News Windows 11’s Potential Subscription-Based Cloud Future Revealed by FTC

[Admin]

Part of Microsoft's long-term vision is to move Windows 11 fully into the cloud.

Windows 11’s Potential Subscription-Based Cloud Future Revealed by FTC : Read more

 

[brandonjclark]

If Microsoft goes to a subscription-based model, expect many (but not most) people to find the following link useful.

SteamOS + Linux Titles

Default sale page template for content hubs.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

People are "Sick & Tired" of subscriptions and prefer the old school, pay once for each version upgrade model.

If you're not down with that, the customers will move onto another software that will support that model.

 

[BillyBuerger]

While the subscription model works great from a business standpoint, it seems stupid for individuals. I was more than happy to move our business office licenses to O365. It's much easier to manage licenses that way as opposed to individual product keys or volume licenses. Volume licensing wouldn't have been bad but we were a relatively small company at the time and volume licensing has it's own headaches. I could see something like this for Windows at some point for our business but I don't expect to do that yet. Might be worth looking into some time but I expect certain things we need would not play well. Especially related to disconnected work as some people are not "always connected". Heck, just getting a good connection to Teams sometimes is difficult.

But, this is all stupid for individual consumers. I still expect to buy my stuff and then use it until it's too old. I don't need to pay a subscription on top of that. And while game streaming is a thing, it's not perfect so "streaming" your whole OS is still a ways out. Not all of us have 1Gb internet connections either. And even so, where's the advantage to the user for this? Management of 100s or 1000s of systems for a business makes this all useful. Management of a couple of devices for a single home, not that big of a deal. But the cost of these subscriptions is.

 

[crobob]

If MS does this I would drop them in a NY minute. MS messes up usually every other release. Can you imagine being locked into Windows BOB, Me or 8. Anyone forcing a subscription for software gets dropped. Dropped Quicken, which I had used for 20+ years, when they pulled that stunt.

 

[ezst036]

If Microsoft goes to a subscription-based model, expect many (but not most) people to find the following link useful.

SteamOS + Linux Titles

Default sale page template for content hubs.

store.steampowered.com

I disagree.

Microsoft will transform Windows into a subscription operating system.

Most of you people will pay it.

 

[sadsteve]

Figured this was going to be Microsofts route after they started the Office subscription. Pretty much why I'm now using Linux as my main OS. I run a Windows VM for gaming and the occasional photo editing session (I really dislike Gimp!).

 

[Giroro]

Microsoft wants to steal the hardware you buy, so they can "infinite money forever" in rent it to use it, on top of how One Drive is designed to hold your data ransom.

 

[ikjadoon]

All the ways Microsoft will use this to pump their quarterly revenue and screw users:

• Hike the subscription price so booting your cloud PC costs 2x as much as last month.
• Want to leave? All your programs, documents, and OS are locked up. Pay a $100 egress fee to download the data.
• Forced updates to throw in more ads to File Explorer. Thought paying a subscription stopped ads? Get real.
• Whoops, only Edge can be used. “We don’t trust third-party browsers in our cloud.” Hope you like the fifth sidebar added this week.
• It’ll still be offline once or twice a week while it updates. No, it won’t update in the background.
• Need more RAM? Here, pay an extra $15 a month for the rest of your life. No, you don’t pay market rates; you pay Nadella rates!

 

[ikjadoon]

I disagree.

Microsoft will transform Windows into a subscription operating system.

Most of you people will pay it.

LMAO, as if Windows hasn’t been losing market share every year since the mid-2000s.

Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop operating systems worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

In a year, less than 60% of consumer desktops and laptops will run Windows.

People that prefer a consumer-first local OS moved to Mac and there, you can pay Tim Cook prices for RAM.

//

Wait for the day when all Activision and Blizzard games only run on Cloud PC. Somehow, people think this merger is a good idea, lmao. “Save Activision! Give them billions: that’ll teach them!”

 

[Lafong]

LMAO, as if Windows hasn’t been losing market share every year since the mid-2000s.

Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop operating systems worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

In a year, less than 60% of consumer desktops and laptops will run Windows.

People that prefer a consumer-first local OS moved to Mac and there, you can pay Tim Cook prices for RAM.

//

Wait for the day when all Activision and Blizzard games only run on Cloud PC. Somehow, people think this merger is a good idea, lmao. “Save Activision! Give them billions: that’ll teach them!”

I disagree.

Microsoft will transform Windows into a subscription operating system.

Most of you people will pay it.

I think you are correct, although I wish you weren't.

I remember hearing in 1997 that Linux was "about ready for the desktop". As far as I know, it is still under 5%.

I read 6 or 8 years ago that Microsoft had trademarked (copyrighted?) some specific terminology that strongly implied that they had subscriptions in mind for Windows.

For the life of me, I cannot recall what that term was.

How does "Windows 365" roll off your tongue?

 

[Lafong]

LMAO, as if Windows hasn’t been losing market share every year since the mid-2000s.

Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of desktop operating systems worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

In a year, less than 60% of consumer desktops and laptops will run Windows.

Could be, if that chart is accurate and the trend continues.

Surprised to see Apple up so sharply in the last year, near 19%.

Wonder what that "unknown" 12% is?

 

[salgado18]

The problem is not the model, but the price. With games already being called expensive at $60+, asking $139 for a Windows license is prohibitive for most people. If it were $50, so many people would buy it, knowing it would last them for years. Same thing for Office.

Yes, go to a subscription model, but at least charge a price that people will actually want to pay. Either that, or keep fighting piracy and Linux.

 

[RichardtST]

Gotta agree with most of the posters here. I *absolutely* will drop Windows like a hot potato if they go to a subscription. I'm not overly fond of linux, and it doesn't run games worth a crap (looking at you steam/proton), but I will not tolerate a subscription service to MS. Not a chance in hell. I've already got a nice Linux Mint/Cinnamon machine at home. So go ahead MS... I double-dog-dare you. You just try...

 

[Lafong]

Considering how little Windows licenses to home users contributes to Microsoft's overall revenue, I'm not sure there will be any fear and trembling in Redmond.

But I'll certainly continue to shake my fist and dare them. This time I mean it. Honest.

 

[JoBalz]

People are "Sick & Tired" of subscriptions and prefer the old school, pay once for each version upgrade model.

If you're not down with that, the customers will move onto another software that will support that model.

I know I'm tired of, instead of paying once and then for an occasional upgrade, having to pay what often amounts to the cost of a new copy of the software every year, year after year. I'm an average consumer who does not have deep pockets and who is being ramrodded up the backside by inflation across the board, and then on top of that software makers and TV markets are increasingly going to subscriptions, If Microsoft thinks this is a good idea, then I will finally arrive at the point of considering making the move to Linux and ditching Windows.

 

[hotaru251]

The day windows tries to subscription the OS for normal users is day Linux & piracy become much larger things.

 

[USAFRet]

I hear this woofin' and tweetin' here for a loooong time.
"I'm dropping Windoze!!!"

For all of you that have said this here, I invite you to a 6 month test...
Spin up a Linux or Apple box.
Turn your current Windows systems off until the end of the year.
Use the Linux PC exclusively.

Do that, and I'll tend to believe you.

 

[salgado18]

I hear this woofin' and tweetin' here for a loooong time.
"I'm dropping Windoze!!!"

For all of you that have said this here, I invite you to a 6 month test...
Spin up a Linux or Apple box.
Turn your current Windows systems off until the end of the year.
Use the Linux PC exclusively.

Do that, and I'll tend to believe you.

I'll probably do that when my Windows 7 key is not accepted to activate the system. Maybe many folks just keep going with old keys being upgraded, or just use it without activation. I don't see that changing with a subscription model.

 

[brandonjclark]

I think you are correct, although I wish you weren't.

I remember hearing in 1997 that Linux was "about ready for the desktop". As far as I know, it is still under 5%.

I read 6 or 8 years ago that Microsoft had trademarked (copyrighted?) some specific terminology that strongly implied that they had subscriptions in mind for Windows.

For the life of me, I cannot recall what that term was.

How does "Windows 365" roll off your tongue?

Windows 365 is literally already a major product. It's a simplified solution compared to Azure Virtual Desktop.

 

[ThatMouse]

I own 6 machines running Windows (desktops, laptops, old repurposed PC's, etc). Subscription would bankrupt me. I can't even pull up which machines are properly licensed as it is they've been upgraded so much.

 

[A Stoner]

Yeah, I do not do recurring fees, and I will not be living through a constant need to keep paying for software, so if Microsoft figures out a way to force feed this down our throats, I will find another operating system and once I go through the transition they will never earn my trust back.

 

[USAFRet]

I own 6 machines running Windows (desktops, laptops, old repurposed PC's, etc). Subscription would bankrupt me. I can't even pull up which machines are properly licensed as it is they've been upgraded so much.

With zero knowledge of how much this subscription might be, how do you know if it will bankrupt you?
$5/month each?

Remember, this will almost certainly be on NEW systems. Win 12 or 13 at the earliest.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

That's a dumb idea on Microsoft's part. Apple gives away their OS if you own a Mac. You can also install Linux for free.

I currently use my Windows PC's for gaming. The rest are Mac's and an older unsupported Mac running the latest version of Ubuntu. All this will do is have users turning to Macs or Linux. Most users use their PC's for the basics which Linux can easily handle.

 

[vanadiel007]

I think many are not reflecting on this correctly.

Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud based subscription service, but to call it cloud based is a bit of an over-statement. The Office suite is still installed locally together with the applications and can be used locally, including Outlook mail client. They just have a cloud based storage attached to the account to save your documents should you wish to use it and cloud based activation of the suite, linked to your Microsoft account.

Windows 11/12 cloud based will be a similar subscription service, but they will store the activation portion of Windows in their cloud. The groundwork is already done for this, with Windows login and activation linked digitally to your Microsoft account.

In the end, that is what it's all about. Prevent activation of windows unless you subscribe to it.