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Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

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Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#151

Post by _m7bj »

digdigdag wrote: post #56
Sir_Substance wrote: post #5

I'm not happy with this. I waited on XP until they got over vista, and I'm still on 7 while I watch in bemusement at the windows 8.1 nonsense. Now, with windows 10, my security updates will come bundled with my unwanted OS changes. I doubt microsoft will let people opt out of unwanted cloud-based security risks or crazy interface experiments.

Care to tell me what your issue is with Windows 8.1? I've been using 8/8.1 for well over a year now, and it has been, perhaps, one of the best installments of the Windows line of operating systems I have ever used. There are a variety of third party applications and workarounds that can effectively re-patch explorer.exe to completely disable Modern UI and bring back the old start menu (think Start Is Back).

>There are a variety of third party applications and workarounds that can effectively re-patch explorer.exe to completely disable Modern UI and bring back the old start menu (think Start Is Back).

I'll stop you here: Why would I use an operating system so user-hostile that it's own advocates are saying "it's ok, lots of programs are available to unfuck it!", when the previous installment is on every level technically sound and doesn't require the unfucking?

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#152

Post by PebblesHD »

davidgerard wrote: post #77
ThinkBeat wrote: post #70

I can see this in the consumer space perhaps. They would need a lot of marketing to get people to pay up for a monthly / yearly subscription though. I figure that is how they will make money. I can see consumers being annoyed have to pay every month to use the computer now. With the current versioned releases the consumer has a choice whether to pay for the upgrade or not. In the enterprise space I dont see how this…

> I can see consumers being annoyed have to pay every month to use the computer now. With the current versioned releases the consumer has a choice whether to pay for the upgrade or not. Yeah, I'm wondering if Canonical's marketing department is readying the champagne.

  >2016
  >Year of the linux desktop?

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#153

Post by kozukumi »

Redoubts wrote: post #45

This was news around January, I thought. Why are all the tech sites playing this up now? I feel like i could reply to half the top level posts with this link: http://blogs.windows.com/business/2015/01/30/windows-10-for-... >January 30, 2015 > this is much more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current via Windows Update for the supported lifetime of…

It was known but never confirmed until Microsoft mentioned it at Ignite this week.

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#155

Post by superuser2 »

dageshi wrote: post #118
filereaper wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious as to how much revenue/profit Microsoft still makes from the desktop line of Windows. Would setting desktop Windows free really hurt revenues at Microsoft that much? I'm not denying that each release of Windows requires engineering effort. I figured most of Microsoft's profits come from software and services running on-top Windows, so SQL Server, Office, etc... Perhaps still charge for Windows Server, but…

I'd have thought that Microsoft still sells a monumental pile of Desktop licenses to business because a) they've got the money b) they don't want to risk being caught without legal licenses. In fact I've felt that up until around the last 5 years Windows was primarily focused on business users and consumers were just a happy bonus because what else were they going to run? So I could see them giving away a version tha…

How do you imagine a business would come across a computer that did not already have a desktop license?

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#156

Post by adventured »

filereaper wrote: post #85
beloch wrote: post #76

The obvious question is, how are we going to pay for this? With no periodic releases of new versions, it seems that Windows 10 will either be a subscription based service or, in all likelihood, a collection of subscription based services and extra features with a free, but spartan, core. It's an interesting move, but I suspect MS is severely underestimating the backlash that will exist against monthly OS subscription…

I'm curious as to how much revenue/profit Microsoft still makes from the desktop line of Windows. Would setting desktop Windows free really hurt revenues at Microsoft that much? I'm not denying that each release of Windows requires engineering effort. I figured most of Microsoft's profits come from software and services running on-top Windows, so SQL Server, Office, etc... Perhaps still charge for Windows Server, but…

They still make a lot of money off of Windows desktop.

In 2014 they changed how they report segment revenue, but as of 2013 the Windows division (non server) had $19 billion in sales for that fiscal year. Revenue for Windows desktop is down a bit from there (perhaps 8%-10%) according to reports throughout 2014.

The operating income on that $19 billion was $9.5 billion. Needless to say it's still a wildly profitable cash cow for Microsoft, albeit a declining business.

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#157

Post by zouhair »

swalsh wrote: post #120
beloch wrote: post #76

The obvious question is, how are we going to pay for this? With no periodic releases of new versions, it seems that Windows 10 will either be a subscription based service or, in all likelihood, a collection of subscription based services and extra features with a free, but spartan, core. It's an interesting move, but I suspect MS is severely underestimating the backlash that will exist against monthly OS subscription…

Your monthly subscription payments will come in the form of monthly Azure payments. People will accept that. This isn't 1996 anymore. People don't buy desktops, and laptops will soon be obsolete too. When your phone has a processor powerful enough to do all the work a consumer could ever want, there will be 3 main markets. Mobile, Server, and Gaming. Now they probably could keep charging for the OS for the gaming PC'…

Piracy will come back with a vengeance. I don't know how they'll tell people who go buy their laptops that they have to pay a monthly subscription if they want to keep using it.

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#158

Post by aylons »

kaybe wrote: post #117
olympus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rolling/incremental release is something that Apple does, but it's not like Apple is the only company doing it. Several Linux distros follow the same release model, and other software (not just OSes) does it too - MATLAB switched to this style model years ago, and it is nice at work to have something that is never more than 6 months out of date. The only downside is that you have to really plan out deprecating fe…

We dropped MATLAB because the communal version refuses to work without internet connection (standard in the field) and we cannot afford a licence for all field laptops, where they will be used very little (but still to do things that need to be done).

So, what did you put in place? GNU Octave?

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#159

Post by nos4A2 »

superuser2 wrote: post #155
dageshi wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd have thought that Microsoft still sells a monumental pile of Desktop licenses to business because a) they've got the money b) they don't want to risk being caught without legal licenses. In fact I've felt that up until around the last 5 years Windows was primarily focused on business users and consumers were just a happy bonus because what else were they going to run? So I could see them giving away a version tha…

How do you imagine a business would come across a computer that did not already have a desktop license?

Virtual Machines and Windows Server.

Re: Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

#160

Post by sesutton »

bad_user wrote: post #126
mark_l_watson wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you like better in Windows 7 than 8.1? Seriously, I have been a long time OS X and Linux user, and 8.1 has won me back to the Microsoft fold. I still use Linux and OSX, but WIndows 8.1 is now something I frequently use. I was not impressed by Windows 7. So, serious question, what do you like better about Windows 7.

I'm an Ubuntu Linux and OS X user and have been trying to like Windows 8.1 in the last weeks. The problems I have in no particular order ... - network management in Windows 7 was usable, whereas in 8.1 it is totally fucked - Microsoft accounts are on their way to become mandatory, as creating a regular account is not user friendly and there's a big and scary warning when you go that route; they are basically trying t…

>- of course, you can totally ignore the "modern Windows" side of the coin for now, except that's where Windows is headed

It seems to me that they are backing off metro/"modern Windows" more and more. 8.1 made boot to Desktop the default, they are bringing back the start menu in 10 and Metro apps will run in windows in 10.

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