Microsoft as a Subscription?

We will have to wait and see what all this really means....

On the cloud subscription model: "We're well on our way to making that transition in terms of moving from pure licenses to long-term contracts and as well as subscription business model," Nadella told analysts. But he didn't share anything new about when, whether and how Microsoft will move to a subscription model for Windows, as some are expecting.

Source

Also,,,,

WZor also claims that Microsoft is tinkering with the business model for Windows and may make some kind of base-level version of Windows available for free for everyone, but require a subscription to "turn on" the full set of capabilities and features, similar to the way Microsoft requires Office on iPad users to have an Office 365 subscription to do more than just the simplest of tasks with the free version. I haven't heard anything specifically about this from my contacts (yet).

Source

For the record, I voted maybe.

 

[Tepid]

When Office 2013 first came out I worked out this spreadsheet, comparing the upgrade costs to 2013. I currently have Office 2010 Pro X 1 and H&S x 3.

I only use Excel and Word and need at least one commercial license because I am self employed and use it for business. I have 3 computers. My mobile needs are taken care of with Polaris Office on my S4.

The attached costs are in NZ dollars and give the cost up until 2010 when Office 2010 no longer receives security updates. I decided to stick to Office 2010.

1 Year

[TD="colspan: 2"]Stand Alone[/TD]
[TD="width: 64"][/TD]
[TD="width: 64"][/TD]
[TD="width: 135, colspan: 2"]Subscription[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Seats[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Seats[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Small Business[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]360.7[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]229.08[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Home premium x 2[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]2[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]362.14[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]5[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]165[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]722.84[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]394.08[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Cost till 2020[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]722.84[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]2758.56[/TD]

Aside from just plain bad information, consider having to upgrade those every couple of years.
This is what we are talking about,,, staying current.

If we thought this way, many would still be using Windows 95 and save a ton of money.

Can you be any further off base?

 

[SIW2]

Why would he have to upgrade them?

I was under the impression plenty of people using 2003/2007 to this day, perfectly happily. That is why one buys things, so one can keep using them.

 

[jimbo45]

When Office 2013 first came out I worked out this spreadsheet, comparing the upgrade costs to 2013. I currently have Office 2010 Pro X 1 and H&S x 3.

I only use Excel and Word and need at least one commercial license because I am self employed and use it for business. I have 3 computers. My mobile needs are taken care of with Polaris Office on my S4.

The attached costs are in NZ dollars and give the cost up until 2010 when Office 2010 no longer receives security updates. I decided to stick to Office 2010.

1 Year

[TD="colspan: 2"]Stand Alone
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Subscription
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Seats
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Seats
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Small Business
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]1
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]360.7
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]1
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]229.08
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Home premium x 2
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]2
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]362.14
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]5
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]165
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]722.84
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]394.08
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Cost till 2020
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]722.84
[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]2758.56
[/TD]

Hi there

Amen !!!!! -- and as a business user don't forget TAX refunds -- cost of Software etc as business expense. !! Should be the same in NZ.

For a lot of people who don't need 10 gazillion licenses the stand alone model makes far more sense --problem with any sort of subscription is that they often include features you don't need -- for example Mobile phones with unlimited texts and 2,000 hrs of talk time -- well I've probably only ever texted 3 words in my entire life (I hate texting !!) and I certainly don't spend anything like 2,000 hours on the phone --if I did I really think I should be seeing some type of psychiatrist or even a Priest as there would be something seriously wrong with me.

Same with Banks with their "Special Premium accounts" - so instead of a Basic Free banking service you pay say 15 EUR a month for "Free travel insurance etc " and a load of other perks you neither want or need - !!!

If you have a load of kids maybe the subscription (initially- beware of price rises later when people get more used to the whole idea) might work - especially if it stops them downloading and using pirated software.

However it's all in pursuit of that dreadful new business term "Monetisation". There's NO WAY subscription would be introduced if it yields LESS money than they currently earn. Now as people update their computers far less often Ms sees the "Discrete" sales packages declining rapidly whereas the subscription allows them to collect periodically whether people upgrade their computers or not.

It won't STOP Piracy though - there's already stuff out in the wild that are "mimicking" activation and validation servers !!!!.

Anyway I have my copies of Office, I only use OUTLOOK for work, ACCESS is the most sorry piece of Software ever to call itself "A database" so as far as Office 365 is concerned "I'm Outta Here" !!!.

If Windows goes the same way - I'll run current versions on VM's (which I'm doing anyway) until they no longer work by which time I'll be long gone from Planet Earth !!!

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Superfly]

Can you be any further off base?

No, he's not off base.. not everyone needs the current release of anything... If Windows 95 works for you .. why not?

 

[Tepid]

Can you be any further off base?

No, he's not off base.. not everyone needs the current release of anything... If Windows 95 works for you .. why not?

Gotta love the Straw man argument of lets consider never ever upgrading.

 

[Kari]

I did not answer the poll as there was no option for me. Yes, I would be very interested in getting a subscription based Windows but not only if it was cheaper; as an Office 365 user I have grown to like its subscription model quite a lot and would like to get my Windows in the same way.

Add an option to poll "Yes, great idea, even if it costs the same or slightly more than traditionally distributed Windows" and I can vote .

[tweet]462159530231877632[/tweet]

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Can you be any further off base?

No, he's not off base.. not everyone needs the current release of anything... If Windows 95 works for you .. why not?

Gotta love the Straw man argument of lets consider never ever upgrading.

That and if they're one of these:

OSosaur

Officosaur

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
love those but I'll bet it will be a LONG time before THIS edition disappears. !!

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Rxd]

Can you be any further off base?

No, he's not off base.. not everyone needs the current release of anything... If Windows 95 works for you .. why not?

Gotta love the Straw man argument of lets consider never ever upgrading.

What straw man argument is that? Only a small fraction of users need all the features of Office. Fewer even still need the full features of the latest Office. None of my clients actually need a newer version of Office than 2003. They all have newer versions, but they all preferred Office 2003. Office 2003 with the compatibility pack installed was everyone of my clients favorite version.

So again, why upgrade? They all did and all regret it. Money thrown down the toilet for software they don't even like.

Do you think Microsoft isn't aware of this?

 

[Superfly]

Can you be any further off base?

No, he's not off base.. not everyone needs the current release of anything... If Windows 95 works for you .. why not?

Gotta love the Straw man argument of lets consider never ever upgrading.

OMG!... lets leave it at that...

 

[pparks1]

Why would he have to upgrade them?

I was under the impression plenty of people using 2003/2007 to this day, perfectly happily. That is why one buys things, so one can keep using them.

For those who are perfectly fine buying something and then using it forever until it simply doesn't function, this model is not designed for them at all, nor would it make any sense at all.

Many people though want the newest versions, they want the most up to date from a security standpoint, want too ensure as much compatibility with other software and peripherals they are using. Many also have multiple devices now, where in the past it might have only been 1 desktop. The subscription model fits here quite well.

You cannot look at something like this simply and just write it off because it doesn't fit you perfectly. And contrary to popular belief, this isn't just a move to screw customers. If anything, companies have to tread lightly as more options are available to customers.

 

[MrBill]

Nothing surprising here. That said, I seriously doubt the OS is involved here. We already know all smaller devices Microsoft will be giving it away from free. I would expect the larger devices to follow suit at some point. I think people forget the OS is ideally just meant to be a usability layer between the user and the hardware. If Microsoft strips out everything as far as apps, so it does not have to support those, and goes to a pay only support model for everything but online forums, they will come out ahead, and so will we.

The CEO is right, they are on their way there. BTW, Corporations already pay via a subscription model, as do developers via MSDN. Have Office, and other apps on a subscription bases will offset a lot of revenue, free up Microsoft to ramp up upgrades since everyone pays per year and not per upgrade, and hopefully will get the company to innovate back into some of the consumer app/program space though dropped out of a few years ago.

 

[Cr00zng]

It all depends on what one would need...

For home, it makes sense if the end user plan to upgrade following the current three years cycle for MS Office. Getting the full Office 2013 Professional to five PCs installed locally for hundred bucks a year is a great deal.

Even a single Office 365 subscription, that allows one PC or Mac local installation in addition to the online access to Office 2013 for 70 bucks a year, is a great deal financially. In six years that's 420 bucks, which is pretty much the cost of a single MS Office 2013 Pro license, with no online access to Office.

For small businesses, the cost is more, especially the premium version that includes local installation. The price is 150 bucks per year for each users. But the premium also includes business-class email, online conferencing, public website, and file storage and sharing.

For operating systems, MS seems to be on the 4-5 years cycle for new OS. That's pretty much the same cycle of my machines being replaced. Forking out 230 bucks to purchase a single license, or pay MS 40-50 bucks for OS lease is pretty much the same from the financial perspective.

For people who just got off from XP, leasing software is not a good option. For all others who like to move along with the MS cycles, this is a pretty good deal, if you don't pay attention to the privacy implication of entrusting MS with everything you do...

 

[Britton30]

Might as well, the PC, ("Personal Computer"), as we used to know it is rapidly becoming a thing of the past anyway!

Not in the universe I'm in.

 

[nonono]

Yep, all those tablets and tablets with phone capabilities (so called "mobile" phones) are like toilet paper - the world is full of them, but it doesnt mean it rules the world

 

[Coke Robot]

Why would he have to upgrade them?

I was under the impression plenty of people using 2003/2007 to this day, perfectly happily. That is why one buys things, so one can keep using them.

I do believe you've never had to edit or even print a Word document with Office 2003 from Office versions 2007, 2010, or 2013?

 

[Rxd]

Why would he have to upgrade them?

I was under the impression plenty of people using 2003/2007 to this day, perfectly happily. That is why one buys things, so one can keep using them.

I do believe you've never had to edit or even print a Word document with Office 2003 from Office versions 2007, 2010, or 2013?

Just use the compatibility pack for Office 2003 and you can open documents created in newer versions just fine....

 

[Tepid]

Why would he have to upgrade them?

I was under the impression plenty of people using 2003/2007 to this day, perfectly happily. That is why one buys things, so one can keep using them.

I do believe you've never had to edit or even print a Word document with Office 2003 from Office versions 2007, 2010, or 2013?

Just use the compatibility pack for Office 2003 and you can open documents created in newer versions just fine....

Doesn't always work. Plus trying to edit between versions can cause issues and corruption.

 

[Coke Robot]

I do believe you've never had to edit or even print a Word document with Office 2003 from Office versions 2007, 2010, or 2013?

Just use the compatibility pack for Office 2003 and you can open documents created in newer versions just fine....

Doesn't always work. Plus trying to edit between versions can cause issues and corruption.

I concur, I've never seen a .docx file open in Word 2003 flawlessly. There are ALWAYS formatting issues or words that run into eachothermuch like this. I've definitely had to spend a few minutes fixing documents in 2003 JUST so I could print it off.

Oh yeah, and don't forget that regardless of a compatibility pack, if you compile a PowerPoint in 2007/10/13 that has anything remotely advanced in animations, transitions, embedded videos or general formatting; you can't properly view most of that. You can't run the video (if done in 2010, the same problem occurs in 2007), you can't view the rich animations or transitions you spent a deal of time perfecting.

Never mind the fact how I can't even use 2003 because of no Ribbon UI... How we all once did that is beyond me.

See, you CAN use the older version of the software, but compared to modern versions, it's like running a barebones piece of software as it pales in comparison in features, capabilities, and overall ideal usability.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

You can get the .docx VIEWER so you can VIEW the document correctly.

From that you can cut and paste the bits you want into Office 2003 -- Works flawlessly unless you've got some weird special formatting options that don't exist in the earlier versions.

IMO most office documents are usually not full of any particular specialized formatting. Certainly for HOME use this method works 100%.

Office Online File Converters and Viewers - Downloads

Latest versions as well as ONLINE converters too.

Free Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, 2010, or 2013 Document Viewers

Cheers
jimbo