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Microsoft REQUIRES new modern hardware, which means new PCs must be bought which results in PC manufacturers promoting Windows and Microsoft get a license fee e

Microsoft REQUIRES new modern hardware, which means new PCs must be bought which results in PC manufacturers promoting Windows and Microsoft get a license fee each time a new PC is sold. It’s deliberate but it’s also short sighted because essentially every existing PC can’t be upgraded, which means everyone is stuck in the old version. Microsoft’s first moves in the launch of Windows 11 are failed business decisions. Their logic is sound…. They need to ensure they hardware partners are boosted by Windows 11. It does not bode well.

WorldMaker 5y ago
It certainly feels easy to be that cynical about the cause of this, and I've struggled with that cynicism myself, especially with all the exuberant sales talk right now from all the PC manufacturers and retailers. However, if that were the sole or primary reason for these decisions the timing seems just stupidly way off: During the pandemic year PC hardware had one of its best sales years that many of the several previous years combined. The only thing that stopped/slowed the rapid pace of new hardware sales (to meet increased work-from-home and safe-at-home demands) was all of those sales have directly contributed to a massive semiconductor shortage that is now affecting every other industry. You would expect Microsoft would be well familiar with this semiconductor shortage because Xbox Series S|X sales are way below expectations because of supply issue. The only thing avoiding a shareholder revolt on those short-term financials is that Sony is experiencing the exact same supply issues. (As are entirely unrelated industries such as the automotive industry.) "We want to sell a bunch of new PC hardware for Holiday 2021" doesn't make any obvious sense right now given the semiconductor shortage. It might be that Microsoft and their hardware partners are just that myopic and/or think that we've still got 3 and a half months to sort out supply chains to meet a holiday rush? Obviously cynicism leads to the conclusion that they may just be that short-sighted. On the other hand the arguments that they were doing it for performance and security don't entirely ring hollow. Windows 10 got a ton of flak for how much it slowed down due to mitigations against Spectre/Meltdown attacks, so there is probably at least some high possibility that Microsoft very much wants to try to push processor generations to jump some of the Spectre/Meltdown performance gaps. There's still the possibility that lots of new hardware sales is still a secondary goal or a "side benefit to make the hardware partners happy", of course.

WorldMaker 5y ago

It certainly feels easy to be that cynical about the cause of this, and I've struggled with that cynicism myself, especially with all the exuberant sales talk right now from all the PC manufacturers and retailers. However, if that were the sole or primary reason for these decisions the timing seems just stupidly way off: During the pandemic year PC hardware had one of its best sales years that many of the several previous years combined. The only thing that stopped/slowed the rapid pace of new hardware sales (to meet increased work-from-home and safe-at-home demands) was all of those sales have directly contributed to a massive semiconductor shortage that is now affecting every other industry. You would expect Microsoft would be well familiar with this semiconductor shortage because Xbox Series S|X sales are way below expectations because of supply issue. The only thing avoiding a shareholder revolt on those short-term financials is that Sony is experiencing the exact same supply issues. (As are entirely unrelated industries such as the automotive industry.) "We want to sell a bunch of new PC hardware for Holiday 2021" doesn't make any obvious sense right now given the semiconductor shortage. It might be that Microsoft and their hardware partners are just that myopic and/or think that we've still got 3 and a half months to sort out supply chains to meet a holiday rush? Obviously cynicism leads to the conclusion that they may just be that short-sighted. On the other hand the arguments that they were doing it for performance and security don't entirely ring hollow. Windows 10 got a ton of flak for how much it slowed down due to mitigations against Spectre/Meltdown attacks, so there is probably at least some high possibility that Microsoft very much wants to try to push processor generations to jump some of the Spectre/Meltdown performance gaps. There's still the possibility that lots of new hardware sales is still a secondary goal or a "side benefit to make the hardware partners happy", of course.