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With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

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Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#41

Post by chaostheory »

skrebbel wrote: post #15

As a Microsoft customer, this alienates me from them. Paid software means that our interests are aligned: I want good software and Microsoft wants to make good software so that I buy it. Free commercial software means that I'll have to pay through other means, typically means that I'll have less control over.

I wouldn't fret. Looking at history, MS will probably release several versions of Windows including paid versions. Microsoft's biggest strength and weakness is that they want to cater to everyone at the same time.

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#42

Post by chaostheory »

kamaal wrote: post #34

Actually a free Windows OS would actually be great. Here in India, Pirated Windows OS are like as common as mosquitoes. No one but Microsoft was losing in all this. The price of Windows is generally prohibitively high and was by no way affordable to home and even small business users. The only option was to pirate them or use Ubuntu. People walk in to buy a laptop, check the difference in price for Laptops with Windo…

Piracy feels the the same in most of East and South East Asia as well.

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#43

Post by bytefactory »

nivla wrote: post #39
beagle3 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your interest and Microsoft's interests haven't been aligned in years. Your interest is to keep an OS supported. Microsoft's interest is to release Browser and DirectX updates only for the latest-and-greatest, so that you'd updgrade. Your interest is an open ecosystem. Microsoft's interest is to have a closed garden. (They haven't been successful with that one, but they're trying). Your interest might be a usable Des…

>Your interest is an open ecosystem. Microsoft's interest is to have a closed garden. (They haven't been successful with that one, but they're trying). I might get some heat for this but I must say Windows is still the OS with the least closed garden or heck even a garden. To get even the legitimate and popular x86 applications you still have to manually browse to websites and download it. You can install whatever yo…

> I might get some heat for this but I must say Windows is still the OS with the least closed garden or heck even a garden.

Surely you meant "OS with a significant market share" or something, because there's no way Windows is more "open" in any way than Linux!

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#45

Post by aegiso »

skrebbel wrote: post #15

As a Microsoft customer, this alienates me from them. Paid software means that our interests are aligned: I want good software and Microsoft wants to make good software so that I buy it. Free commercial software means that I'll have to pay through other means, typically means that I'll have less control over.

End-user Windows licenses haven't been a significant source of income for Microsoft for a very long time. They make their money from their enterprise ecosystem, and end-user Windows serves only to support that ecosystem.

So unfortunately, I hate to break it to you that as an end user the money you're giving Microsoft for their products never gave you control.

But on the bright side, pissing off the end users that provide sustenance and influx for their volume-licenses cash cows doesn't serve Microsoft's bottom line either. So even if you pay nothing, your usage of Microsoft's products is very much something Microsoft would prefer to continue.

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#46

Post by sdegutis »

skrebbel wrote: post #15

As a Microsoft customer, this alienates me from them. Paid software means that our interests are aligned: I want good software and Microsoft wants to make good software so that I buy it. Free commercial software means that I'll have to pay through other means, typically means that I'll have less control over.

Not necessarily. They may be giving away their platform to encourage the ecosystem that surrounds it (to both consumers and developers), which is probably much more valuable than the OS itself.

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#48

Post by 10098 »

kamaal wrote: post #40
hughdbrown wrote: post #3

"Google offers free OSes to computer and phone makers as a way of driving the use of its search engine and countless other web services, and now, Microsoft is at least experimenting with the idea of doing much the same thing. According to the report, its free operating system is known as Windows 8.1 With Bing. As the name implies, the OS is meant to feed the use of Microsoft’s own search engine, as well as other Micr…

>I can script the installation of software I need to develop with. I've d... This is a serious problem with Linux'es. Seriously, what user base is Linux optimizing for? Nearly 100% of the people using a computer don't have to ever do such a thing ever. People use computers to get work done, or get some entertainment. Not play with their guts. Imagine if your TV or Washing Machine, or even you Car required you to have…

You missed the point completely.

"I can script the installation of software I need to develop with" means he can simply write a script (similar to a windows batch file) that automatically installs whatever software he needs using the package manager. You are not required to do this, and this is simply a convenient method of preparing a freshly installed OS for use. For example, if I install an OS on a new machine, I usually install chrome, openbox, tint2, etc. I have a script that does that for me so that I don't waste time installing every single piece separately. I don't even know how to do anything similar on Windows.

If anything, the way software installation is managed on most linux distros (package managers and software repositories) is superior to the way it's done on Windows today (download setup.exe from god-knows-where and run it, and a constant pain in the ass with updates).

Re: With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way

#49

Post by shmerl »

nivla wrote: post #31
shmerl wrote: post #26

The fear of Linux took them at last.

I would say moreover the fear of Google.

Google doesn't compete with them for the desktop really. But desktop Linux distros do. Especially when it comes to gaming. Note that Valve pushes Linux a lot lately with their whole SteamOS effort especially. I think that's a major threat for MS who for a long time enjoyed an unchallenged position as a platform in PC gaming.

Latest Linux gaming renaissance eats at their confidence. For many gamers Windows is not seen as a requirement anymore, and they simply ditch it and start using better systems (especially because Wine became so good lately). While gamers are a minority amongst Windows users, MS still fears that dynamic because it breaks their network effect and creates the same effect in the Linux world.

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