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.

 

[Rxd]

Wth? Just post any bs here about Linux I guess.

Are Windows fanboys really this desperate? Don't get me wrong, I am a Windows guy through and through. But posting obvious bs is just not right.

bash linux with facts, not bs...

 

[pparks1]

Well, there are often issues with Linux and updates. No doubt about it. However, one has to remember that many distros are the frequently updated, latest cutting edge releases and that happens. This is the reason that businesses choose the Enterprise distros because they don't change as rapidly. From the desktop side, it's often best to stick with the LTS releases if you want more stability.

At the end of the day, remember that Linux is open source and pieces and parts are all maintained by many different individuals. It's not a centralized development effort. Thus somebodies update to package X, could break person Y's reliance on something from package X.

As a Linux user and supporter, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. To try to claim that Linux always updates flawlessly would just be silly. Same goes for Windows, sometimes updates break things. But usually it's less major as the platform is more consistent and the core features are all developed internally at Microsoft.

 

[mdmd]

Whatever statistics present themselves can make a point.
A view is not definitive unless proven.

Sure, Linux is free, works great on servers, education, enterprise, supercomputers and as a desktop OS.
But for home use, it is fringe.

I will state that the UNIX kernel is time tested, reliable, safe, and has much value.

For myself, like others that dislike the metro UI, tiles and metro apps, I have a personal dislike of the Linux GUI, that's it. I don't care for the icons, how the GUI works, the menuing system, and the free applications.

Everyone else can state how they love that file system and everything else about free stuff, but my view is that I don't feel the need or have a need to run it. It's useful to run VM's for many. I don't need them. Some like to keep 4 or more systems up as their primary or in VM's. That's fine.

I simply can do everything I need with one OS. I expect many will not even read this.

Ok, it boots fast, is reliable, has thousands of free software packages, is easy to use, but what are the facts?

Usage share of operating systems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia










I thought this was a little like fractal version forensics.
Kind of confusing when comparing XP, Vista, 7, and 8 to this.

GNU/Linux Distribution Timeline

Of course statistics will be criticized, and views will tilt toward those that prefer something else.
______________________________________________________________

I would like to end with Microsoft as a Subscription vs single licensing.

Subscriptions will be offered at some point, but only for those inclined to find them as useful. I could see government, enterprise and education as 3 areas that might find subscriptions useful when they need to populate thousands of systems.

The end user that seeks a single license is not likely to be forced into anything related to subscriptions.
The bottom line rules.

Let's say you have a multi device household, 4 pc's, 2 laptops, 1 tablet, a Windows Phone...
some arrangement that makes life easier might work.

 

[Wynona]

This thread started out as "Microsoft as a Subscription" but seems to have become a comparison between Windows and Linux. So, I think I'll just unsubscribe.

 

[lehnerus2000]

And at last, i never saw a windows update to break anything.

There was one update back a few years ago, not sure which version of Windows it affected, but it prevented people from being able to boot their computers entirely.

Check out the forum topics here and on SevenForums.

Here's one for W8 from a few days ago:
http://www.eightforums.com/windows-...-botched-windows-8-1-update-kb-2919355-a.html

Also, the W8.1 update screwed up an unknown number bunch of people's machines last year.

There were several last year for W7 (I'm not sure if they affected other versions of Windows).

 

[mdmd]

This thread started out as "Microsoft as a Subscription" but seems to have become a comparison between Windows and Linux. So, I think I'll just unsubscribe.

It still is. One thing I like about the user CP is that we can unsubscribe. My inbox would be loaded with replies.
...like to keep my inbox small or empty. ... So I always unsubscribe following a post.

For Microsoft as a subscription, the comparison to Linux from my view was to suggest that there is a similarity of need to keep up to date and that subscriptions would be targeted to enterprise models, education, and government and not single license holders.

 

[pparks1]

I simply can do everything I need with one OS. I expect many will not even read this.

If it makes you happy, I read that part.

Whatever works for you is what matters.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

The Linux posts arose basically because people were looking for ALTERNATIVES in case Windows decided to become subscription and many of us whether rightly or wrongly who don't like the idea of that model were possibly wondering if it came to it could we do without Windows or a very large part of it.

One must remember many of the developments in Windows came from people trying stuff out in Linux (fortunately not Metro - unless you regard Android as an "Official Linux Distro").

As for hating Linux Icons and GUI - shows to me that the poster who mentioned that hasn't a clue - you can run Linux TOTALLY text based if you want - I have a server running where I don't even have a terminal or keyboard connected and it's been running for MONTHS without any re-boots etc. It's also running a version of SUSE that's AT LEAST 3 - 4 years old - but as this box is basically just a junk of old metal with a shedload of HDD's on it the OS is just fine and doesn't need updating until I decide that the whole box is on a one way trip to the TIP. !!

You can use ANY GUI you like (even design a new one yourself if you want to) OR NONE - and ICONS you can also design. With Windows you are essentially stuck with the base model which is advantageous in some situations but not in others as the ongoing "Bring back the Menu" campaign shows - and Windows updates haven't always been painless -- don't most of the people on this Very Forum even advocate where possible install again FROM SCRATCH - I.E do a clean install. In fact these very boards are full of rumblings over the fact that non TechNet / msdn subscribers can't get hold (as yet) of the W8.1 update 1 ISO's.

This debate will rumble on for as long as there are computers on this planet -- all I say is don't decry open source -- even on Windows how many of you use things like Calibre, Handbrake, Mp3tag and a load of other FREE non proprietary stuff to say nothing of free versions of robust commercial products -- VMWARE VPLAYER, Oracle's VIRTUAL BOX, MySQL (or equivalent DB's) LibreOFFICE, Free Macrium etc etc. Without these I'm sure we'd all be worse off and Linux offers a way for people to develop a lot of useful packages in their own time away from the often harsh environments of a development I.T team in a commercial organisation.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[mdmd]

As for hating Linux Icons and GUI - shows to me that the poster who mentioned that hasn't a clue -
you can run Linux TOTALLY text based if you want ...

Never said that, I said dislike. And be nice now, you don't know me, so why go personal? ...
How do you know I don't have a clue?
Do you know my history of using Linux? Do you know for how many years I have used it?
Are you aware of how many distros I have used?

I have been there, done that.
Let's be friends here. My level of experience might surprise you.

I used it for years in College. And am simply done with it. Don't need it. I care not for the file system.
I am not alone here. Why should I support what I dislike?
It is clear so many dislike 8 and have expressed their views.

As for GUI design, that is where Windows shines as far as I am concerned. NOT talking about free stuff.
There are so many customization tools that are very nice and I appreciate them.

As for choosing GUI's, I have experimented with other shells for Windows as well as other Linux GUI's.
The Linux system itself has some nice features, Am I not entitled to not need them?
Time moves on, some of us are satisfied with one operating system.

It is easy to blurt out a personal uncontested remark. I wish to keep the conversation friendly and professional.
My goal is to address the topic at hand.

As far as a Microsoft as a Subscription goes, popularity vs usability vs cost vs preference cannot be ignored.
Take Care!

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

No offence intended -- sometimes things seem different when written to when actually said. From the post it "appeared" that you didn't like Linux GUI's - so I was merely saying you didn't have to use a GUI at all or it was possible if you wanted to design your own. The post appeared to imply (wrongly) that you hadn't tried the various possibilies.

We all make errors. !!

Cheers
jimbo

 

[The Nude Dude]

no way cause i can just see them pulling what apple did in the past. scan your system and remove apps they don't approve of.

 

[CountMike]

And to willingly let another SPY in my home ?????

 

[JohnBurns]

I'm afraid if I had a subscription, I would cancel it after an incident of ineptness by MS like the 8.1 Update fiasco - then be sorry later and have to give in to them. It's a losing situation for me. The way it is, I don't have to take any action - just handsome frog now and then.

 

[DustSailor]

1. You could lease a car... pay to drive it and when the lease is over, 'upgrade' and lease a newer model.

2. Or you could buy a car and own it, pay once (one price once, or one price over a period of time), and keep it for a long time without having to pay anymore than the original amount.

Conclusion: Newer may be better, and cheaper at first, but you have to constantly keep paying to use it. The second option has it where you can have the thing until it breaks, but it may cost more initially.

I for one prefer owning things, to paying for a service. The next guy might prefer the newest and greatest, and desire instead to subscribe for the content. So it all depends upon what you value more. I voted 'No'.

 

[Coke Robot]

There is a leaked screenshot of some internal list of current projects and a listing of Windows 365 was shown to be in alpha stage.

Let's all shut up and take an actual logical approach to this before raising a pitchfork whilst sitting in your rocking chairs about how you should own the things you buy.

Office 365 started initially as being more purely for businesses and enterprise who already use Office. At the time, licensing costs were extraordinary for each single PC, hence meaning long term plans of upgrading, for example 2003 to 2010, or 2007 to whenever the next version will be. Basically, newer versions sometimes get glossed over unless if features are worth the while, like in Excel 2013.

This is the crux of the issue Microsoft has had for quite some time. Enterprises don't upgrade systems on any frequent basis. It's more or less along the lines of "if it works, don't fix it." This means using a platform well after it should have ceases to exists, hence the 30+ percent marketshare a 13 year old operating system has. That is a problem not only for Microsoft in both expenses and effort, but a problem for enterprises as those out dated platforms can and usually have serious flaws that can affect security and obviously performance. So how does one solve this? The obvious answer isn't the current method of paying upwards of thousands to millions of dollars every eight or so years to upgrade and nothing in between.

The answer is what Office 365 did, introduce a lower cost subscription model that allows for multiples copies of that one license on a yearly annual basis that also includes continual support and allows the end user to upgrade versions without a new license. So instead of paying millions for a large enterprise to upgrade only once in maybe a decade (not a good idea to do these days), they can instead pay actually less over that decade for maybe three releases of Windows.

Every major organization and government over the past year has sung praises of Office 365 and how it actually decreases long term costs because they get new versions of Office, multiple seats of it, decreased IT costs in figuring out how to implement googly docs and less frustration of the end user trying to deal with google docs. Windows 365 is an actual good answer to the problem because it lowers the argument that Linux distros should be used for the lack of cost, but as anyone here should know, when you have a Microsoft bred enterprise from SharePoint to Outlook servers to Windows Servers and Windows clients, a switch to Linux and open source means a crapton of headaches in the implementation, crapton of gripes with end users trying to figure a TOTALLY different beast out, let alone the continual issues both software and hardware can arise.

I say, in that sense, yes I support subscription based Windows for enterprise for sure.

As for the consumer side, that's yet to be known. Microsoft didn't push for Office 365 until it became more popular, so we'll see what will happen. I doubt they will push for Windows 365 as it doesn't have a ton of benefits for common consumers other than multiple seats of Windows...

 

[Rickkins]

Let's all shut up and take an actual logical approach to this before raising a pitchfork whilst sitting in your rocking chairs about how you should own the things you buy.

I'm sorry, but no opinions will be suppressed today.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Let's all shut up and take an actual logical approach to this before raising a pitchfork whilst sitting in your rocking chairs about how you should own the things you buy.

I'm sorry, but no opinions will be suppressed today.

Not even your opinion of an opinion?

 

[Kari]

There is a leaked screenshot of some internal list of current projects and a listing of Windows 365 was shown to be in alpha stage.

Let's all shut up and take an actual logical approach to this before raising a pitchfork whilst sitting in your rocking chairs about how you should own the things you buy.

Office 365 started initially as being more purely for businesses and enterprise who already use Office. At the time, licensing costs were extraordinary for each single PC, hence meaning long term plans of upgrading, for example 2003 to 2010, or 2007 to whenever the next version will be. Basically, newer versions sometimes get glossed over unless if features are worth the while, like in Excel 2013.

...
...

I would have given some rep for this post but as repping in News is not possible, I just thank you here. Well said.

Kari

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

I think Coke Robot has missed the point here.

It doesn't matter if the service exists now or not. The point of these posts is to guage opinion as to whether the market would be receptive to introducing this type of service or not. Just a variation on the old Marketing theme --test an idea and see whether people can be bought round or whether it just won't fly.

One thing though is 100% certain -- this type of service would only be bought in if Ms thought it would be a money spinner - otherwise why would they even bother thinking about it.

The other problem though I have with subscription services is that you are often locked in to a vendor and when the initial "Sucker them in" sweet deals finish you could end up paying more than you bargained for. It's the same with Mobile phones, "Special" Bank current accounts, Broadband services etc.

The deals invariably contain a lot of stuff you DON'T want or need -- for instance instead of paying say 50 EUR a month for unlimited texts (which I never use anyway), 2 Petabytes of data download (who uses mobile phones for mega data downloads !!) or 15,000 hours of talk time (if you spend that much time on a phone there's something seriously wrong with you) why can't I have a more reasonable deal say 25EUR a month for say 600 mins free talk time, no free texts and say 1GB data download. Those sort of plans just don't exist -- I could take a pay as you go Sim but these have an annoying habit of running out at the most inconvenient times although for casual users they are cheaper.

Like all these things be very careful in what you wish for.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[CountMike]

Another problem with subscription type is that they are forgetting that at least half of places in the world are not set up for easy payments over internet. I for instance, would have to do a lot (with cost going with it) to get international credit card (which here costs a lot to maintain) suffer thru money exchange (there's few percent loss in that) than notify bank about transfer so they release exact amount and that they charge for too. With all that I may end up paying twice what a person in US would and there's no way I could afford that even if I wanted to.