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Windows 12 May Require a Subscription (www.pcmag.com)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

636 comments fedilink hide all child comments

[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."

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Maybe this isn’t for personal editions.

I’d suspect Microsoft would prefer to move personal editions to being mostly perpetual and OEM licenses, while a subscription service for business/enterprise makes more sense. Windows licensing for business is a nightmare and a per-install subscription model could be much simpler to manage while still offering good breaks under Enterprise Agreements and putting license and support under one annual sku.

ETA: Also, worth remembering that “Windows 365” is a thing and it’s very useful for DaaS. Term-based licensing makes tons of sense for DaaS/Cloud Desktop/VDI environments.

And actually, that could make a lot of sense in a future home/personal market with purpose built thin clients. Or perhaps even a set top box. Maybe, even, the Series S. A small monthly/annual fee to to make your Series S into a full-fledged desktop PC, sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

"Error 200067 our login servers are currently busy. Please try doing business again in a few hours"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

That's IMHO the best scenario we can hope for, though it doesn't seem promising even to pessimists like me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

My updated edit has an even better scenario that I just conjured up. Essentially bringing Windows 365 (cloud desktop) to home thin clients, netbooks, or even STBs like the series S.

The Series S (and its descendants) would be a hell of a versatile system as a cloud desktop with official licensing and support from MS.