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Windows 10 the Last Version of Windows? Not So Fast.
A multitude of tech sites are breathlessly reporting that Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows. These claims are based on a brief comment from developer evangelist Jerry Nixon while speaking a Microsoft Ignite session on "Tiles, Notifications, and Action Center." However, as Paul Thurrott points out, you probably shouldn't take this news too seriously. Windows development has been changing for the past several years. At the very least, we've known since we learned Windows 8 would be developed for multiple form factors. We've known it specifically about Windows 10 since it was announced — Microsoft has talked about transitioning away from giant, monolithic updates. Thurrott says,
The reason anyone is talking like this is that Microsoft is pushing a "Windows as a service" vision, which doesn't mean "subscription service" but rather that it plans to upgrade Windows 10 going forward with both functional and security updates, plus of course bug fixes. You know, just like it's done with every single version of Windows. Ever. ... In other words, nothing to see here. Beyond the usual: things change. If it makes sense to keep updating Windows 10 and not change the brand or version number, Microsoft will do that. If it makes sense to release something called Windows 10 R2, Windows 11, or Windows Yoghurt — seriously, who cares? — then they'll do that.
It's not about how it's labeled, it's about the level of difficulty getting from one to the next.
They'll just do what Apple did, like Windows 10.4 Tiger, Windows 10.5 Leopard, Windows 10.6 Snow Leopard, etc.
Responsible software should have a released branch that has only bug fixes, and then other versions for new features. Otherwise, how the fark can one use your software for certified products? How can someone do a risk analysis on something as a platform, when it might change daily? Feature changes should not be casually thrown in. Yes, mozilla stupidly did this - but most software does not, and should not. Fortunately in the case of Firefox, it's not used as a /platform/, it's used as a client, so as long as the previous features still work the same it's not as big of a deal. Something as core as the OS itself though? Do you really want device manufacturers to stop using your product? Yes we get it - hire the cheapest (h1b) workers you can, and reduce down to having a single branch - since what made you a massive company seems to not be something you want to do anymore, and you'd prefer to act like a tiny hole in the wall shop.
It turns out that the talks about ditching Patch Tuesday were just some speculation as well. It could live on.
If only they had started this from XP onwards, instead of that disaster Ballmer created.
Even Bill Gates hated it.
I hope gaming takes off on Steam, because the instant it does, bye-bye Windows. (at least as a main OS)
"Did Bigfoot and Nessie's lovechild (Nessfoot?) post nude selfies on Instagram?! Find out at 11!"
@11: "No, none of that happened. Just another Kardashian sighting. Still,...News!"
Who cares? The problem with all of this is Microsoft seems to be saying "we reserve the right to drastically change your computer as we see fit, and if it breaks that will be your problem".
And, I'm sorry, but both for the computers I maintain at work, and my personal machine ... they're not the property of Microsoft. They're used for stuff that we need to maintain, and we'll decide what version we run and when/how we upgrade the system.
If Microsoft thinks they're going to do anything but piss of the world by suddenly deploying mandatory updates of what their vision of the future is, or by dropping functionality, or deciding we should all have new GUIS ... they can piss off.
Microsoft seems to be angling towards them being able to inform us what we're running, how it looks, and when that gets deployed.
And I'm sorry, Microsoft, but we neither trust your competence nor your motivations in this regard.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Windows 2: The Search for More Money. Whatever they decide to call it, that one will still be the most accurate.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Yogurt! Yogurt! I hate Yogurt! Even with Strawberries.
Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
Kull: She told me she was 19!
The new version will be called Appdows version App, because it runs apps that app appers app for apps!
Apps!
Version 8 and above are empty vessels for Microsoft's beyond-the-desktop ambitions.
Looks to me like they realized a few things:
1) Practically NOBODY upgraded Windows on their machines, they simply got a new computer that had the latest version of Windows on it when their old machine got too slow, died, or was no longer shiny enough.
2) Circa Vista and Windows 8 it became clear that people were actually going with older OS's on new machines rather than adopting MS's vision of how they should use their computer, and still never upgraded. MS was pretty powerless against this. Even their attempt to push touch by tying it to Windows 8 on laptops backfired and people would rather take Windows 7 on a laptop to avoid a touch based laptop with Windows 8 on it.
So MS is loosing almost no revenue by keeping you up to date, but they get to push whatever new "vision" they have on us at almost any time. So we can get Vista'ed, lose the Start menu, get tiled, Clippy'ed, or Ribbon'ed any time they decide to "improve" our lives.
Thats why you have a package manager and you can do pinning and dependency management.
This has been in the linux world for about 20 years. Take a look at the various rolling Linux distributions.
Not saying WIndows will do it like this but the problem has already been solved.
After all, Microsoft has been working on Windows for 30+ years. By now it must be as good as it gets. A "Perfect 10", so to speak. All problems fixed, all security issues resolved, time to move on to bigger and better things.
The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
I'm just plain yogurt.
Just like Final Fantasy was the last RPG ever made.
Does this mean that all newer versions of Windows are going to be free downloads from now on?
I charge forward recklessly, leaving chaos in my wake.
... Long live the version number. We saw it with Windows 95/98, XP and Vista, despite the names they still had nice conventional version numbers just like earlier versions. You just had to know where to look for them. MS may remove visible version numbers from Windows, but they'll still keep adding functionality and making backwards-incompatible changes which means software will still need some way of telling whether the system it's installed/running on supports the functionality it needs. Application developers being too lazy to write the large chunks of code needed to probe every single API they want to use and test for which specific variation is present, and the Windows team not having the time/resources let alone the inclination to go back and retrofit everything in Windows with individual version numbers or feature/variant flags, that means a version number that can be incremented to indicate the point at which a particular API or variation became available that app devs can easily test. And of course corporations are going to demand some way to make sure that the Windows 10 machines they buy in 2017 will run the Windows 10 image from 2016 and that the 2017 "written for Windows 10" software will actually run on machines using that image.
Responsible software should have a released branch that has only bug fixes, and then other versions for new features.
Isn't that exactly what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10? An LTS branch receiving security and critical bug fixes while limiting (or eliminating) feature upgrades. At least, in the enterprise space.
MS is known to break MS Windows every few years, then taking a few years to fix it. We See this with MS Windows 8, MS Vista, Windows ME, Windows 98. This is OK Because most commercial users stick with a version that works. Historical stochastics predict that MS Windows 10 will be a workable version, around 2017, but I expect to be on MS Windows 7 until then. My understanding is that MS Windows X is going to be a rolling upgrade. I interpret this to mean that when one uses the update service, new features will be included with bug fixes and the like. The will be no way to avoid a product like Vista and work will come to a halt. This is different from Mac OS X, where each version is a separate, if now free and almost forcible pushed on users. However, it is not hard to stay with the old version for the lifetime of a machine.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Android (well Google) and Apple both pissed off their customers by breaking all their software with every single frequent update. Windows is the only product that hasn't technically done that since the OSes are too few and far between. Maybe they should look at fragmentation and compatibility disasters at their competitors and NOT DO THE EXACT SAME THING!!!
A more accurate name would be "Windows Marketing Edition".
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Windows version numbering may go away. But, build numbering will always exist.
If it ever becomes paid, I will have no choice but to permanently switch to Linux... Or crack it. I am NOT paying a monthly fee just to use an OS.
Call me when they've implemented systemd.
MS is doing exactly that with Windows 10, there will be the slow release branch that will be mostly security fixes, with infrequent but pre-announced feature changes (kind of the service pack model but more modern), and the fast release branch which will be more disruptive but will do things like keep Edge more up to date with emerging standards.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Responsible software should have a released branch that has only bug fixes, and then other versions for new features. Otherwise, how the fark can one use your software for certified products? How can someone do a risk analysis on something as a platform, when it might change daily? Feature changes should not be casually thrown in. Yes, mozilla stupidly did this - but most software does not, and should not. [...].
Maybe "did," but they don't anymore and haven't since 2012, which is shortly after they switched to the stupid Chrome-esque release model. They have an "ESR" (extended support release) branch intended for the enterprise but usable by anyone who only wants important fixes without big changes for a relatively long period of time--though in the world of Web browsers right now, I guess that only means a year.
R.Mo
or at least a mandatory "check-in" period every X months? because, you know...security. ^_^
I don't mind this "new" model of pushing untested garbage code to my machine, instead of making me pay for the same. I just run Windows in a virtual machine, so I can limit the damage said code does to my actual machine, and critical files. I don't let Windows have much network access, and it has no access to my files, rsync copies everything I need to work on, and maintains backups in case Windows corrupts my files, or windows-based malware does same.
the evolution is almost complete. Windows 10 will be one giant live tile that connects to one drive
VISTA + 8.x = subject: Drive stockprice down, it can be bought cheap (release a model customer's wanted, 10, with a working start menu and fixing bugs in former prior versions, and then reap the ill-gotten rewards).
Gentrification happens in land deals all the time, and they take time, just like the entire process I describe above has.
(I.E. They move in scum into once nice neighborhoods to create ghettos, then, they buy up land for commercial purposes cheap, and then bring down the law to clean up said ghettos and sell it for a HUGE profit).
Anyone who doesn't understand what's going on at MS really needs to understand the world of business: A world of the WORST SCUM AND SHARKS THERE IS (makes street hoods look like pikers) and "their kind" doesn't care if they ruin something good. Their God = The "Holy Dollar", nothing more (makes up for their 2" dicks).
Lone Starr: Who hasn't heard of Yogurt!
Princess Vespa: Yogurt the Wise!
Dot Matrix: Yogurt the All-Powerful!
Barf: Yogurt the Magnificent!
Yogurt: Please, please, don't make a fuss. I'm just plain Yogurt.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Who's forcing you to use Windows?
I became a Microsoft Insider, you know to beta test Win10, but just couldn't agree to their ToS. I know if your also a Microsoft Insider you've read the ToS; I just couldn't allow MS to access my mic, webcam or just browse my system whenever they wanted; I only went as far as downloading it.
That's what said articles are. That's all. Nothing to see here.
For many of the people I know, XP was the last version of Windows.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This is the same discussion as another thread on /. asking what is the future of desktop applications... when more and more software is being deployed as a service over the internet and the browser provides the interface.
The answer is also the same: this is done for the convenience (and profit) of the software provider.
For instance (as pointed out by another poster): Chromebooks.
Big G will take care of you. No user serviceable parts. Nothing for you to do but actual work (or play).
There appear to be benefits to the user, until there's no internet, until your data gets hacked in the cloud,
until Big G hands it over to Law Enforcement... etc, there are any number of digital doomsday scenarios.
From the user viewpoint, convenience trumps all other considerations.
For the creators/maintainers of the hardware/software, it offers enormous convenience... it solves the problem of version fragmentation. If you were maintaining a departmental system, you'd love it.
But more importantly, your data is a goldmine.
Full control over the hardware/software/communications is the holy grail of commercial technology. Apple nearly has it. Google/Android copied the $hit out of Apple, and M$ has been playing catchup trying to copy everybody. The end game is to basically own you. Were digital serfs now, property of Big Data.
There is a generational divide concening privacy. I'm outraged that Big G, Big Fruit, M$, Amazon, etc
are monetizing us down to the last search, but my video gaming kids can't see what I'm all up in arms
about. Sorry kiddies, but this won't end well.
This is windows.... no matter how much they evolve it every couple of years you're going to have to reinstall it anyways... so realistically it doesn't matter if they go to a 'rolling release' or not.
This table should help inject some reality into your fear.
Vista worked just fine with service pack 2 as did windows 98 2nd edition.
Stop using the word "evangelist"!!!!!
3.1, 95, 98, me, (2000), XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10.... who the heck taught Microsoft product managers how to count?
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
do you really not see a difference between someone internally testing their own software only they use, and then releasing their software to themselves...and someone doing the same method for OS platforms *other people* use? Even updates to AWS maintain (or attempt to) availability of the different versions of methods; you call it the old way versus the new way (trying to not say backwards compatibility, when it's just a RESTFUL API...)
The MS comments are designed to get everyone to update to 10. I said update, not upgrade, because if 10 is like 8, most of us will stay with 7
GNU/Linux only gets away with a centralized package management system (which I agree, is a good system) because there are so many distributions to choose from and there's no reason for any distro to discriminate against contributors.
If Microsoft tried the same thing, it'd be a shitfest, even assuming they themselves acted 100% morally and ethically in operating the repositories.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.