Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Is Readying a Consumer Microsoft 365 Subscription Bundle (zdnet.com)
Microsoft is working on a new "Microsoft 365 Consumer" bundle that "will be the consumer-focused complement to Microsoft's existing Microsoft 365 subscription bundle for business users," reports ZDNet. From the report: A couple of recent Microsoft job postings mention the consumer subscription bundle, which Microsoft has yet to announce publicly. One job posting for a Product Manager for the "M365 Consumer Subscription" notes: "The Subscription Product Marketing team is a new team being created to build and scale the Microsoft 365 Consumer Subscription." The job description says the product manager for this service will help "identify, build, position and market a great new Microsoft 365 Consumer Subscription."
The job post notes that the team behind Microsoft 365 Consumer oversees the Windows platform, the Microsoft Surface device portfolio, Office 365 consumer plans, Skype, Cortana, Bing search, as well as the Microsoft Education team. If I were betting on what Microsoft 365 Consumer might include, I'd think some variant of Windows 10, Office 365 Home, Skype, Cortana, Bing, Outlook Mobile, Microsoft To-Do and maybe MSN apps and services could figure into the picture. Maybe this subscription will be tied to Surface devices only? Maybe a monthly leasing fee for Surfaces will be part of the bundle itself?
The job post notes that the team behind Microsoft 365 Consumer oversees the Windows platform, the Microsoft Surface device portfolio, Office 365 consumer plans, Skype, Cortana, Bing search, as well as the Microsoft Education team. If I were betting on what Microsoft 365 Consumer might include, I'd think some variant of Windows 10, Office 365 Home, Skype, Cortana, Bing, Outlook Mobile, Microsoft To-Do and maybe MSN apps and services could figure into the picture. Maybe this subscription will be tied to Surface devices only? Maybe a monthly leasing fee for Surfaces will be part of the bundle itself?
This is already happening. Look at your DOCSIS modem. For most ISPs, it has to be on an approved list, and they flash their firmware onto the device, even if is owned by you. I wouldn't be surprised to see "AV" software forced into all Internet connected devices, which scanned for pirated stuff and unlicensed movies, under the guide of "anti-terrorism".
The thing about the business love affair for monthly stuff is twofold:
1: Shareholders will sue if stuff gets charged off for other expenses, so companies have to minimize CAPEX costs (payroll, equipment, etc), and move to OPEX, so they can keep the same numbers as the previous quarter. Moving to the cloud means that they don't have to worry about having to buy new stuff every 3-5 years and lose profits. Even if a company does a "forklift", which costs them almost an order of magnitude more, because it is a monthly cost, and the trendy thing, they get a free pass. Plus, it allows for people (rackers/stackers, OS/Ops people, etc.) to be laid off, making them look better on Wall Street.
2: Businesses who sell stuff love monthly subscriptions. Companies highly feared lock-in with mainframes, but they are embracing a technology where they -have- to pay no matter what, or else they don't run. To boot, there is no real way to effectively port in or out of the cloud without major internal redesigns, and those can be impossible.
The good thing is that this has been moving people to open source software. For example, password programs like 1Password and mSecure require monthly commitments, whether or not you use their cloud offering, when in previous versions, you just bought the app and stored the databases yourself. Now, people move to KeePass and other F/OSS software, just because they are tired of the greed involved. Some companies even run completely on Linux now, desktop, directory, and all. When some company demands a SAM audit for a Microsoft true-up, they can laugh in the person's face, since nothing MS goes in the door, and machines are sent from the factory with no OS on them.
There you have it, the official announcement that Windows will be a subscription. Something Microsoft has been trying to accomplish since XP. Don't pay your annual MS tithe and you're the proud owner of a $1200 brick. I just bough a Surface Go to test for the office. Get the one with a big enough drive to support updates (because the 64Gb model runs out of drive space after you patch for a year), add a keyboard, mouse and pen (all extra) plus extended 2yr warrant and it is $1200.
NEVER going back to Windows now, NEVER. Libre Office/Open Office serve my needs just fine, and no Microsoft bullshit.
Buddy, do you not realize that this goes far beyond Microsoft or computing devices in general? The Rich want everyone to rent or lease everything and own nothing of value. Look for this, you'll see that it's true. Basically another form of feudalism. Discourage and/or prevent average people from owning anything with any real value by placing barriers in their way. When everything is leased or rented, those things can be taken away with little or no notice, and when you're poor, substantial legal representation is out of your reach financially, so you can't fight it. When you can't, for instance, own your own home, you can't build equity in it as you pay off the loan, therefore you can't borrow against that equity, so you're stuck with just your income. The credit rating system is rigged also, so your ability to borrow money is limited. This and other things are what are destorying the middle class in the U.S., leaving a vacuum in it's place, so there's only 'The Poor' and 'The Rich', with no way to cross that gulf because no middle class. Also note how hideously expensive it is to get a college degree, and it's getting harder and harder to get student loans, and even if you can you're struggling to pay them off for years and years -- assuming that is your degree is even worth anything in todays' workplace, which all too often it isn't.