Microsoft planning to charge monthly for Windows OS?? Say What??

[SunnyD]

Software Licensing. Welcome to the revenue stream.

 

[DrPizza]

Cynical as I sometimes am, I think schools, government offices, etc., would jump right on board subscription windows: spending someone else's money.

There's a lot of subscriptions right there. Just think - if every school in the nation switched from Office to Open Office - how many hundreds of millions of education dollars would be saved?

 

[GlacierFreeze]

I wouldn't mind a subscription only if it was like $5-6/mo and I get free access to download any of the new OS releases. $5-6/mo for current, and download Win9 free when it comes out and Win10 free when it comes out, etc. I wouldn't have a problem with that.

On the other hand, if they put out a turd of a new OS then they're still getting money. If everyone has to pay for each new one, like now, then there may be little incentive to rush a new, better one (ie: Vista -> 7 and Win8 -> Win9).

Also, could even bundle their One drive whatever it's called and Office in the price for say $10/mo. May not be too bad.

 

[Cerb]

windows 7 will be the new xp. Windows 7 support will be extended till 2020 probably.

Support has been going into 2020 since release...

Everyone threatens this (especially after the Windows 8 Start screen debacle), but nobody actually seems to DO it.

Video games keep a single to-metal Windows install around. The rest already are Linux, or are waiting for it (old Windows install that went FUBAR a couple Patch Tuesdays ago, and it wasn't alone).

Maybe it would happen quicker if Linux finally made user friendly administration tools that didn't require you to drop the command line to fix things.

Or, maybe we'd use Windows more if it didn't break so often, with no clue on how to fix it at all. If you're used to Windows, it might be scary and frustrating. Supporting Windows, and regularly using Linux, I can't say that it is, at least not compared to Windows. Much like with Windows, you learn various tricks and quirks, over time (though I do wish somebody would make GUI network share mounting work...that's been totally broken, but clearly doable, for how many years, now?). P.S. OpenSUSE has the best GUI admin utilities of any of them.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They've been talking about this for a long time. It's a matter of time till it happens, and it will make me happy I'm already on Linux.

 

[JTsyo]

Are you sure you even read the article... like, at all?

This. The whole article was about how the weren't going to do the same to Windows as Office.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Ok, am I reading this right in this article? Someone tell me this isn't seriously going to happen. Wouldn't this be holding peoples computer hostage if they do this?

Nope.

 

[mmntech]

You do know that many companies are migrating to Office 365, right?

Yeah, mine's one of them. I wouldn't use Office though if I had a choice. Just gets more bloated year after year.

 

[cubby1223]

Everyone threatens this (especially after the Windows 8 Start screen debacle), but nobody actually seems to DO it.

Maybe it would happen quicker if Linux finally made user friendly administration tools that didn't require you to drop the command line to fix things.

Some interesting comments here.

Some people are slowly turning to Apple, which is linux-like.

And many administration tools in Apple must be done from the command line.

But what's really interesting is several of the administration tools that used to be in an easy-to-use gui in Windows, suddenly are command-line only in Win 8 (such as pulling up and modifying the remembered list of wireless networks and adjusting connection priorities).

 

[88keys]

I think M$ is headed that way in the near future. As tablets, game consoles, smart TVs and many other devices perform tasks that were once delegated to PCs; the PC market will inevitably shift back to the professional end user like it was before 1995.

Though I doubt Apple will move toward subscription based services seeing as theyre already there to begin with.

That being said M$ is getting on my nerves, so I'm strongly considering buying a Mac next year.

 

[lxskllr]

Cynical as I sometimes am, I think schools, government offices, etc., would jump right on board subscription windows: spending someone else's money.

There's a lot of subscriptions right there. Just think - if every school in the nation switched from Office to Open Office - how many hundreds of millions of education dollars would be saved?

Free software can save schools money, but this is a secondary benefit. Savings are possible because free software gives schools, like other users, the freedom to copy and redistribute the software; the school system can give a copy to every school, and each school can install the program in all its computers, with no obligation to pay for doing so.

This benefit is useful, but we firmly refuse to give it first place, because it is shallow compared to the important ethical issues at stake. Moving schools to free software is more than a way to make education a little “better”: it is a matter of doing good education instead of bad education. So let's consider the deeper issues.

Schools have a social mission: to teach students to be citizens of a strong, capable, independent, cooperating and free society. They should promote the use of free software just as they promote conservation and voting. By teaching students free software, they can graduate citizens ready to live in a free digital society. This will help society as a whole escape from being dominated by megacorporations.

https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-schools.html

 

[ponyo]

It'll just make Chromebook and Chromebox more attractive.

 

[mrrman]

there will be a way around it. there already is for windows OS's to get updates and verify it.

I would never count out the ability of hackers.

Totally agree...if you can get stuff now..who cares if it's by subscription...there are a lot smarter people out there than the ms geeks that can hack and crack any software...

 

[TheShiz]

MS can go F themselves if they do this. I have 7 windows 7 pcs, most get little use. No way in hell I pay for 7 subscriptions. I don't mind dumping $100 on an OS that will be supported for many years but nope I will not subscribe to windows on 7 pcs, unless they have a stupid good deal on volume home pricing.

 

[Crono]

I have no problem with Microsoft offering a subscription plan for Windows, a la Office 365 or their Azure/cloud services. But they really should keep around the option to buy Windows outright for those users and businesses who prefer that option, and they probably will, so long as demand for it exists.

 

[Bateluer]

Microsoft talks about this every other year or so. Its popular in the eyes of their executives, but universally unpopular in the eyes of everyone else.

With pressing competition from Apple, Google, and now Valve, angering, antagonizing, and restricting your customers isn't the smartest move.

 

[bradley]

Over more than a decade, Microsoft has been so mismanaged that a move this ill-advised wouldn't surprise me.

 

[TwiceOver]

Nope. How would they get people to pay it? I could see them doing SA with a monthly fee available to home users.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Everyone threatens this (especially after the Windows 8 Start screen debacle), but nobody actually seems to DO it.

Maybe it would happen quicker if Linux finally made user friendly administration tools that didn't require you to drop the command line to fix things.

How much more market share would Linux need before game developers would start developing for it in significant amounts? That's probably a big reason a lot of people threaten then can't do it - no games.

 

[BladeVenom]

If MS can get people to pay a subscription for Xbox Live, why not a subscription for Windows?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Cynical as I sometimes am, I think schools, government offices, etc., would jump right on board subscription windows: spending someone else's money.

There's a lot of subscriptions right there. Just think - if every school in the nation switched from Office to Open Office - how many hundreds of millions of education dollars would be saved?

Yeah I just don't get why organizations are so stuborn when it comes to office programs. Libre/Open Office pretty much get the job done just as well and any draw backs are worthwhile just to consider the money you save. MS Office is retardedly expensive.

You get people that insist on using macros and crap... guess what, an office program is NOT a programming interface, and general users should not be coding stuff anyway. I can't stand VB forms and crap. Guess who ends up having to support it when it breaks? IT.

Then there's the whole "but who do you call?" folks. Really, when is the last time you contacted microsoft support because you could not figure out how to do something in Word? :biggrin:

The political reasons for going with commercial software just arn't worth the money it costs to do so in many cases. I can see sticking with Windows and not switching to Linux, because Windows has AD and overall is easier to manage, but programs like Office are so trivial to switch out especially if you do it from the very start. If I was starting a company from scratch everything would be open source from the start. IT would also have the task of coding/customizing stuff. Depending on the size of the company could have some dedicated developers too. The money you save from all this subscription and licensing would pay their salary.

Even when you do buy software, depending on the software/company the license is sometimes only good for so many years and does not cover the next version up.

 

[imagoon]

Cynical as I sometimes am, I think schools, government offices, etc., would jump right on board subscription windows: spending someone else's money.

There's a lot of subscriptions right there. Just think - if every school in the nation switched from Office to Open Office - how many hundreds of millions of education dollars would be saved?

It would cost more for someone to wander around to install open office than what they save. True in the school educational licenses are practically free. Think $10 / Office 2013 Professional plus level of practically free. Office 365 is free for public .edu also.

 

[Jaskalas]

as for MS going to a monthly charge? for home users? not going to fly. i see a more hacked torrents of windows happening...

Do you hack WoW and get to skip paying for the service? Even with a client you lack access to a legitimate account with full online services and features. There will be no hacked copies that are worth a !@#$.

 

[waggy]

Do you hack WoW and get to skip paying for the service? Even with a client you lack access to a legitimate account with full online services and features. There will be no hacked copies that are worth a !@#$.

err not even the same. lol

 

[darkxshade]

So when is Anandtech switching back to the subscription model?