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As Windows Becomes a Service, Microsoft Needs To Be Transparent About Issues With That Service To Customers. In Recent Weeks, It Has Failed Miserably at That. (zdnet.com)
Veteran technology columnist Ed Bott writes: "Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10. But after a terrible October, Microsoft's Windows 10 problems continued in November. Yesterday, an unknown number of devices running Windows 10 suddenly lost their activation status; the owners of those devices were told that they no longer had a valid digital license and were running a "non-genuine copy of Windows." Those activation problems are now apparently resolved, but Microsoft hasn't offered an explanation or an apology. A company spokesperson declined to provide any additional details.
[...] In the Windows-as-a-service era, it's perfectly understandable that problems will occasionally crop up. But customers have a right to expect prompt, accurate notification when those problems occur, and Microsoft is failing badly in that responsibility. For its enterprise customers, Microsoft long ago realized the need for timely and accurate status updates. If your organization is experiencing a problem with Office 365, there's a Service Status dashboard where you can find out what's wrong. Microsoft Azure customers have a similar Azure status dashboard and can even check the resolution of previous problems on the Azure status history page. Windows 10 customers have no similar resources.
[...] In the Windows-as-a-service era, it's perfectly understandable that problems will occasionally crop up. But customers have a right to expect prompt, accurate notification when those problems occur, and Microsoft is failing badly in that responsibility. For its enterprise customers, Microsoft long ago realized the need for timely and accurate status updates. If your organization is experiencing a problem with Office 365, there's a Service Status dashboard where you can find out what's wrong. Microsoft Azure customers have a similar Azure status dashboard and can even check the resolution of previous problems on the Azure status history page. Windows 10 customers have no similar resources.
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015,
No it didn't.
'"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015'
Um... no. It was a horrible, retarded idea then and it is now. Also, 2015 is considered in the past now? I've barely accepted year 2005 yet...
Die!
I'm sure as those devices are reactivated MS will be sure and include them in new devices running Windows 10 reports. "We activated so many new Windows 10 devices this quarter see look people love Windows as a service even when they are out of service."
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015
Oh, HELL NO, this was never a good idea, and it will never BE a 'good idea', it's BULLSHIT. You buy a piece of software (I don't care if it's an OS or an application) it's yours and that's the way it should be.
The more shit like this that Microsoft does, the better I feel about moving away from Windows and onto Linux instead. Fuck Microsoft and their pay, pay, PAY FOREVER bullshit 'business model'.
Windows 10 doesn't give them much revenue. Office 365 and Azure is where it's at for them, the Windows install base at this point is a massive inconvenience to getting people on subscriptions.
12:50 - press return.
SLA: "You pays your money, you take your chances, all your data and hardware is belong to us."
Arbitration: We own the arbiters, pay us money.
Recourse: Pay us money
Warranty: None, not even "fitness for a particular purpose"
Rights: All ours, none for you.
Ownership: All ours, none for you.
Modern app appers use Appdows 10 S as an App!
Apps!
Windows as as service only has one effect on me. It keeps me using macs no matter how crippled and overpriced they become. And I hate MS for that.
Oh, I almost forgot about Linux and Chrome and Android and iOS and.... .......
Or is it desktop, classroom, server, phones,
First, clearly define the market segments you are addressing.
Then we can talk about tranparency.
If you cannot define the perimeter of your complaint, stop wasting our time.
... is proof our species is a race of idiots.
Putting your opinion straight into the headline and calling it news, that's how you do it. No fucking around, not even pretending to report neutrally. Love that kind of journalism.
Signature deleted by lameness filter.
Windows 10 is like a window company that doesn't sell but only rents windows to home owners.
A window company that embeds non-removable cameras in the frames to monitor the window and what's inside.
Microsoft owes no one anything. They've been working for decades to get to this point and now that they run the show, you'll like it. Who are you going to go to? Apple? Their hardware is years behind a Windows machine and at least 50% more expensive. Not to mention Apple products don't work well on a network (yes, there are exceptions).
Linux you say? Oh please. Keep your day job if that was supposed to be a joke. Linux barely works now without having to continually tweak something. Sure, the server end is running well, but for the end consumer it's all but a non-starter. How many times have governments said they'd be moving to Linux only to come back a year later and say it's too complicated, doesn't integrate well, doesn't have the software, etc, etc, etc?
Windows 10 is shit, but it's the best smelling shit of the three. Which isn't saying much when its stench pervades everything you do. If anyone thinks Microsoft cares what you think they should be doing, you're deluded. They're the only (real) game in town and they're going to milk it for all its worth. Your downtime or inconvenience be damned.
Unfortunately it turns out that lots of people seem to have a scat fetish.
Windows server 2019 is STILL MIA.
With no news about an ETA of an re-release time frame.
In recent weeks? Try forever.
What did you expect? Micro$oft fails miserably on major points all the time so why you expected anything different is beyond me.
You obviously need to lower your expectations and standards so you won't be disappointed.
" Their hardware is years behind a Windows machine and at least 50% more expensive." Software should be free, yes? If I have to run Windows or Linux or some Unix variant just not run on expensive Mac hardware (and they aren't years behind or "at least 50% more expensive"), then I'll opt for Macs. Nothing is worth me running Windows for, and I do not need any software that only runs on Windows, although some are in this position. Linux is getting there but I still do not feel I should become a Linux technician just to run Linux.
Microsoft is ruining Windows so badly that it might be worth investigating whether Apple or Red Hat or somebody similar is paying them to do so.
I hope this helped convince yourself.
"Linux barely works now without having to continually tweak something."
Found the scrub that got into IT because it was a fad. Let me guess they call you wizard because you can sort a spreadsheet.
Linux is used so extensively in the server environment mainly because you DONT have to constantly tweak it once you have your initial configuration set. Unlike Windows that breaks constantly Linux runs as good as your configuration. Sure the initial set up may be confusing for someone trying to play Fortnight on their tablet. But once its set up its extremely stable.
Me: Do you want to go see a BSoD?
Win10: I am feeling FAT and SaaSy!
Their LEA division can't even catch a damn fat, pudgy, near-sighted, middle-aged stalker.
The article is unclear on what it means by "Windows as a service", and also on how the problems described would relate to that.
Are Windows 10 home users paying via subscription or something? That's what I would think of as "Windows as a service".
There have always been Windows activation issues, auto-update issues, etc.
So - yes, Windows bad, etc. But because "Windows as a service"? If anything, the article itself sort of implies that business customers (who often/usually are effectively "Windows as a service") have it better (comparatively, anyway) than Windows home users.
" "Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015 "
Yeah, a good idea for shareholders. A more efficient method of extracting capital from consumers.
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015,
From where did you get that idea seriously ?
Huh, I have been running Linux ONLY for over a decade. The FIRST thing I do when I get a new laptop is to overwrite the windows that it comes with. I do not dual boot it, I wipe it. Desktop machines are built from scratch and I put linux on it. For me, windows was never an option even. I came from Unix and never learned windows. I suspect you don't use *nix and so for you the learning curve is too steep.
And it shows nicely what happens with monopolies: Bad and worse quality.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
I'm not sure MS service is what I want....
Please tells us why you think Microsoft needs to do anything, let alone be more transparent.
What negative impact do you imagine Microsoft has suffered from their "miserable failure"?
Did it impact their sales in any negative way? Nope.
Did it impact their stock price in any negative way? Nope.
Do they care in any way? Nope.
Do they think they should care in any way? Nope.
Will anything more than this Slashdot whine come out of the sum total of their "miserable failures" for the entire year of 2018? Nope.
Oop. Hold on, it's Microsoft at the door...
So, they wanted me to tell you that they think you should fuck right off and die. They won't miss you. They already got your money.
Do you think that telling you outright to fuck off and die will impact them in any negative way? Nope.
Microsoft has years ago exceeded the critical mass they needed to make it nigh on impossible to supplant them without government intervention.
Microsoft literally; HAS NO FUCKS TO GIVE!.
My experience with Windows 10 is that it works first =for= Microsoft interests and not =my= interests, constantly trying to manipulate me, pushing its wares, spying on me, diverting my attention to =their= solutions. All this is making me feel in an hostile environment. Therefore, I'll keep Windows 7 on my main home PC as long as possible. After that....
Drip drip. Poo drips from the southern portal.
When you install Windows on your PC (or when you buy a PC with Windows already installed) you should be aware of the fact that you are getting a license from Microsoft to use your PC. I.e. they own it. Which implies that they will access it whenever they want, and they will do whatever they want, and whenever they want, with the data therein. If you don't like the deal then stop using Windows. If you insist in using Windows, shut the f**k up.
Tell your carmaker to be more transparent since the car breaks down once in a while. They should probably give you the blueprints to the car as well. No? Why Microsoft then? Don't like them, don't use them. Just don't tell them how to run their business.
Why is it perfectly understandable? Because they're Microsoft and you just know they're going to screw something up once every month, or because of some other unknown reason?
#DeleteFacebook
No it didn't
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I know this is going to be an extremely unpopular opinion, but even after trying really hard to stick to using Linux on my dual boot system, I have to say that Windows is still the best desktop OS from a usability point of view, despite the horrendous screw ups Microsoft still keep making. I would love to drop Microsoft products completely, but if you in any way enjoy PC gaming, it still seems Linux is the poor man's option. I appreciate it is slowly getting better, but the gulf is huge. Even just yesterday, I booted my Ubuntu 18.10 desktop install and the mouse pointer kept jumping to the bottom right of the screen for no reason I could find. Only a reboot fixed that issue. I'm sure there's some forum thread out there for tackling that issue with some esoteric config file changes, but it demonstrates why Linux on desktop is still not for the masses. Too much time needs to be spent making it work properly. Linux on server is still the best use case in my opinion.
What we have here is a lack of communication when Microsoft is providing a service or so they market as such. When you have a service interruption you convey that to your customers and keep them updated as to when service will be restored. We all know problems can happen, just tells what they are and when to expect them fixed.
End consumers are increasingly fond of Android.
Google could easily afford to make Android a desktop OS. I find it suspicious that's not happening.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015
I didn't like it from the first time I heard Microsoft utter those words.
Fuck you Microsoft.
A line from a movie (that escapes me at the moment) comes to mind ....
"Sometimes ... I told you so just doesn't quite cut it ...."
When the buyer is terminally stupid, crappy quality can dominate the market.
Huh, I have been running Linux ONLY for over a decade. The FIRST thing I do when I get a new laptop is to overwrite the windows that it comes with. I do not dual boot it, I wipe it. Desktop machines are built from scratch and I put linux on it. For me, windows was never an option even. I came from Unix and never learned windows. I suspect you don't use *nix and so for you the learning curve is too steep.
I found BSD/Linux in 1998. Never looked back.
Weird timing - 4 days of RoboCalls prior to this happening tried to warn me that if i did not call immediately my Windows would not work anymore. I never listened to the entire robocalls, nor did I get their contact info... but the calls stopped and the next day I got my Activation error message. Weird timing. Weird weird weird.
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015
It was always a terrible idea [for users].
Anything on the cloud holding your productivity hostage like Office 360, Adobe CC and the likes is a great idea for companies, but real bad for end users.
Free for all users, includes Enhanced Telemetry pack and Advanced GoogleBlock technology that uses Bing to protect you from downloading the Chrome & Firefox viruses!
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
If this ever fails big-time and *everyones* PCs fail activation in a bad way, how will MS recover when their own boxes have issues.
(much lollage)
Wow, talk about fuddy duddies.
Get with the 2020s, grampas.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Aren't headlines supposed to be short and to the point, not paragraphs of their own?
I've never paid for windows in my life. All my PCs bought as components or in the case of laptops, used. Never a dime for anything else MS either.
What they could count on me before was a recommendation. Now not so much. And I'm not the only one because every other office I go to is starting to fill up with macbooks. MS better start planting some fucks for next year before this becomes a thing.
>> In Recent Weeks, It Has Failed Miserably at That.
Nope, not really. I'll correct that :
In Recent Decades, It Has Failed Miserably At That.
(BTW, what's this habit of uppercasing all the words ???)
aaaaaaa
"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10.
No, it fucking didn't. At no point has having an OS as a service EVER made sense. The whole concept is idiotic and nothing more than what it has panned to be: A cash grab that dramatically increases the costs of owning the OS with zero benefit in exchange.
The only reason they even got away with it is because they have a captive monopoly.
This is why Apple's computer business is booming even though they can't make a keyboard to save their lives. Suddenly there is renewed interest in making Linux a viable desktop. More and more people are jumping the Windows ship cause they are finally fed up.
Turning Windows into a service-when-not-a-service is Windows finally jumping the shark.
Why didn't you tell me this in 2005, just before I switched to Linux full-time?
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
No, it didnt.
its a scam, and should be treated as such.
I should get a refund for all the downtime they're causing with ill-advised 'updates'.
Get people used to it, then start billing them.. The first one is always free, remember.
"want to use your computer, well, that will be 10 bucks a month now". "oh, and for your safety, you cant store any data local, so that will be 20 a month for storage..." "thanks for choosing Microsoft"
I'm not concerned that proprietors don't care to fix problems in the software they distribute, I care that users are prohibited from running, inspecting, improving, and sharing the software they run when that software is proprietary (non-free, user subjugating) software. Whether an OS is a "service" or not is a distraction from this more fundamental point.
Users deserve software freedom, not some weaker stance such as "transparency" (whatever that means) nor distractions away from software freedom like "software as a service". In Microsoft's case with Windows it doesn't matter if one installs the software in the traditional way or acquires it as a service because either way their software freedom is not respected and that alone is reason enough to reject Windows just as it's good enough reason to reject any other proprietary software.
Digital Citizen
You use toy languages like Object Pascal because you can't learn real languages like C++. You're not even proficient in Object Pascal, which is why your software is a slow piece of trash, much like its author. You can't even bother to implement real security like digitally signing your program, instead making bogus excuses that keys can be stolen. I suppose that's because you're too stupid and incompetent to keep your keys secure and prevent them from being stolen. You bash other developers who write open source software and release their scripts that generate hosts files to block threats. You criticize them for using scripting languages like Python when you use Object Pascal because you're too dumb to learn C++. Go back to Windows, you worthless piece of trash. The Linux community neither needs nor wants you.
And yes, I write better software than you. It's why I own my own business and have a net worth over $50 million. No, I'm not interested in sharing my work with retard spammers like you who are too stupid to understand GIS.
I'm partying in Monaco tonight drinking fine wine and my friends are laughing at you, while you sit at home making love with your roommate and drinking awful "beer" in your $1 shithole house. No, I don't need to prove any of this to you, because I already know I'm better than you in every way.
'"Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10.'
What planet is the original poster from?
Did it? To whom? Maybe to a select few managers in Microsoft...
Anybody noticed how they all adopted "agile" and other wanky buzz word programming ideologies, which just pushes their programmers into crunch time more often as they increase the speed of their release cycles?
fast and sloppy, apple, google and microsoft are ALL cutting corners. they're penny pinching, which may mean they're not doing as well financially. as they claim to be...
Intel's been caught out cutting corners in their hardware for fuck's sake.
Considering how vital IT systems are to our civilisation in general now, it's time they are held to account for their actions.
No. No it does NOT.
Not sure what sort of lack-wit thinks renting your OS month to month "sounds good".
But they need to have their heads checked.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
The summary mentioned Azure and Office 365 as examples where Microsoft gives some form of status dashboard to their customers. In those two cases, it seems rather apparent that Microsoft considers people that use those products as Microsoft customers.
However, given the initial free upgrades from prior Windows versions and the telemetry (or rather, spyware) that Windows 10 incorporates, one can argue the point that, much like Facebook, Windows 10 users are not considered Microsoft's customers, but a Microsoft product (the saying "if you're not paying for it, you're the product" comes to mind). Seen in that light, the lack of transparency (or any due diligence with respect to rolling out Windows 10 updates without show stopping bugs) makes sense: Microsoft apparently does not see themselves as answerable to their Windows 10 users, but instead answerable to those who they provide or sell data about those Windows 10 users to -- those are actually Microsoft's Windows 10 customers.
ChromeOS is adding support for Android apps (and Linux programs) but it's not advertised yet as a feature and still in testing and sometimes requires going out of your way to enable it, so in a roundabout way it's happening.
See subject: C++ is one. Not for my hosts program. Delphi beat MSVC++ by DOUBLE performance in strings & math in 1997 Visual Basic Programmer's journal Sept./Oct. issue "Inside the VB5 compiler" & Pascal has no issue w/ bufferoverflows due to null-terminated string use in both C/C++ (unless std string is used).
ObjectPascal HAS NO SUCH PROBLEM (Length's built-into strings).
For reasons of SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE & SECURITY I used Object Pascal (hosts files work is stringwork).
Code signing gets STOLEN & ABUSED https://www.helpnetsecurity.co...
My method (mathematical check also functions as a built-in AntiVirus) cannot be + was MODDED UP "interesting" in CODING FOR DEFCON here on /. too in 2005 https://it.slashdot.org/commen... & it works!
APK
P.S.=> What "NOTWARE" did YOU yourself WRITE by HAND/from scratch completely yourself that's ALL YOUR OWN CODE as I did my hosts engine in its entirety by hand? Everytime I ask that of you, you "Run, Forrest:RUN!!!"... apk
Ran into this issue on our two-computer network at the office. It was causing problems with remote access between the two and threatening to block our computers from access to the Internet. So i contacted Microsoft support right away. The two computers were purchased from Office Depot with Win10 Home in August; we immediately purchased upgrades to Win10 Pro. They were working fine until Wednesday, Nov 7, when this Activation issue came up. Word for word, here's what they told me:
Agent
May I know who set up the Operating System in the first place when you bought the device?
Me
It was purchased from Office Depot with the Windows 10 Home already installed.
Agent
Okay, I see, as they are third-party supplier and the operating system has been installed previously by them. It will be the best if you can contact to their service center for support on this.
Me
I purchased Windows 10 Pro upgrade directly from Microsoft online, though.
Agent
However, I would like us to dig deeper on the situation and have other solution than contact the retailer.
Agent
Yes, but the previous installed Windows caused the issue to upgrade to another edition.
Agent
We can wipe out the device and install a new Operating system. After that, you can use the current Microsoft account that is contacting us right now to activate the Operating system with the Pro edition.
Me
That's not an acceptable solution. Too much work has already gone into setting this computer up.
Agent
I am so sorry for this, as the retailer has installed a failed edition on the device which is causing an issue the server to upgrade the edition to Pro. That's why we need to reinstall a new operating system and it will be ready to upgrade to different edition.
Me
Reinstalling is not an option. We're talking about a license, not functionality.
Agent
As you have reached Windows technical support team, I am well trained with technical issue, and I can see that you have successful purchased the package on August 11, 2018.
Agent
To save your resources, it would be the best to perform the reinstallation.
Agent
It is a digital license and it has been associated with the Microsoft account which has purchased it in the first place.
Me
Will Microsoft pay for my time to reinstall Windows and all the apps and the configuration on the network?
Agent
Hence, no need to worry about the license number, the current Microsoft account is the key to activate the operating system.
Me
ok
Agent
And Office Depot has installed a failed edition on the device.
Me
The only failure, it seems is with the license. The computer works fine.
Agent
Thus, we are here to resolve what the retailer had put in the system.
Agent
The hardware of the device is fine, but the software (the pre-installed Operating system which has been installed by the retailer) doesn't seem so.
Me
No, the operating system does work fine.
Agent
May I know since August, does the operating system work fine?
Me
Yes, it's been running since August.
Agent
Could you kindly let me know if has been running as Pro edition or Home edition?
Me
It's running as Pro.
Me
The Windows Activation has just started complaining about the license just today.
Agent
May I confirm that as it is running as Pro edition since August and after that, till now, the activation is suddenly asking for the license without any changes?
Me
That is correct.
(agent connects to my computer so he can look at it himself)
Agent
As you can see, the Operating system can detect the Home license.
Me
Yes, I do see that.
Agent
The Home license is with the hardware, and for the operating system to recognize the Pro license which has associated with the Microsoft account, it will require to reinstall the operating system. Then in the set up process, you will be able to sign in with the Microsoft account. So that the Operating system recognize the Pro license within the account.
Agent
I am so sorry fo