Microsoft Files for Pay-As-You-Go Computing Patent

[jj463rd]

I am already fed up with the new DRM methods so I won't buy any new games that use it.
If Microsoft implements Pay As You Go for any upcoming operating system that's it for me.
I'll either retro game on older computers or use Linux or I might even consider getting a new iMac for my Internet needs.

 

[cablechewer]

A number of posters are making two mistakes
- Never assume the status quo will last forever
- Few companies sell you software. They sell you the right to use their software.

Microsoft has tried numerous pay-as-you-go schemes over the last few years. They initially saw MMORPGs as a proof of concept for this and did a trial with Office 2000 that flopped. Their current ones focus on hosting applications like Exchange and SQL for businesses.

With the exponential increase in computing power and even linear increases in internet bandwidth I can see this idea working for some in as few as 10 years. By then the dumb terminal installed in a home will have capabilities at least equal to a current high end gaming rig.

Where I see this working is with people like my parents who do not understand their computer to begin with. To them this would be a godsend. No more worrying about viruses, no need to pay to upgrade their software. Just go into the store, buy a cheap terminal (cheap compared to their current computer) and then rent the storage, games and programs they need as they need them.

People like my parents would be the foot in the door. A few years later the business model would become so pervasive that it would eat into the custom PC market. Eventually Custom PCs would become a small niche segment occupied by a few stubborn individualists and maybe some anarchists. We would essentially be back to the old mainframe style market.

Do I believe it likely to happen? I think some variant of it will come about. The only question will be who makes the software for it and who controls the gateways into it. For 'convenience' I am sure Microsoft hopes to be its sole guardian. Who knows, maybe decades from now an AI version of Steve Jobs will unveil their big competitor - the iTerminal dock for the iPhone (or its successor)

 

[gto127]

Just a monopoly doing what it wants. Microsoft should have been broken up years ago when they had the antitrust lawsuit. I'll stay with win xp as long as possible.

 

[Tindytim]

What the hell do you think Windows Azure will be?

And this may sumplemental. As in, when you need more processing power, you can use this network to get more. And I think that's why the mention gaming on the weekends. If may just need some extra power for some occasional apps.

 

[Zorg]

No one said that Microsoft's quest for the "revenue stream" was new. Google etc. is actually helping them along with user acceptance.

I will be the stubborn individualist/anarchists.

It will be cold day in He||.

 

[BxIrish]

Someday we all we be Borg...

Microsoft's patent and QPRC's patent are as usefull as the laywers behind them.

Microsoft has better lawyers.

 

[Caffeinecarl]

Not just no, HELL NO! I paid for my hardware which is WAY better than the average user's hardware. I PAID for my use of Windows Vista x64. I customized my computing environment to MY liking, and I have it all stored on MY machine. I can use it whenever I like, internet access or no internet access. I don't care ho0w good it is, just let me pay for my shit once and let me use it all I want FOREVER!

 

[Caffeinecarl]

and to add to what I just said, another benefit of buying my software and equipment once and using it forever is that if something happens and I no longer have the money coming in because something happened in this shitty economy like, say, I don't know! I lost my job or something, IK can go ahead and keep using my computer because4 I'm notconstantly feeding it money just to be able to use it!

 

[Guest]

maybe they are talking about cloud computing?

 

[zodiacfml]

i've read one long comment above, this is not similar to cloud computing. you own the hardware on cloud computing.

anyways, this patent should have never been allowed. as though, going to an internet cafe, the user pays for the amount of time and also pays more for gaming. they pay for the hardware, software, and internet connection as used.

i just hope this patent is not abused, if not it will make computer/internet rental businesses pay microsoft.

 

[mitch074]

it is an interesting concept, although not new (thus Im pretty sure the patent could be reversed) and certainly not something Ill personally take part in outside of a few specific applications (I like my WoW); if I want to run folding@home or SETI@home, thats my CPU time to give away, not Microsofts; in fact, dont expect me to pay that particular MS tax: Wine has gotten good enough that those few Windows-only apps I like (like, say, WoW) run under Linux: ask me to pay for these as much as you want, theyre FREE - Ill pay with detailed bug reports and documentation, that I dont mind giving away for everybodys benefit, not with cash to line up Bills successors pockets: the former has a better ROI.

 

[wh3resmycar]

if only linux can be a worthwhile gaming platform.

 

[mitch074]

Well, personally I game under Linux quite often; of course, it can't be considered a "worthwhile" gaming platform as long as, say, Activision or Electronic Arts shun it. But when you play a game on Linux, it just kicks Windows' arse; in my case, I don't play many other games other than WoW these days (I may get fed up soon, and then play another game), and WoW runs pretty well under Wine; it even works better than under Windows on something which is critical: ping times are shorter under Linux (the very same install running on the Windows dual boot has a 20% longer ping time).

Other than that, using the OpenGL rendering path on an Nvidia card, graphics performance and quality is on par with Windows' DirectX. On an Ati card, there still must be some setting up to do (shaders don't work well due to driver bugs), but it's at least playable.

 

[goldendragoon84]

If they did this I would actually for once not build a pc and buy a mac... which is saying a lot because I boycott apple goods. I refuse to upgrade past xp because vista is aweful. I am on a computer 14+ hours a day. I would imagine Microsoft would try to charge me some crazy amount to live my life on a monthly basis.

Basically they are taking the personal out of personal computer.

 

[JHJ]

As it relates to software, this sounds like an effort to implement "software as a service," which I find anathema (and I program). Viewed cynically, I construe this as a concept to provide a permanent revenue stream to software developers - at the expense of users. This is like the insurance agent who takes a cut of your yearly premium – basically for work done once, even years ago, when you bought the policy. Adapt that idea to software developers, and this is what you get.

As it relates to hardware, this concept is particularly contrived. Advancing manufacturing technology, mass production, and economies of scale have made the cost of hardware trivial. One of the purported justifications for the patent is to mitigate hardware costs. Sounds very 1950s.

 

[rockerrb]

This is just another one of billions of patents held by Microsoft which is specifically designed so that they can sue others.

 

[Riske]

If I bought a Porsche should my foot be to the floor 24/7/365 ?
Perhaps someone would create a pay as you go vehicle someday.

 

[Guest]

So let me get this straight. Microsoft files a patent for people that buy too powerful of computer because they only use it once in awhile.

More like Microsoft files a patent so they can monpolize how fast computer hardware technology advances so they can cut overhead on software engineering because they can't make stable software to run with all the new hardware.

 

[azxcvbnm321]

How is this patentable? A patent is only supposed to be issued for something or some idea that is "new" and presents a clear leap forward from other ideas or things. Pay as you go has been around for years, and there's something called the internet cafe that uses pay as you go for computers.

This is why our patent system is broken. We have idiot patent workers who rubber stamp anything they get. I'm going to patent the "Virtual Community Board" idea. People would be able to write stuff on a "billboard" for others to see, and then others could also write on this virtual billboard. That creates a "community" experience. Each entry would be called something like...a "post". Of course I would demand payment for everyone using my unique, groundbreaking idea. Don't worry, I would charge only $0.01 per "post" made on any and every "virtual billboard" in existence.

 

[noahjwhite]

I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. It all depends on how it's implemented. The vast majority of people do not use the windows operating system anywhere near it's full potential. If it masks the OS cheaper for stripped down versions I'm all for it.