How did we all get stuck in the worst possible [tech] timeline?
This isn’t quite the worst. The worst never had globally free GPS or the Internet. It was all always totally private orgs with subscription services.
AOL in 2023
Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
161–170 of 210 posts
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#162How did we all get stuck in the worst possible [tech] timeline?
I am not sure about that.
Somehow we ended up in a time line where there is this great mainstream full stack os where not only do you get the full source code you also are allowed to use and distribute it with very few restrictions. All of which is based on the critical generosity of a few key individuals. It is easy to imagine a history where this did not happen at all.
The coolest thing is, say you are a snob like me, "Ah yes, your source code based os project is very nice and all but it's inclusiveness has made it far to big and messy for my small hipster mind" there are multiple source code based operating systems to choose from! Really it is pretty great.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#163If Microsoft does, I am not using Windows 12, I am going to Ubuntu. I won't even pirate it. I refuse to pay a subscription for an OS, that should be pay once and be done paying.
There's a decent OS called MacOS that's somehow always free on major new releases...
It is bundled with hardware. I cannot afford it, I would rather go with Linux in my humble opinion.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#164Oh please oh please oh please oh please.
Rolling this out would be a business disaster studied for decades.
I've know enough people already honked off about all the gorp in Windows 11 that many of them are refusing to move from Windows 10. This would be the icing on the cake to finally get them broken free from Windows as an OS.
This, sadly, won't break the hegemony of Office 365, though.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Wasn't windows 10 supposed to be the "last windows ever" Microsoft has never said that. Edit: since people are still confused. 1. What was said was "...and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10". This was said by a Microsoft developer evangelist, never it was an official corporate position or an announcement. And most certainly no one said "ever". 2. You could argu…
https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/7/8568473/windows-10-last-ve...
Your article largely agrees with the parent comment. A developer evangelist mentioned it once, Microsoft didn't immediately deny it, loads of people made assumptions of what that meant. Your article even mentions 11 and 12 were still a possibility.
And to an extent the basic idea they did agree to has been true. 11 was a free upgrade for machines that were eligible to run it. I didn't need to go out and purchase a new Windows version.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#166Alternate title: how Microsoft handed Linux the keys to desktop dominance I wonder if Windows will be included with GamePass™
Windows has long had its detractors, yet during every upcoming Windows release when some controversial change causes some people to exclaim that this will finally be the year of the Linux desktop, most Windows users end up grinning and bearing it, and thus the year of the Linux desktop gets pushed back for the umpteenth time. Even if Microsoft charges subscription fees for Windows 12, I predict that people will either grin and bear it, or they will stick to Windows 11 for as long as they can. If enough people don’t upgrade to Windows 12, Microsoft might relent, like how Windows 8.1 brought back the smart menu and how later releases of Windows 10 addressed some criticism of earlier releases. But given previous patterns, I don’t expect a mass exodus to Linux.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#167Valve investing in SteamOS and Proton looks really prescient. It took years, but the investment has really paid off (for me, not sure Valve). Games is/was my only need for Windows and I finally ditched my Windows machine last year. I have had to give up on playing some incompatible titles, but there is still a wealth of options available.
It's wild how much this has changed.
When I started college in the early 2000s my one and only computer dual booted so I could run games and Windows-only university software on the Windows side and everything else under Linux.
In the middle of college, I went full Linux with Wine for some games but moved the rest of my gaming to console.
After college, I went back to dual booting because PC gaming was the more economical choice and I had bills to pay.
Then I went back to full Linux with Wine for a number of years because I didn't have a lot of time to play anyway and keeping Windows running was a pain.
After I made the jump to full time employee from contractor I went two machines - a Linux machine for everything but gaming and a gaming machine for gaming, moving the gaming machine to the every day driver for a couple of newly built gaming rigs.
Now I'm full time Linux with Proton for most games and a single GPU-passthrough for anything that doesn't run on that.
I could probably spend my entire time gaming and never touch a title that doesn't run under Proton and still have plenty of things to play with my friends and plenty of new releases to try.
It is amazing how much a company run by former Microsoft employees has dumped into never having to deal with Windows again. It's been good for their bottom line too.
You love to see it.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#168Half-devil advocating here, but is this the end of the world?
Right now, we have software that we expect that keeps being updated, but the company gets a one time payment. With a subscription, things get more stable financially and the company can adjust the budget accordingly.
It also incentivized keeping Windows good and working so those subscriptions don't get cancelled.
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#169Alternate title: how Microsoft handed Linux the keys to desktop dominance I wonder if Windows will be included with GamePass™
Windows has long had its detractors, yet during every upcoming Windows release when some controversial change causes some people to exclaim that this will finally be the year of the Linux desktop, most Windows users end up grinning and bearing it, and thus the year of the Linux desktop gets pushed back for the umpteenth time. Even if Microsoft charges subscription fees for Windows 12, I predict that people will eithe…
It certainly pushed people towards MacOS and Linux. Office usage has also been decimated by Google docs and similar. Early education is largely on Chromebooks.
Mass exodus to Linux won't happen, but W11 may become the next XP that people won't upgrade from for decades. And then the price of hardware+subscription will be compared to buying an otherwise overpriced Mac...
Re: Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak
#170Half-devil advocating here, but is this the end of the world? Right now, we have software that we expect that keeps being updated, but the company gets a one time payment. With a subscription, things get more stable financially and the company can adjust the budget accordingly. It also incentivized keeping Windows good and working so those subscriptions don't get cancelled.
Windows is free when I buy a PC. If I need to pay additional money to keep the OS running then I may as well save some money in the first place and just use Linux.