Slashdot Mirror
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...
"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.
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.
... 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.
Windows server 2019 is STILL MIA.
With no news about an ETA of an re-release time frame.
" 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.
I hope this helped convince yourself.
Hanlon's Razor
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Stupidity does not adequately explain Microsoft, and hasn't for decades.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
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 ?
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.
Yep. And since they do not bleed customers with their current bad product, why should they improve anything? In fact, many of those getting screwed over still claim to love having that done to them.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
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....
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.
Stupidity called, it asked that you stop insulting it with your Microsoft example.
#DeleteFacebook
A. I want to complain.
B. You want to complain? Look at these shoes. I've only had them three weeks and the heels are worn right through.
A. No, I want to complain about...
B. If you complain nothing happens, you might as well not bother.
A. Oh.
#DeleteFacebook
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.
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 ...."
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.
Wow, talk about fuddy duddies.
Get with the 2020s, grampas.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
>> 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
Linux works great and I can't tell if you are grossly incompetent, a troll, or most likely, both.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
"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.
I should get a refund for all the downtime they're causing with ill-advised 'updates'.
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
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.