Any article by Gordon Kelly is clickbait. But if, as you say, the title with the wording "you will subscribe to use your own hardware" isn't clickbait, I'm sure you can elaborate on when we can expect that to happen for consumers. So please, enlighten us.
Really wish people would make titles that are more eye-catching. I did a quick skim and found nothing that spoke to me, "Microsoft is going to make you pay a subscription" Thanks for the heads up though
Exact time, unknown. But I suspect about the time they would have released Windows 11... Which is about the time they likely stop calling it Windows 10 and just simply start calling it, Windows. After all, they want us to see this as less of an OS (which it is) and more as a service. You cannot use your computer without an operating system (OS) so the title is basically accurate. You'll be subscribing to use your own hardware. Without an OS your computer is an expensive paperweight.
Absolutely! I've been slowly migrating to Linux for a while now. I've not yet settled on whether or not I prefer Debian Distros or OpenSuSe, but I suspect the day this finally lands on consumers, it will be the end of Microsoft Windows. People are not going to pay a subscription fee, essentially paying to lease their own hardware that they already own.
I think its a business model that most business's have been slowly coming to realize. Technology grows/changes/matures far to fast for the cost that the typical consumer is willing to pay let alone to lease physical device that they likely already paid for. I think of it as a "Product as a Service". Its a continued revenue income model vs the current "buy my product and only pay once" model which limits the money you can make off it. just my .02 cents. This idea works great for the typical small/large business, I would nope it doesn't make it to mainstream consumer. ~MC
It wouldn't fly well with the mainstream consumer. We can do the math and we understand that in less than 2 years we would have paid more for it than buying it outright. No one with some common sense is going to want to pay to use the hardware they already own. I also worked for a foundation that helped low-income families obtain computers who normally wouldn't have been able to afford them. The idea of those kids being told they need to pay a month subscription to use their own hardware wouldn't set right. I'm sure Microsoft would make some kind of "effort" for 3rd world countries (Windows Starter Edition for example), but I always saw that as more of a publicity stunt for public relations. Anyone who has worked with doctors without borders knows they're more worried about fresh food and water than getting Windows on their PC.
I say the same to you, can you please enlighten us as to why Microsoft will never make consumers pay a monthly subscription for Windows?
No, I won't, because I'm not going to jump to conclusions. But I will say this: The fact is that this subscription is an option in addition to the traditional licensing options. Where does it say that perpetual licenses are going away? Why do you think Microsoft would even dare announce their upgrade offer as "free for the lifetime of the device" if they knew they were going to change it into a subscription model? Class-action lawsuits would be the result, which Microsoft would obviously lose. And for newly-sold devices, I'm sure many consumers would happily switch to macOS or Chrome OS rather than pay a monthly fee for Windows. So the new subscription model, as it stands now, just applies to Windows Enterprise which, in case you aren't aware, has always been available in a subscription-based offering known as Software Assurance. Now, it's changing from a 2-year SA commitment to a monthly offer, making it significantly easier for smaller businesses to get into volume licensing. Where's the connection to consumer licensing? Exactly. Which still begs the question why you'd choose a thread title that implies that consumers will be required to purchase a subscription.
LOL Spot on. I cringed when I heard the US military would start migrating to Windoze. The most exploited OS ever.
Well, that's clearly the plan, at least the hope of MS. I'm sure as well. That's why there are always, more or less implicit, agreements between the big brothers. Be sure that in the next years everything will switch to a subscription model, and Apple MS and google will do that in the same month. Linux and the "non google" android flavors are the only barrier to that. W/o linux we had that switch since 2005 or so