

I don't think we'll see much more of it, since Adobe & Microsoft are the biggest names in the consumer market. We already pay for Netflix, Antivirus (well, some people), Dropbox (heavy users), etc.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Nice sensationalism, OP.

Agreed.

In any event, I only use my PC to listen to music, browse the intrawebs, and play games so I don't really care one way or another.

I don't even remeber the last time I used office for personal use.

 

[ControlD]

If only gamers voted with their wallets, gaming world would be a different place.

Gamers do vote with their wallets. They are after all not being forced at gunpoint to buy particular games. You just don't like the way they are voting.

 

[SunnyD]

Over my dead body.



I paid $1500 for my computer with all the accessories and peripherals included. My software is paid for up front. I will not pay monthly for this shit.

Microsoft beta tested this already. It went over swimmingly with the sheeple masses. It's called the XBox 360 and XBox Live. Idiots Consumers gobbled this shit product up and claimed it provided a far better user experience than free alternatives, so therefore we all end up paying for it in the end.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Over my dead body.



I paid $1500 for my computer with all the accessories and peripherals included. My software is paid for up front. I will not pay monthly for this shit.

Maybe OP's proposal is that you don't buy the hardware, you get it for free (or at a highly subsidized cost) in exchange for a contract and monthly fees for different software packages.

What seems more realistic is to compare it to smartphones. Say an ISP actually sells computers at a discount, but you have to subscribe to their service. Essentially the same as how you can get phones for cheap if you agree to a 2-year contract with the provider.

The problem with that is I'm not sure what an ISP can do to make money that way. Nearly everyone has an internet connection already, and to offset the subsidy they'd have to raise your monthly fee. Not sure what they can offer to people other than lower up-front costs for a computer.

 

[Lonyo]

Ah, the Ticketmaster approach :^D

It's OK, you can buy a season pass that lets you get a discount on your monthly monthly fee processing fees.