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WinXP is officially dead!
app103:
I actually think Win 8 will be the last (ok maybe second to last) "for sale" as opposed to "for lease" OS Microsoft will do.
The whole point of their cloud initiative is to gain a steady and predictable stream of revenue. That is what O365 is primarily about. Any benefits realized by the customer (and there are in fact several benefits) are purely incidental to that goal. And getting people to regularly upgrade to the newest version of Windows or Office just isn't going to happen - as the long life of XP has clearly shown.
Microsoft can't afford, nor can it allow that state of affairs to continue.
I strongly believe that Microsoft will (at the very least) require the purchase of a software maintenance agreement in order to get Windows and MS Office updates after the first year of ownership. I also think they'll soon allow you to subscribe to Windows much like you can with Office.
Sometime around (or shortly after) the release of Windows 9, the era of being able to "buy" a boxed version of a Microsoft OS (or probably any other MS software product) will come to a close.
(see attachment in previous post)
Brave new world folks! Brave new world...
-40hz (April 09, 2014, 09:01 PM)
--- End quote ---
Why does this sound familiar? Oh yeah. :(
TaoPhoenix:
I actually think Win 8 will be the last (ok maybe second to last) "for sale" as opposed to "for lease" OS Microsoft will do.
...
Sometime around (or shortly after) the release of Windows 9, the era of being able to "buy" a boxed version of a Microsoft OS (or probably any other MS software product) will come to a close.
(see attachment in previous post)
Brave new world folks! Brave new world...
-40hz (April 09, 2014, 09:01 PM)
--- End quote ---
Well, I'm hoping it's "shortly after" because I want one last good Win OS to ride into the sunset with and I'm banking hard that it's Win 9. With Steve Ballmer gone I'm really putting my hopes into that new CEO. He's got a big ship that won't turn corners fast, but I'm hoping he goes more towards the basics. And yes MS absolutely can allow another OS to sit on people's comps for 12 years. They just have to get very narrow metrics right.
40hz:
Why does this sound familiar? Oh yeah. :(
-app103 (April 09, 2014, 10:13 PM)
--- End quote ---
And also because it should by now be obvious what the larger strategies are for people like Microsoft and the government.
The massively empowering personal computing phenomena is too "disruptive" to the powers that be and those who would profit by serving them.
"So the time has come," the Walrus said, "to make it all go away."
After seeing the emergence of a technology that arguably had the single most profound effect on human society since the invention of gunpowder, there's a feeling in high places that it may be just a little too empowering to let it remain unchecked, or be left completely in the hands of the masses.
Hence regulated and heavily monitored "clouds" will replace the open internet; patents will continue to be used to stifle innovation and restrict future developmental efforts to approved and "trusted" business partners; and most importantly - the personal computer must be replaced by a locked-down computing "appliance" that gets it's software from a capriciously regulated company store.
And one way to accomplish that is to take away the ability to load your own software. Or posess your own copies. Both goals can readily be accomplished by simply taking hard media (like DVDs) out of the equation.
Adobe has already done that with their family of products. Microsoft is well on it's way to doing that for their entire ecosystem. And where the big devs go, the smaller will of necessity follow.
It won't stop the techno-hacker community from working to get around it. But it will be used to marginalize them. And if eventually made illegal, will also up the stakes drastically for those who continue to refuse to play the hand big business and Uncle Sam deals them.
It's the same old story. Those in power have no problem sharing power with those they hold it over. Unless those they empower decide to actually try and use some of it...
A computer is only as good as the software that runs on it. Without software a PC is just an inert box of electronic components. And the easiest way to regulate and control it is to restrict access to the software that runs on it. App stores and closed platforms are the first step in a larger transitional strategy. Moving everything up to the cloud is the next. Because once the capability to store your data locally is eliminated (or made illegal) you live inside a surveillance system that Big Brother himself would have envied.
Eventually the PC will go the way of the dodo unless this trend is reversed. Figure within 25 years or less at the rate things are moving.
Have a nice day! :P ;D
xtabber:
And one way to accomplish that is to take away the ability to load your own software. Or posess your own copies. Both goals can readily be accomplished by simply taking hard media (like DVDs) out of the equation.
Adobe has already done that with their family of products. Microsoft is well on it's way to doing that for their entire ecosystem. And where the big devs go, the smaller will of necessity follow.
-40hz (April 10, 2014, 05:57 AM)
--- End quote ---
WRT Adobe, that is only true for professional products like Photoshop, Indesign, etc... The people who use those depend on them for their livelihood, are not about to switch platforms unless they absolutely have to, and are mostly happy to pay big bucks for their software to be always up-to-date as a cost of doing business. Consumer products, and even professional products which face credible competition in the marketplace (eg., Photoshop Lightroom), follow the old paradigm and most likely will continue to do so. Some products remain free while attempting to entice users into paid additions and upgrades (Eg, Adobe Reader).
Outside of their Enterprise level software, Microsoft doesn't really have separate product lines for professional users and consumers, just different option levels of what is basically the same product. I'd guess they may split Windows and Office into substantially different standard and premium lines, with the latter requiring a subscription. They have already taken steps toward that by making Windows 8.1 free for devices with screens under 9" and including Office 2013 H&S for free with some Windows 8.1 non-professional editions, while requiring an Office 365 subscription for professional users. In other words, I expect them to require subscriptions where folks really have to use the product, and make it free or cheap where it's an optional purchase.
So if you have an option to switch, that leaves you in the driver's seat, but if you depend on either of these companies software (or Apple's or Google's, for that matter) to stay in business, they will insert a siphon into your wallet.
Edvard:
http://www.neowin.net/news/relive-your-xp-nostalgia-with-microsofts-escape-from-windows-xp-game
;D ;D
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