Coming down the pipeline - Windows365

[Markverhyden]

This has been bandied about for several years. The concept of "everything", aka OS and apps, using a subscription model. I got an email from TechRepublic about a MS Mini PC based on W365. Not being officially launched until next year. Supposedly around April.

Microsoft Reveals Mini PC for Easy Access to Windows 365

Windows 365 Link, set to launch in select regions in early April, can connect to various peripherals either wirelessly or via cable.

www.techrepublic.com

Windows 365 Link: Cloud PC Device, Simple and Secure

Discover Windows 365 Link: The Cloud PC device for secure, instant access to your Windows 365 environment, connecting you in seconds for seamless productivity.

www.microsoft.com

 

[britechguy]

If they limit Windows 365 to only Microsoft Store (or whatever it may be called at introduction) apps I suspect this will be Windows Mobile all over again. And we all know how that ended.

 

[phaZed]

Dead on arrival.. except for those who have no idea what they just bought.
Medium and large business may like it, but it doesn't look like a good deal even when looking at the dollar proposition, IMO.

 

[britechguy]

Dead on arrival..

Well, rest assured, you're not alone in your assessment. Only time will tell, but I'd be willing to bet significant amounts of money on its ultimate failure.

 

[NviGate Systems]

The one thing MS just can't do. Not in the genes.

 

[britechguy]

The one thing MS just can't do.

1. The *one* thing?!! The Microsoft Graveyard is second only to the Google Graveyard, in my personal estimation. I haven't done an detailed analysis.

2. What "one thing"? The antecedent is really not clear.

 

[Metanis]

I like the idea of subscription-based Windows because it will surely drive people toward Linux. Although it will also drive them away from PCs too.

 

[britechguy]

I like the idea of subscription-based Windows because it will surely drive people toward Linux.

I could probably count on less than 2 hands the number of Linux converts that came from subscription-based software (of any type).

Believe it or not, I really like Linux and it has improved (or at least a very great many distros have) over the decades. But the window for any mass movement to Linux by the end user community is long, long, long, long over. To believe otherwise is the living embodiment of the literary reference, "Tilting at windmills." Linux has found its niche, and it's a critical one, in data centers the world over. The desktop, nope. Not gonna happen.

 

[timeshifter]

This sounds like the network computer they were talking about in the early 2000s. Or, an RDP server from recent years. I don't get it. You pay $349 for the box and you still need monitors, etc. Seems about the same price as a desktop PC (close). Why not just buy a real computer? And performance is dictated by your Internet speed, assuming you're Internet is up.

THEN, you need to pay $30 to $100 per month per computer. Maybe this is a thing for larger organizations where they want to be able to manage it all. Maybe it's an answer to the MSP model.

I don't get it.

 

[Metanis]

Not gonna happen.

I'm only saying that if Microsoft forces home users onto a subscription model then some of those people are going to finally entertain alternatives. Obviously, businesses have little choice and many of them are already on a subscription basis

Most people like to coast and once they have their licensed copy of Windows they resist all change. Inertia is a powerful thing. (Look at the people who tried to stay on Windows 7 and now the people trying to retain Windows 10!)

However, a subscription fee will cause some of these people to abandon computers entirely in favor of their phones or tablets. Some serious percentage will just pay the fee since they are already paying for a 365 subscription for Office apps. And some will switch to the Apple ecosystem.

But maybe 5% - 10% will just abandon Windows and try their luck with Linux. And perhaps that would be enough to get better support for Linux on the desktop. Even 5% of a billion users is a helluva potential marketplace.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I wonder if this is an attempt to have machines that are powerful but able to be locked down with reduced costs. Because many companies spend insane money on thin clients for what for most people would be crap specs but have some sort of simplicity and configuration ability.

I've often been shocked to see the sticker prices for Celeron or AMD based thin clients. Perhaps this is some sort of "any machine can be a thin client" with some sort of minimum requirements to line up with management expectations.

Otherwise it doesn't make much sense. This is Windows RT all over again.

 

[Markverhyden]

I' d guess their use case is larger organizations where users don't have high demands on machine specs. Just email, web, docs, database entry etc, etc. After all they really need to have Entra & Co to properly manage them.