4 ms·

I dont understand the new Microsoft business model. I've stopped using office, Windows is now free(?), but most stuff is in the browser anyway. We used to pay a

by rb808 10y ago

I dont understand the new Microsoft business model. I've stopped using office, Windows is now free(?), but most stuff is in the browser anyway. We used to pay a lot of money for SQL server but now there are lots of free open source alternatives. Sure Azure might make some money but its a commodity business, I can't see how it will replace the old cash cows.

yread 10y ago
If you use just VMs then sure Azure is commodity. It's the App and Cloud Services or Enterprise Mobility stuff that locks you in
vetinari 10y ago
Windows is not free. The update from 7/8 to 10 was free for consumers (but not companies), and a new 7/8 wasn't free and new 10 isn't free either.
kolme 10y ago
- Windows is not free, they just offered a free update for a limited time, which is already over. - Basically, every non-apple consumer computer comes with Windows preinstalled, and they charge a licence (I think around 50$). That's a solid business model right there. - Most of the people around me who are not programmers, prefer MS Office to do their work, and they swear by Excel. Google Apps still doesn't cut it for many people. That's also a big source of revenue. So, the good old business model. They're not replacing anything that I know of. They're just trying to diversify their products/markets/etc. Edit: price (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-RT-Windows-8-Licensing-Supply-Chain-OEM,16267.html http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-RT-Windows-8-Licens...)
- scholia 10y ago
  > they charge a licence (I think around 300€) Pretty interesting if Microsoft can charge €300 for an operating system that ships on €150 (£150/$199 or less) laptops ;-) The Windows installation fee used to be around $42-$44 and some versions cost around $11-15 (Windows XP Ultra Low Cost PC version). IBM used to pay $27 (which we know because it complained bitterly about Microsoft tripling the price). The tablet version of Windows 8.1 cost $10 but OEMs got a $10 kickback for making Bing the default search engine. (Microsoft did not describe this as free, it said it was "zero paid".) Be nice to have a current figure if anyone wants to break the non-disclosure clause, but the fee for Windows is a lot closer to €30 than it is to €300. OEMs also charge software houses to distribute software (ie crapware). This can reduce the cost of Windows to the user almost to zero. In fact, when users subscribe to a pre-installed AV product, the OEM gets recurring fees which means the pre-installed Windows has actually generated a profit.
  - kolme 10y ago
    You are right. I was thinking of the price you get when you buy it off the shelf (which is also now cheaper as it used to be).
    - scholia 10y ago
      Yes, the off-the-shelf package includes a large fee for Microsoft support, and the right to move the OS from one machine to another. You don't get either of those with the OEM versions. One obvious factor in the fall of Windows pricing is the fall of PC prices. Microsoft could charge a lot when PCs cost $/€/£2,500 each. As PC prices fell through $/€/£1,500 each and $/€/£500 each to today's levels, the cost of Windows would have been an increasingly large proportion of the total. That was bound to be unsustainable, so I imagine (without any proof) that the price of Windows has come down much like the cost of hard drives and screens....
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
scholia 10y ago
> Windows is now free(?) To answer your question: Windows is only free on small-screen devices [1]. Windows 10 is a paid-for OS, but it was offered as a free upgrade to people who had paid for Windows 7 & 8. Windows 10 includes free upgrades for the life of the device [2]. This is the industry-standard procedure. If you buy an Android or iOS device, you also get free OS upgrades for the life of the device. [1] Microsoft was pretty much the only company that used Windows on smartphones -- at least in volume -- so it decided to stop charging itself. [2] Windows 10 gets regular feature upgrades. There is no Windows 11, so there will never be a case for charging for a Windows 11 upgrade.
slumberlust 10y ago
If you can't see the business model, you're it.
- Silhouette 10y ago
  It seems unfair to downvote the parent comment. It might be a little snarky, but it's still pretty close to the truth in a lot of modern IT.

by rb808 10y ago

yread 10y ago

If you use just VMs then sure Azure is commodity. It's the App and Cloud Services or Enterprise Mobility stuff that locks you in

vetinari 10y ago

Windows is not free. The update from 7/8 to 10 was free for consumers (but not companies), and a new 7/8 wasn't free and new 10 isn't free either.

kolme 10y ago

- Windows is not free, they just offered a free update for a limited time, which is already over. - Basically, every non-apple consumer computer comes with Windows preinstalled, and they charge a licence (I think around 50$). That's a solid business model right there. - Most of the people around me who are not programmers, prefer MS Office to do their work, and they swear by Excel. Google Apps still doesn't cut it for many people. That's also a big source of revenue. So, the good old business model. They're not replacing anything that I know of. They're just trying to diversify their products/markets/etc. Edit: price (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-RT-Windows-8-Licensing-Supply-Chain-OEM,16267.html http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-RT-Windows-8-Licens...)

scholia 10y ago
> they charge a licence (I think around 300€) Pretty interesting if Microsoft can charge €300 for an operating system that ships on €150 (£150/$199 or less) laptops ;-) The Windows installation fee used to be around $42-$44 and some versions cost around $11-15 (Windows XP Ultra Low Cost PC version). IBM used to pay $27 (which we know because it complained bitterly about Microsoft tripling the price). The tablet version of Windows 8.1 cost $10 but OEMs got a $10 kickback for making Bing the default search engine. (Microsoft did not describe this as free, it said it was "zero paid".) Be nice to have a current figure if anyone wants to break the non-disclosure clause, but the fee for Windows is a lot closer to €30 than it is to €300. OEMs also charge software houses to distribute software (ie crapware). This can reduce the cost of Windows to the user almost to zero. In fact, when users subscribe to a pre-installed AV product, the OEM gets recurring fees which means the pre-installed Windows has actually generated a profit.
- kolme 10y ago
  You are right. I was thinking of the price you get when you buy it off the shelf (which is also now cheaper as it used to be).
  - scholia 10y ago
    Yes, the off-the-shelf package includes a large fee for Microsoft support, and the right to move the OS from one machine to another. You don't get either of those with the OEM versions. One obvious factor in the fall of Windows pricing is the fall of PC prices. Microsoft could charge a lot when PCs cost $/€/£2,500 each. As PC prices fell through $/€/£1,500 each and $/€/£500 each to today's levels, the cost of Windows would have been an increasingly large proportion of the total. That was bound to be unsustainable, so I imagine (without any proof) that the price of Windows has come down much like the cost of hard drives and screens....
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

scholia 10y ago

> Windows is now free(?) To answer your question: Windows is only free on small-screen devices [1]. Windows 10 is a paid-for OS, but it was offered as a free upgrade to people who had paid for Windows 7 & 8. Windows 10 includes free upgrades for the life of the device [2]. This is the industry-standard procedure. If you buy an Android or iOS device, you also get free OS upgrades for the life of the device. [1] Microsoft was pretty much the only company that used Windows on smartphones -- at least in volume -- so it decided to stop charging itself. [2] Windows 10 gets regular feature upgrades. There is no Windows 11, so there will never be a case for charging for a Windows 11 upgrade.

slumberlust 10y ago

If you can't see the business model, you're it.

Silhouette 10y ago
It seems unfair to downvote the parent comment. It might be a little snarky, but it's still pretty close to the truth in a lot of modern IT.