Reply to post: Re: Just can't fathom what Microsoft is trying to do

Re: Just can't fathom what Microsoft is trying to do

"I think many people would be willing to pay an annual fee if it was reasonable"

You did fathom: subscription.

But saying "many people would be willing to pay" is a personal opinion. On the contrary, I think it will make a lot of people go elsewhere (Linux/Mac).

I think their method of transitioning to the new business model is broken:

- they continue with the old business model: extortion, aka forcing you to PAY for an O.S. you don't necessary intend to use with each new PC. So it is "double penatly": initial payment plus monthly fee. That works for enterprises (they can afford it) not for home users.

- their mode of transition seems to be: let's make it unacceptable (ads everywhere, remove control from the user) so that the home user would prefer to pay a monthly fee to revert to an acceptable system.

I have seen some compare the spying-and-lack-of-control to what exists on ChromeOS or the likes, but it is miles away. Did you ever pay a cent to use a Google product? (apart from I.T. professionals renting servers or developers selling APIs, but that is another matter)

So yes:

-1) free with the counterpart: spying-and-lack-of-control can make sense

-2) paid with control and privacy can make sense

... but at the moment M$ wants 1) + 2)

... that is why I prefer Linux requires none, offering both free and privacy + control

And I do selfishly hope M$ will succeed in its transition to 1), that will mean they finally got rid of their extortion business model, and that I can be able to buy my next laptop without having to pay for an O.S. I have not used for years! Should that happen, I'll stop calling them M$