Still holding out on Windows 10? Microsoft tempts upgrade with virtual desktop to Azure With Windows Virtual Desktop, Microsoft is offering corporate Window 7 users yet another migration path to Windows 10; this time via Azure. Microsoft 365 is about to gain what Redmond is modestly calling “the best virtualized Windows and Office experience delivered on Azure.” Virtualization slingers Citrix and VMware might beg …
Interesting option - will look at this versus Citrix. Like pretty much every other corporate on the planet we need to be 100% on Windows 10 before Jan 2020.
Unfortunately a predecessor ignored Microsoft's advice around uses of the LTSC build and deployed that to general users - which is not supported with Office and wont even run it soon, so we need to throw that work away and deploy a business build.
This is absolutely the future, and our like/dislike is probably irrelevant to the beancounters who *like* a predictable service cost they can scale at will... and a lack of Capital expenditure/sunk costs. Obvious ones anyway.
I manage a reasonable size infrastructure. and am *just* dragging along the project to transition from Win7 to Win10. Not because I want to - I'm in print more than once on that subject - but because I cannot afford to pay for support after 2020, and need best part of two years to plan/architect/build/rollout.
Although Win10 is - probably - the Last MS Desktop OS, managing local infrastructure is getting to be a pain filled exercise in futility, and MS are not helping with the configuration and upgrades on Win10. On a 1000+ machine estate, it's getting to be an exercise in choosing the right compromises for all involved, and compromise always sucks for some. Or all.
I've been talking for years about how "the phone in your pocket WILL BE your computer". THIS SERVICE OFFERING WILL FINALLY MAKE THAT REAL - once it's mature. Generic bluetooth screen & keyboard, dock your phone on corner, and connect to the Virtual desktop... mobile applications are obvious.
This, finally, will be the "Cloud" that the pundits have been talking about... and I'll be retiring right about stability/consumer price point. Five years I'm guessing!
This reminds me of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the prince who didn't want "all that" and instead wanted to sing...
So Micro-shaft just continues to CRAM Win-10-nic at us, because we don't really want "all that", so they have to CRAM and CRAM and CRAM some more, maybe (at some point) hire some knight to "re-educate" us into 'wanting it' or whatever.
And not only is it cloud-based, it has the potential of being A SUBSCRIPTION, which is where we *ALL* *KNOW* Micro-shaft is headed with Win-10-nic (even though they don't admit it, and are doing it with office). It's easier to monetize light-client heavy-server subscription based models... like CompuServe and AOL were (and also MSN, to some extent), back in the day... [although I admit that MSN had a much better gateway to 'teh intarwebs' than any of the others].
Seriously, this is just more lipstick on the non-oinky end of the boar.
They should be focusing on giving CUSTOMERS what they want, instead of CRAMMING UP OUR ASSES what MICRO-SHAFT wants us to have.
icon, because, BIG facepalm at Microsoft. yeah, I'm a disgruntled FORMER windows fan.
There is a reason that people are holding out against Windows 10 - because the don't like the lack of control over how THEIR computer works.
I'll upgrade when I want to.
I'll patch when I want to
I'll install what want to
I don't want a bunch of crap installed that you think I might want.
I don't want a subscription for anything.
Oh and all that spying on what I do, well, you can take a running jump on that too.
Its not a hard concept to get your head around.
Rolling it in glitter doesn't change what's underneath.
The concept Slurp fails to grasp is the owner of the hardware will always have the final say. If the owner does not want their crap the owner will not have it. Something else will be used if necessary. Some will acquiesce, others will go elsewhere. Also, angering customers is not good for customer retention. Angry customers talk about their experiences very noisily. Another point Slurp fails to grasp.
As far as subscriptions, I will decide what will be a subscription. Hint, very little will be a subscription and only if the rates are reasonable to me.
<blockquote<hardly matters when all the pc's at PC World are still MS Windows. the average consumer has no choice, grumble as they might.</blockquote>
@AC, your point of reference is wrong.
PC World also sells Mac's - many people moving off to Apple - go and sit on a train and look around you. Corporate drones have Windows based laptops, everyone else doesn't
Most consumers stopped buying PC's and are now on tablets, mobile phones and Mac's, most of their time is in apps like video catch-up, social media and the like - no popular Microsoft apps in those areas
The number of PC's shipped with Windows and the number of PC's still running Windows after a week or two are very different scenarios, loads of people run Linux, but just don't make a big fuss about it.
The point of the article is that MS are still struggling to get people to want Windows 10, they rammed it in every way they could think, but still very large percentages of people say no and refuse updates, dumped their computers or went and brought something else.or swapped OS's - because they saw what the best that Redmond could do is capable of and how they, as a customer are treated.
The corporate hostages are still there, but most are moving to browser based apps, so its only a matter of time before that shrinks down too. I don't recall seeing any requirements for "Microsoft compatible" in any of the tenders that have gone across my desk in the last couple of years or so.
Times are changing and will continue to do so, just like they have in years gone by. Dinosaurs went extinct when they didn't evolve and evolution selects the strongest players.
They can still chose to move to either Linux, which is simply getting better all the damed time. Or, barring that shudder get a Mac / Hackentosh. Which also host the same array of Software as ye 'old PC, but, currently without all the restrictions of Windows X.
To say that there are ABSOLUTLY no other options out there is just a bit disingenuous dont'cha think? Yes I grant you that for the moment. Such as its still allowed to exist, is the best one we currently have. (e.g. Windows 7). Alas it won't always continue to be this way. At least not under Satya Nadella, perhaps the Cat that comes along in the next 10-15 years to take his job, might return the Company bac to something bordering sanity. Alas, I suppose we will only start seeing this after 2020 cut off.
About the only thing thats keeping me on the platform is Adobe at this point. So perhaps my next Machine probably most likely be a return back to Adobe's spirtiual home on a Mac. But, its not like there arn't other Photohop-esq Programs out there, that do what it does. Only cheaper for the layman, but, these Devlopers, just need more convincing to sell their Products on Linux. IMHO this will happen, it has to happen, and when it does happen. MicroSoft will be instantly forgotten, outside of the Corpoate-shpere, if not also inside of it.
@Dwarf
You use the term "evolve", but, what is there to say that trying to further monotize something as basic as an Operating System (i.e. Windows), into a monthly income spinner. isn't a valid form of evolution. Granted its a form of a large cancerous mutaint. That would best be revmoed from the host, to prolong its life. But, alas we're not the ones in the Operating Theater to make that call.
well, if you build it they will come...
damn it all, they did not come!
bing is sitting there doing nothing and we have 1 million windows servers now running around the world. hey lets force these schmucks to use VDI so we can use some of those shiny servers we purchased and have running. Still not enough using it to justify the electric bill... wait till the shareholders hear this, heads will roll and I am guessing the stock will plummet. They keep trying to buy cool...
Fast, Cheap, Good. Pick only 2.
Give me a virtual desktop, for office and so on, and a laptop running Linux for actual work. That would work for me. At the moment, I have a Windows 7 laptop so badly locked down that in practice I use my own equipment for actual work. As far as I can tell, it's the job of our IT to prevent IT.
While we have made Win10 work, it has been much more fiddling than should be necessary. Win7 was much easier to manage. The GUI is enough different that we probably could have gone to one of the various .nix distros and had less user training. The holdup, as always, was the vertical market software that was written only for Windows.
For those that CAN go to Linux, please do! Maybe that will put some pressure on MS.
Humm... :-|
Depends on what I need to do, and probably most likely the overall legality of it. I could imagine the ESA taking a dim view towards running Oriface 2016 under Wine, on a Laptop running Linux. Even if there wasn't anything else wrong with that senario as such.
But, if the "People" do have to decide between Linux, and something that reportedly just works, then I sussepect the time to pick up some Stock in Apple might be right about, now. Of course the only actual snag in that rag, is. Does Apple even remember that that they were a Computer Manufacture? As of couse that part of Apple has been left to hang for far too long now. in contrast to all the other iThings they want to sell you.
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