[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a “Subscription Edition,” “Subscription Type,” and a “subscription status.”
You must log in or register to comment.
I don’t believe for one bit that windows will move to a pure subscription based model. They are greedy, but not stupid.
What’s more believable is that the base OS will be the same as usual, but if you want fancy AI assistants in your OS, you must subscribe, with the justification being that MS must pay for the servers running the models you’re using.
They are greedy, but not stupid
The difference between greedy and stupid grows smaller every time the shareholders demand a profit. The only proof you need of that is tracking the OS development from win7 to win11.
The logic “We know you guys pay $120 for a license but here’s ads on your lockscreen” was called stupid 10 years ago.
Then, “We know you guys pay $120 for a license and deal with forced updates and lockscreen ads, but here’s a framework for ads in your file explorer” was called stupid a few years ago.
Now here we are listening to them say, “We know you guys pay for a license and deal with ads all over everything you’re doing with mandatory updates and setting reversion when we don’t like what you’re doing, but we’re also gonna charge you $10/month indefinitely” and saying to ourselves that they can’t be that stupid.
The reality is that there’s no reason to push a new version of windows that doesn’t make them more money. This is that.
What’s more believable is that the base OS will be the same as usual, but if you want fancy AI assistants in your OS, you must subscribe
So I can pay less and have less of their bullshit on my system? Sounds like a great deal
I agree, corpo world is already 100% in subscription mode and consumers buy windows through OEM. If you buy OEM laptop, how would you sell subscription windows with it? I see it as a no go, it would force OEM laptops to be sold with Linux.
If you sell updates through subscription, you would end up in 2000’s when malwares infected the whole internet with non-patched windows machines. This hurts your PR so poorly that I don’t think they are that stupid.
Of course they are thinking their ass off how they could convert consumers to subscription, but I don’t see way to do it.
My guess is that MS will figure out a different approach. Maybe the enterprise versions are behind a subscription while the consumer version stays the way it currently is. They could also take the Apple approach. Offer a little bit of something for free (like iCloud) and charge if you want more of it. There could also be specific features that are not available if you don’t pay (like Apple Music). MS could offer a certain part of consumer windows for free, and charge for some other part, like advanced settings.
Corporate are already in subscription mode, pretty much all companies have some sort of per user subscription with MS. E3/E5/F3 etc licenses include windows+m365+office+defender etc.
The article addresses literally all of your points. Installing windows would be free for oems so it’s actually good for them, and MS would probably offer a free tier with ads for end users who don’t want to pay.
To me that’s completely believable and sounds exactly like something MS would do.
Probably AD free+AI features are behind subscription, and in sense I would be Ok with it.
…which would be valid
It could be for their cloud based OS
Kind of funny to me how the role of operating system has evolved.
We’ve gone from “low level software to manage memory and hardware” to “bloatware that will let you use our hardware with your hardware”
Jokes on them, I don’t want their invasive AI crawling my system and reporting back to MS
Yeah, the average consumer doesn’t buy Windows. They buy a computer and it happens to come with Windows most of the time. Those consumers aren’t going to want to pay for a subscription. Especially when you look at the prices of the kinds of computers that most people are buying. They’re budget machines. No way a subscription would go over well. And why would OEMs want to deal with the fallout of people not buying their computers because of subscriptions?
Microsoft is most definitely stupid. I mean, look at the mess that is Windows 10. That OS is just plain stupid.
Can anyone confirm that my understanding of the source article is correct?
The “Windows 12 may require a subscription” is coming from the fact that the word “Subscription” exists in a Windows config file somewhere?
That seems like a pretty big leap to me. Not that I don’t think it’s impossible that Microsoft would do this, but the evidence here seems thin to say the least.
Yep!
Also lemmy is full of open-source Linux nerds who will upvote anything that bashes on Microsoft (oh excuse me Micro$oft for the old heads).
Guilty as charged
Of course it is. Open source nerds created lemmy and operate the instances. They are the primary audience that would care to abandon reddit over the API change and now the privacy policy change.
This is like going to a gun club and campaigning for better gun control. You might find a couple supporters but for the most part you’ll just be pissing everyone off.
I see more comments like this than comments of these boogeyman you guys speak of. You guys are doing your own little circlejerk, thinking you’re cool and smart.
…what? The fact that this post is at the top of my feed is proof enough. They’re absolutely right, it’s purely speculation with very little evidence that has been upvoted to shit.
Also, “Lemmy is full of open-source Linux nerds” is NOT a controversial statement. I am an open-source Linux nerd. YOU are an open-source Linux nerd, looking at your comments. This place is absolutely riddled with nerds, look around my dude.
You think everyone who upvotes or participates in the bashing of Microsoft is a “open-source Linux nerd”? You think people who use Windows love Windows and love their business practices and don’t have a history of being shafted?
Just unbelievable with you people.
You mean this whole thread doesn’t exist inside your mind?
Everyone here is an “open-source Linux nerd” because they hate Windows. The only people who hate Windows are "open-source Linux nerds.” You are very smart.
It looks like they will add a subscription edition, doesn’t necessarily mean current editions will go away. If they don’t offer free upgrade again, for a lot of people they will need to decide to either buy a full license or roll a subscription.
There is not a lot known here tho, will Windows be part of the existing 365 subscription? Will OEMs offer a full license any more? Or will it be a trial before adding a sub or license.
No one knows
Hey, guys. I found the word “subscription” in Steam’s terms of use.
I guess sometime soon, GabeN is gonna start charging $5 a month for people to access their gaming libraries.
They already have their staple programs subscription based, why not windows too? People must be paying.
It’s more likely to be some sort of license for companies than anything else. I’d be impressed if they actually think the average windows user would pay for it.
Microsoft has been moving more and more of their products to a subscription service. Doing it with Windows itself has been theorized for a while now.
deleted by creator
I think the most likely outcome is that this is somehow integrating an o365 or m365 style subscription into windows, carving out “pro” features into the subscription. Either power-user features, or org management features like Ad-joining and management. Maybe subscription versions of Windows that only work with m365 managed accounts, and don’t actually support local accounts.
It could replace professional edition, maybe it will be an alternative product SKU, but that seems like the most Microsoft thing that those config strings could mean.
Remember when Microsoft said that Windows 10 would be the last edition?
In effect, it will be for some people fed up with all this bullshit.
As someone who switched to Linux primarily because of Windows 11’s never ending BS (bugs, resource mismanagement, etc) and the inevitably end of Windows 10, I can confirm that Windows 10 will be my last.
I’d say the most extreme bullshit began with Windows 10. At least the threat of “upgrading” to it was the final push to Linux for me.
It was for me. 11 was the reason why I switched to Linux.
tbf, it was Jerry Nixon who said that, a developer evangelist for microsoft, not the company itself. the media just ran with it.
I have used Windows for a decade now and keep using it because my workflows and the application support are there. But as someone that uses Linux on my server, has tried out Linux desktops, and uses WSL, I can confidently say that I am gone if they start charging me a subscription. It will be annoying as hell but just like leaving Reddit I am willing to give up some niceties to keep my money and my morals.
The rise of Linux is upon us
So the year of the Linux desktop is finally happening
“We’ll shut down your computer after this quick message from our sponsor!”
I knew sooner or later they’d push me to Linux, but that’d do it alright
With this subscription, the year of the Linux desktop will finally be here.
It is for me.
Except redhat, they already do subscriptions lol
deleted by creator
For a lot of people, yeah. But everyone assumed that the year of FOSS media software would come with Adobe Creative Cloud, but most people just grumbled and paid it anyway.
Most people would probably end up paying the subscription rather than relearning everything they already know. It may have long term impacts, but, like… I don’t think this would make the average person switch to Linux. If any migration happens I’d expect more people to switch to Macs than Linux over time because that’s more of a mainstream option.
That said there’s lots of interesting stuff going on in the Linux world right now, and it’s slowly but surely becoming a more interesting option for a lot of people. Valve’s work on Proton / Linux in general is pretty huge. I still think you’d need a huge marketing push to convince the average person (which people on Lemmy are not) to install Linux themselves, or prefer buying a laptop with Linux pre-installed, though. It could happen eventually, and has happened in special cases (like the Steam Deck)… But short term I think most people are just going to pay a yearly subscription rather than upend their entire computing life.
Yep. I’m even a FOSS fanboy and the most I can manage is dual-booting, since I need some Windows-only applications for work.
At least for now. A monthly OS subscription would be reason enough to switch.
Yeah, I use Linux full time and have always used unixy operating systems and have never really used windows. So, like, sure, I think a lot of people could switch to Linux and be perfectly happy… but I’m under no delusions that people will and wouldn’t just pay a little more for a windows license instead. There’s probably a good chunk of people (particularly here) who would be more on the edge and willing to just drop the windows in this situation… but I doubt the average computer user is dying to try Gentoo in the event that Microsoft charges a subscription fee, haha.
Mac would absolutely be the big winner in such a case.
Although that said… Microsoft is trying to take some market share back from ChromeOS and iPadOS in the education world, and I can’t imagine schools devoting any budget to Windows rentals.
Depends how Microsoft handles education licenses. I think historically they’ve been pretty good about giving university students licenses for free, and if they consider the education sector important enough (which they probably should) I am certain they could provide generous terms. If the schools don’t have to pay for the licenses I’m not sure they would bother switching off of windows at least. It will be interesting to see how the ChromeOS dominance in education plays out in the future, though!
True. K12 would probably get a really good deal.
This might finally provide the momentum to switch to Linux.
My hate for subscriptions > my laziness.
I will either go Linux or Windows 95.
Linux or Windows ME
As much as I dislike Linux because of its extremely annoying user baser I might even consider switching then
deleted by creator
Annoying OS that constantly gets in your way anytime you try to do work
IS WAY WORSE THAN
Annoying users I electively interact with occasionally on social media.
Good thing I’ve been learning to use linux for the past couple of years, if they double down on this I’ll switch permanently, just got to find a distro I like because I haven’t been able to find anything that just “works” without eventually having to open the terminal for one reason or another.
I actually rather like win 10. Win 11 I’m holding off on until they fix the taskbar.
If they go subscription, I go Ubuntu.
Sometimes moneygrubbing shareholders do us a favor by steering companies into implementing terrible policies. If Reddit wouldn’t have been so greedy with it’s treatment of third-party app developers most of use wouldn’t be on Lemmy right now. If Microsoft forces Windows users to pay a subscription I think it sends more people away from closed-source garbage and into the arms of the open source community. I’ve enjoyed watching Reddit implode, hopefully I get to watch a similar show from our friends at Microsoft.
I’m already using Linux alot, and Windows 10 sometimes. I would drop Windows entirely if it were subscription model.
