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Microsoft Wants To Enable Cellular PCs, But Will Carriers Bite? (computerworld.com)
Microsoft is aiming to enable the installation of non-removable programmable SIM cards and data radios in PCs and Windows tablets. In the company's vision, users will then be able to purchase cellular data for those cards through the Windows Store. The announcement was made at the company's WinHEC conference for device manufacturers in Shenzhen, China. From a report on ComputerWorld: Users would also get settings to help them better manage the use of data plans, so it's easier for them to control how much data apps can suck up. But there's a wrinkle in that plan: Cellular carriers will have to get on board with selling plans through the Windows Store, which will likely be a tougher sell.
What could possibly go wrong???
non-removable programmable SIM so ATT can lock them to ATT only like the ipad's from att?
MS needs to say no carrier locking!
Sorry, but I don't need another data plan in addition to my phone. I'll just hotspot from my phone plan as needed.
...another fucking interface to hack.
While you've got the hood popped, why not just IoT the BIOS while you're at it.
Yet another design change justified by maximizing recurring revenue for vendors. I grow very tired of being told what I want in a product. Shit is getting old.
Trying to figure out if Microsoft wants to eventually extinguish the cell phone or the PC... judging by the amount of sense they've been making lately, it's probably the PC.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
That seems like a much better question than if the carriers would do it. Since, you know, that would be the first step to convincing the carriers to get on board. By showing demand.
Wow the tech industry has an incredibly short memory. Do you remember how cellular carriers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the smartphone era? They don't want "unapproved devices" running on their networks, where "unapproved devices" means anything running software they don't like.
I assume they're going to make sure you get as good or better latency than a wired connection?
I also assume they're going to pressure carriers into providing proper data plans, not like my phone's plan that just this month got upgraded to all of 500 MB monthly data?
If no to either one of these (and likely a lot more caveats by people smarter than me) then no to even considering it being possibly a good idea.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
If the NSA approves it.
Pre-derail-derail: Something something Trump something Clinton something Putin something something Brexit something Westworld!
Is it a keyword list for triggering Echelon or something?
I haven't seen these for quite some time.
Something something Trump something Clinton something Putin something something Brexit something Westworld!
That's a pretty weird list of items to wear on your wedding day.
Nothing posted to
The biggest problem with Microsoft getting near a data plan is that you could easily see a scenario where most of your data was getting sucked up by Microsoft's ever-present upgrades. That, and, having to wait an extra 10-15 minutes when you really want to restart your phone.
You can buy monthly plans through the carriers. I haven't needed it since my Nexus phone has a hotspot feature.
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Think bigger. Unremovable cellular cards so that they can always be used to spy, even if not actively being paid for.
Good-bye
1. Create a new problem by taking away user control of bandwidth usage, forcing untimely app and windows update,s telemetry etc. 2. Sell a solution to the new problem.
Further to that, hell no.
Wanna buy a shirt?
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They change to a removeable card. Being locked into a carrier is not a good idea. Not only for the problem of movoing to an area where the carrier for your computer has lousy service. The idea is being pushed to aid business travelers who hate having to hunt for wi-fi access. In the US one of the big four will cover most metro areas, but what about the rest of the world where, travel 20 minutes to another country and you have to choose a different national carrier.
If locked to one carrier the answer is no. Micro$oft needs to implement this with changeable sims. Add that feature to a larger antenna than you can fit into a phone and allow it to act as a hotspot as well and you have something of value. Well except for those afraid of a little telemetry. But for the other 99% of customers it would be a great Idea. Especially if I can get it on a large data cap plan (or true unlimited data like my Sprint account) without breaking the bank each month. If data caps are the norm then let me go into the store and adjust my plan for the month or even the week to allow for more data for a short term when needed.
It has to be able to switch carriers and do it quickly and easily. No Sprint in this area, Let me pick up a pay as I go Verizon SIM, or AT&T SIM, heading overseas I can swap in the local sim of my choice .
I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
and you will pay the roaming fees that can be as high as $15-$20 A MEG!
also pay for TXT spam at $0.15-$0.25 meg and $0.50-$1.00 roaming.
He, he, you're too late buddy. Why do you think batteries are soldered to the phones now?
Why do my back hairs ruffle whenever I read the word "Microsoft" next to the word "non-removable"?
Just don't buy any Microsoft butt plugs!
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Dell Wireless 5520 (3G HSDPA) works for me in *buntu and derivates.
Ahllu Akbar! (waits for the feds to knock on my door)
Meet cellular modem chip.
>purchase cellular data for those cards through the Windows Store
Cloning somebody's SIM card has just got much easier!
Roaming fees for Data? You mean roaming between cellphone providers or roaming between states?
Damn... this is scary
Always until I cut one trace to the IC, or lift it entirely. On the other hand, they're making it harder and harder to open the case without destroying the harware...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Microsoft is just a joke and a meme anymore than an actual good choice for software. Windows 10 has been a complete failure, and Windows Phones are an even bigger failure. And now Microsoft has decided to double down to attempt to drag more people into their honey pot and walled gardens by running all of it's security through a cell phone carrier that your going to have to pay to keep using.
No thank you Microsoft. I hate your phones, and I hate your direction in the OS market. So I'm not going to buy your god awful phones any more than I'm going to ever upgrade beyond Windows 7 until it can not be avoided any longer. And even then I may just say screw it and go fully to Android for an OS and Steam for the gaming.
Many organizations already have this. It's necessary for first responders who have laptops in emergency vehicles to maintain in constant contact with dispatch. It comes in over a VPN setup through the mobile carrier data. It automatically switches from WiFI to LTE depending on access availability. First Responder organizations are usually Governments with existing carrier contracts for special pricing. There's no need to pay an additional Micro$oft tithe.
This will work with newer phone form factor PC's running full Windows 10. Nothing else makes sense to me.
Is it *really* that big a deal outside the sealed & laminated Apple universe to just stick a mPCIe slot on the mobo's underside, cover it with a tiny hatch, and pre-embed suitable antennas for it in the display & run the wires to that same hatch/slot? Most mid+ end laptops *already* have an extra mPCIe slot (though only high-end corporate laptops usually advertise it as a feature & make it officially accessible for things like cellular modems... in most mid-range laptops, it's more like a forgotten, semi-vestigial socket that exists only for factory-installed modules).
The truth is, unless the laptop mfr is an asshole & explicitly locks out "unapproved" mPCIe cards in the UEFI BIOS, as far as Windows & Linux are concerned, they're just normal 1x (4x?) PCI Express slots waiting to be used for something (warning: MANY such slots can work as EITHER mSATA or mPCIe, but the two DO have different pinouts despite having the same form factor & connector... if they don't support mSATA, you'll need a MUCH more exotic & expensive mPCIe SSD with embedded SATA controller like the ones Apple uses in iMacs for flash/ssd or fusion drives).
Likewise, most gaming laptops w/discrete video cards use cards that are electronically-compatible... what makes them proprietary is the fact there's no real standard for dimensions, hole-placement, or cooling of laptop video cards, so you could end up with a laptop that can use an arbitrary video card, but will cook it in seconds, not allow it to be properly mounted, or not have enough room for it).
An active cellular card is effectively a backdoor into your computer. If your computer is connected to your network, then it's also a backdoor into your network.
I doubt it would take much in the way of malware . . . . er . . . . NIT as the FBI calls it, to enable that cellular interface without telling you about it.
Some cooperation from the local telco would authorize the SIM on their network and presto, instant access from everywhere.
As it stands now, any device I own that has a cellular interface resides on a protected VLAN. ( phones, tablets, alarm system, etc )
I do not let those devices converse with any of the other networks as I have no way of knowing who, when and what will have access to the device in question.
If it needs access to network resources, it gets a physical cable.
If incapable of using a physical cable, it doesn't get access to those resources.
I see a future in shielded laptop bags :|
Yup. All of them.
"Frequently wrong, never in doubt."
Microsoft does have cellular Surfaces, which work w/ GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but unfortunately, not w/ Verizon or Sprint. The lack of Verizon is one of the things that kept me from getting one.
They should do two types of Surfaces - just like everyone does w/ cellphones. One that comes unlocked, but where one can put in anyone's SIM: such a thing would be particularly useful in foreign GSM markets. The other can be locked down w/ whatever - Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, et al. So if one buys the thing from a carrier, they can get the locked version w/ the subscription, and if they want the movable (b/w carriers) model, they can buy it in a Microsoft store. Such a thing would probably be better received than the Lumia
Has MS not heard of this? You won't need to fumble with sims or have multiple asubscriptions.. This is already solved.
Twinstiq, game news
All that Microsoft wants to do is shove TC in a device when people really don't want it.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
...yeah sure, except for the Windows' updates and telemetry which you can bet the user won't be able to disable.
LoL, you haven't seen some of the cell coverage around here, or rather the lack of it. Some friends of mine have Tmobile and the millisecond they cross the city boundry their connection goes dead. Even if we are on I-5, probably the busiest backbone highway of the pacific west! They can't even make calls in many of the coastal cities other than Newport.
Microsoft itself won't be selling the majority of these devices, though I expect we will see a Surface 4 and possibly finally see a Surface Mini. I think the non-removable part is mostly about making it possible to make the devices thinner and less expensive to manufacture by eliminating the SIM slot, with getting to market the plans being a side benefit. It's also possible that Microsoft's real goal here is to use their muscle to get lower prices for cellular data, which would improve sales of their devices and other devices that license Windows.
Offering cellular plans through the Windows Store will be a non-starter unless Microsoft offers the carriers a drastically reduced rate for those sales; the 30% that they get for app sales is a non-starter. It's also going to go nowhere in most of the world unless Microsoft is prepared to partner with a LOT of providers. The Asian markets, in particular, will just stick with standard SIM slots unless that happens.