Microsoft might want to be making Windows 12 a subscription OS, suggests leak

I doubt they’ll remove offline desktop Windows, they’ll just make it useless in comparison. Linux doesn’t know what it’s in for. I hope they renovate their forums to accommodate everyone

Possibly adding integrated subscriptions like Office, Chat. Clipchamp and the like to the OS or for Enterprise/Business
If they make the OS a subscription model for the Home user then it's the death knell for Winders methinks and as @antspants says

antspants said:

Linux doesn’t know what it’s in for

Click to expand...

Shutting out Windows 10 users with incompatible older hardware could also make Linux very popular. It's much more secure to use a supported Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 or UEFI than having to limp on with out-of-support Windows 10.

Microsoft seems to be losing its way. It's getting all corporate and home users can go hang.

It's Millennials I tell ya... Millennials. MS is destroying itself by hiring Millennials.

I'm wondering how many people here would pay for subscription windows or go to one of the Linux distros. Maybe we need a poll.
I know next to nothing about Linux but I've been playing around with Mint Cinnamon on an old machine and I think I could live with it without any problem whatsoever.

glasskuter said:

I'm wondering how many people here would pay for subscription windows

Click to expand...

Not this happy camper.

I already fell for that subscription BS once in my life. "Cable TV". Never again.
Once the "people" accept that it's a subscription service... MS can then do whatever they want.

MS: We don't think you should be playing 3rd party games on Windows.
World: But... but...
MS: In fact, we don't think you should be using any software but ours.
World: But... but...
MS: You complained, you laughed, now you'll get what you deserve!

Fabler2 said:

Possibly adding integrated subscriptions like Office, Chat. Clipchamp and the like to the OS or for Enterprise/Business
If they make the OS a subscription model for the Home user then it's the death knell for Winders methinks and as @antspants says

Click to expand...

It’s incredible (if at all true) that some executive hasn’t said “But why do you want to shut users out?”
Maybe someone did? I suppose we should check the employee’s list and see who’s been fired in the last 12 months.

Since windows eight, windows has been basically free if you’d been continuing on with the OS’s 8.1, 10, 11. It’s looking to go full circle if this is true. Microsoft is obviously being bashed by the shareholders.
Plus, it’s all data collection related, in my humble opinion; Privacy laws (digital acts) differ when something moves online to the cloud. Data access much easier. In Australia, the privacy act of 1998 is pretty tight with any company earning over 3 million dollars and operating in Australia. But it’s all in the small print and the TOS. There are ways, many ways around laws against being able to access a persons data, legally. It’s like anything, there are ways. Take for example — In Australia, it’s very hard, complicated, to terminate a persons position/employment… unless of course you terminate their job title. Once removed, a company can simply rename the title and employ someone else. My point is, policies aren’t written very well. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta etc they’re all in the business of profiling us and collecting our data, and there will always be a way to do so.
This would be just one more way.

glasskuter said:

I'm wondering how many people here would pay for subscription windows or go to one of the Linux distros. Maybe we need a poll.
I know next to nothing about Linux but I've been playing around with Mint Cinnamon on an old machine and I think I could live with it without any problem whatsoever.

Click to expand...

Any stable linux distro with a proper desktop GUI is probably good enough for most people to get to grips with and pretty well any software that runs on windows usually has a reasonable or often a better version than on Windows and is FREE. In fact one could argue that Linux Mint is more "Windows" than Windows itself. Remember as well Linux is Multi-user which allows for a lot more things to be done.

Things though that currently don't have anywhere near the same functionality are a decent Office suite --EXCEL in particular. and Photoshop. The other clones are OK-ish but still nothing like "The original" - and THE GIMP is improving by leaps and bounds.

For Web building etc the apache web server is simple (equiv to windows ITS in functionality providing HTTP/HTTPS connectivity, file sharing via SAMBA, multi-media players and servers etc all run perfectly. Where one might become unstuck is in using leading edge hardware since much of Linux is open source and as people devote their free time (unpaid too) it may take longer if specific hardware drivers need to be developed.

With a proper HYPERVISOR built in for running Virtual machines (KVM-QEMU) you can still run older versions for years.

Here's an XP VM running under KVM-QEMU on Arch-Linux Complete with sound (set sound as AC 97 in the VM config) and can share and see even large modern disks. I also have zero problems running modern W11 insider builds on VM's even if the actual native Host hardware doesn't support them. I'm using the base KDE desktop with xorg and wayland .



even running this VM on a very old PROLIANT HP Gen 8 Microserver i'm using as a NAS. Memory utilisation is almost nothing for the VM. I'm replacing these soon (I've 2 of them) - I can run W11 as a VM (EFI and sec boot) even though this machine is MBR Bios.



I certainly won't go for any Windows subscription model.

Added

--another nice app is phpmyadmin where it's easy to control and do all sorts of things to MySQL / MARIA SQL type DB's remote or local just by using a Web browser - in my case Firefox (but EDGE will run on Linux now if that's your thing).




@antspants Don't be so cynical -- that's an ICELANDIC monopoly -- but I do agree Australia, UK, USA etc doesn't have a monopoly of bad, useless or even corrupt politicians. We just ignore them and get on with it. If the N.Koreans yell and scream at the U.N or the World Bank tries to put it's finger in the pot in economic policies - we just usually give the 2 fingured churchillian salute. Hasn't served the country bad so far -- from being bankrupt in the Financial crisis - and NOT saving banks - even jailing a couple of the CEO's - the country has recovered and repaid all those disastrous loans. Just think yourseleves lucky you aren't living in the latest emerging "People's republic" just across the water from you.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

@antspants Don't be so cynical -- that's an ICELANDIC monopoly

Click to expand...

In Australia, the people kick butt when something over the top is attempted to get implemented, but the little things get through. Blindly we let them until those little things make up the original big thing that we the people were up in arms about.
In 1985, our then Prime Minister Bob “no child would live in poverty by 1990” Hawk (he actually said that) wanted to introduce what he called “The Australia Card” one card that did everything. From memory it incorporated banking, passport, ID, drivers licence, social security. Australia said no way, got really mad and actually stopped it. Then the Govt started introducing the little things. Today, basically everything is overseen by the ATO (Australian Taxation Office)—As a side note, the Autralian Tax Office has more pull than any other organisation in Australia. They can raid your home, arrest you, take everything you own, without so much as an explanation at the time. I literally watched it happen to a friend that had been claiming stupid stuff on his tax for 20 years. They had guns lol
So yes… I forgot what I was getting to

glasskuter said:

I know next to nothing about Linux but I've been playing around with Mint Cinnamon on an old machine and I think I could live with it without any problem whatsoever.

Click to expand...

I have a Notebook and a Desktop with Linux Mint 21, have been using it since version 13. It has a couple things I find handy, mainly in working with drives in a drive dock. It works good with cross-platform programs like LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and VLC which also are free.

This might be an issue for some, but I only use my desktop PC for surfing the web, so I'm guessing Linux would fine work for me. I use my iPad or iPhone for for everything else. I still have an old version of Linux on a drive, just wanted to play around with it many years ago, seemed pretty simple, even for an old dude. I personally don't think MS would shoot themselves in the foot, especially since there are alternatives, but you never know, I have seen dumber moves made in the corporate world in the past.

RD Mercer said:

I still have an old version of Linux on a drive, just wanted to play around with it, many years ago

Click to expand...

For playing different distros of Linux I download the .iso file, use it to burn a Bootable DVD-R or DVD+R, works pretty much the same as if actually installed. Some have an Image Writer program to create a Bootable USB Thumb drive using that downloaded .iso as the Source.

I read somewhere that they thought Windows 12 might be offered as a free update to Windows 11, but if you want a new copy, that would come with a price tag. Also, that the CorePC thing is a beginnig towards a more modular OS and thus one less likely to take a major hit that affects the whole system, from a security standpoint.

glasskuter said:

I'm wondering how many people here would pay for subscription windows or go to one of the Linux distros.

Click to expand...

A lot will ride on whether they consider themselves gamers.

mackie said:

I read somewhere that they thought Windows 12 might be offered as a free update to Windows 11

Click to expand...

That was done with my new Notebook Oct. '21 and Desktop Apr. '22 that came with Win10, after setup got the free Upgrade to Win11.

Berton said:

For playing different distros of Linux I download the .iso file, use it to burn a Bootable DVD-R or DVD+R, works pretty much the same as if actually installed. Some have an Image Writer program to create a Bootable USB Thumb drive using that downloaded .iso as the Source.

Click to expand...

Thank you, great idea!

RD Mercer said:

Thank you, great idea!

Click to expand...

Forgot the link I use: www.distrowatch.com

@Bree

@Berton
and countless others on this thread. !!!

Gamers are still one area where Linux has problems -- however that might change if there's a big move by consumers to the platform.

With Gen-Z and Millenium's I don't have a clue half the time on what they are talking about. And in the UK currently if I want a nice old fashioned " Gammon sandwich" (Nice Danish or other Bacon in the original meaning) I'd get arrested as being racist if I even suggested places where you could by genuine Gammon -- especially if it were EU sourced.

C'mon guys get back to REAL sensible stuff and EVERYBODY (who matters ) is a winner. And even though I use Linux as my daily OS I do use Windows -- but if anybody wants any help on using Linux "I can do it " !!!

I'm quite prepared to put out a decent tutorial -- although I wouldn't do it by YouTube - I still prefer old fashioned manuals
where you can make notes and pause to re-do earlier parts of the program.

And I'm not Anti Windows although I do have doubts in the direction it seems to be going in currently. Subscription or Windows/365 shouldn't be the model for private domestic users even if it makes sense for corporates,

Linux these days can offer 95% easily of what most Windows users actually use -- especially "Mom and Pop" domestic machines,

I'm not condemning Windows -- it's probably done more for I.T and the human race in general than anything else ever and from some of the applications it has brought more people out of poverty than any amount of U.N or other humanitarian organisations could even have thought of. (and don't forget the Gates foundation is one of the biggest humanitarian ortganisations on the planet -- while ask the same question to 5% of Banks and those Dinosaur managers condemning every day the idea of Remote working in any form -- even partial with a couple of days office based and the other WFH,

Anyway enough of my Politics tonight !¬!

Cheers
jimbo

I've been supporting Linux at work since 1999. To be honest, most of my regular friends have trouble even using their Windows based computers...i cannot even imagine trying to help them along on a linux journey.

I think if it came down to a subscription model for Windows, my average joe friends would just do their email and web surfing on their phones, tablets, etc. They would give up on laptops or desktops.