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The End of Windows

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Re: The End of Windows

#441

Post by mediocrejoker »

urda wrote: post #420
mediocrejoker wrote: post #86

What I don't understand is, with Apple and Microsoft moving to "services" business-models, who do they see as providing the hardware for this future they envision? I don't think we are near the point where either laptops or phones are a commodity. If nobody want to make hardware their first priority, how is anyone going to ensure the best experience for the customers using their serviceS?

What's your citation or evidence to Apple moving to a "services" business-model? They are hardware focused, so that's not a correct statement.

I'm not claiming to have insider knowledge of Apple's strategy, but there have been many reports over the last year or two that speculate about the extent to which services will provide revenue instead of hardware.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/08/apple-will-show-off-its-move...

https://stratechery.com/2017/apple-and-the-oak-tree/

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/03/22/apple-services-revenue-...

Re: The End of Windows

#442

Post by seanmcdirmid »

shados wrote: post #440
zanny wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who reads text all day, going up to a 27" 150 PPI monitor was huge . There is a tangible improvement in how that text looks, especially on an accurately colored monitor. The other footnote should be that display prices have been crashing recently. You can get an IPS 24" FHD monitor for like $90, and a QHD version at 27" for about $150. Those would have been twice as expensive a few years ago. That being sa…

2560x1440 on a 27 inch at a reasonable distance is pretty darn close to optimal IMO, so 4k, to me, is for 34" monitors (but 27 inch I feel is optimal on 60-75 inch desks, which is what I usually work with, so 4k rarely matters). I'm with you on accurately calibrated monitors though! God most of them suck out of the box.

I never get comments like these, as if the text just gets smaller as the resolution increases, rather than what actually happens (the text gets crisper). 5120x2880 is so nice because you can’t see the pixels and words almost look like they are on paper.

Re: The End of Windows

#443

Post by [deleted] »

thanatropism wrote: post #364
ynniv wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that were true, Linux on the desktop would have already won and this decision wouldn't be controversial. I think what's preventing this is that making a productive desktop operating system is more difficult than we think.

The desktop matters less and less. The only computer I own at home (other than ipad/iphone) is a Chromebook. But I lease a cheap VPS that lets me do "computer stuff" otherwise.

[deleted]

Re: The End of Windows

#444

Post by WorldMaker »

jpalomaki wrote: post #279
mediocrejoker wrote: post #86

What I don't understand is, with Apple and Microsoft moving to "services" business-models, who do they see as providing the hardware for this future they envision? I don't think we are near the point where either laptops or phones are a commodity. If nobody want to make hardware their first priority, how is anyone going to ensure the best experience for the customers using their serviceS?

Apple is not moving to services, they are very much a hardware company. Services are for them more like a thing to make the hardware more attractive. Microsoft has not really been in hardware space before (except consoles, otherwise it was mostly accessories). I believe they jumped to laptops, tablets and desktops to have full control of the user experience.

Right, given the *soft in the name, Microsoft has never seen itself as a hardware company and every move it has made into hardware (except Nokia) was reluctant and to fill a need for software they couldn't convince hardware friends to make at scale for them.

Microsoft started building mice because they wanted to add a wheel to them to make working in Office applications better.

Microsoft started building 2-in-1 tablet laptops (Surface) because they'd been calling it the future for a decade and no one was paying attention.

For the most part Microsoft's hardware strategy is at its best in "if you build it, they will come (and copy it as soon as they understand why you built it)" mode.

Re: The End of Windows

#445

Post by dmix »

zamalek wrote: post #266
remir wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the end of Windows. The title of the article is a bit click bait-y. Without the "we need to dominate the market and be everywhere" people pushing devs to implement feature nobody wants and have to deactivate anyways, Windows will get better for the people that love (and need) to use it.

> The title of the article is a bit click bait-y. The article itself implies the same. It's very clearly a case of putting the cart before the hearse.

I don't see anywhere in the article where Windows is going away or no longer being invested in... if anything it's going to get more focused on in terms of a pure client OS perspective than some mixed bag of services + built-in apps + OS.

This should be good for Windows as it will focus on what it's good for.. being the base system for drivers, windowing, app launching, etc. While the services/cloud gets decoupled from it allowing more flexibility for their developers/programs to work across multiple platforms.

Re: The End of Windows

#446

Post by eljimmy »

Microsoft really should have pursued creating a version of Windows specifically for gaming. I imagine there are lot of users who only use Windows for that purpose.

Re: The End of Windows

#447

Post by blablabla123 »

jmuguy wrote: post #75
ynniv wrote: post #48

This seems like a ridiculous strategy. Who would abandon an ecosystem that they own over 80% of? If they're spending too much money on it, stop adding features and harden what they already have. It's increasingly clear that macOS isn't business-level stable, and Linux isn't polished... No one has an Android device on their desk at work. Maybe if they stopped trying to take over the world they would realize that they…

They're not abandoning Windows or the ecosystem. This is just the end of it as the tip of the spear/driving force for MS strategy. Nadella is (rightly, imo) focusing more on o365 and Azure. One of the points the article makes is that Ballmer's MS would do things like not release Office for iOS because that would potentially eat into Windows marketshare. That no longer will happen. MS sees its more important to get o3…

> Nadella is (rightly, imo) focusing more on o365 and Azure.

Windows is a perfect example of no focus at all. Maybe this makes sense for a true mainstream OS.

To be honest, I wonder if Azure, Exchange online or Office 365 can really be their future. Why not use AWS, Scaleway or a local service. It's cheaper and better.

Re: The End of Windows

#448

Post by WorldMaker »

cjarrett wrote: post #239
TheForumTroll wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xbox and PlayStation. The "problem" is that you want to game on your PC, not that there isn't another viable option.

Mouse / Keyboard input. Though, that is opening up more and more nowadays.....

Xbox One supports it natively (via good old USB) as of a "silent" update a year ago or so. Not all games support it (for various reasons of engines and developer preference), but you might be surprised the ones that do.

Re: The End of Windows

#449

Post by WorldMaker »

TheForumTroll wrote: post #128
alkonaut wrote: post #109

You can have my windows when I can game properly somewhere else (and no, no you can’t).

Xbox and PlayStation. The "problem" is that you want to game on your PC, not that there isn't another viable option.

Arguably, gaming on an Xbox is still gaming on Windows so it's a funny option to pick if the goal is to avoid Windows. ;)

Re: The End of Windows

#450

Post by dmix »

laythea wrote: post #358

When my child gets older and leaves home, I won't be saying its the end of him. He has just matured. Similarly, this just marks the maturity level of Windows, where there really is no significant innovation in operating systems release after release. Nothing like win 3.1 -> win 95 etc. Its been that way for a while. Obviously its cash that motives this move from Microsoft, however I wouldn't want Microsoft changing t…

The more comments I read on here the more it seems people have only read the headline, or have only a surface level grasp of the content, without really understanding what the author is saying.

"The End of Windows" = "The End of Windows as the core foundation of the various Microsoft divisions/services/apps"

It does not mean the end of Windows as an important part of Microsoft...at all.

Rather it's about decoupling Windows from the rest of the other divisions to reflect the reality of today's non-PC centric world where Window's is merely one client among other mobile/cloud/AI/IoT/etc clients.

As others have pointed out, the perfect example is how Ballmer didn't want to release Office for iPad until Windows had a touch screen version to compete with it. It means more flexibility for both the company and for Windows, which is win-win for Microsoft consumers and Windows users.

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