3 ms·

It's coming...OS as a subscription.

by chiefalchemist 3y ago

booleandilemma 3y ago
It's never too late to switch to linux.
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  Yeah. That's where I'm headed eventually. I was going to say that in my upthread comment but didn't want to get distracted. I've used MS and Apple in the past, but both are privacy threats at this point. My next hardware update will be a made-for-Linux machine. Shame on me already.
GuB-42 3y ago
OS as a subscription is not a dumb idea. Not that I like it, but with security updates, hardware support, etc... an OS requires constant maintenance. And if you don't update, often thing start to break down as apps drop support. It would be fine offline, but you can't do much offline today. But that's not it. Windows 7 still works, in fact, all Windows versions still work if you still have the hardware (or VM) for it. It is just that upgrades from Windows 7/8 are not free anymore. But that's normal, major upgrades are rarely free. The free Windows 10 to 11 (previously 7/8 to 10) path is the exception here, because Microsoft really want as many people as possible to essentially beta test the latest version of Windows.
- mentalpiracy 3y ago
  You’re right, OS subscription isn’t a bad idea. It’s a horrific, intrinsically anti-user idea that should be loudly and aggressively smothered every time it rears its ugly head. There is no version of reality where OS-as-a-service does not become a n irreversible hostage situation, leaving users at the mercy of “line go up” corporate self-enrichment. We’re practically there already. Look at the trajectory of IoT products. Even if you pay extra for a product that is sold as no-subscription - like the PHILIPS Hue line for example - one day you will inevitably discover the hardware that you already paid for is being held hostage until you accept the new Terms of Service and pay a subscription fee. This isn’t hyperbole - it has already happened dozens, even hundreds of times. OS-aaS is a cute idea for a world where the free market is working correctly, bolstered by strong consumer protections and effective enforcement of regulations. There must be a line.
  - GuB-42 3y ago
    The situation in mobile is already worse than an OS subscription. Imagine if I get screwed by Microsoft. I can always install Linux or some other OS on my PC. With mobile, even if I don't pay monthly for the OS, after a few years, the OEM discontinues support and the only option if some hacker didn't build a custom ROM for my specific device is to buy a new device or see my system slowly break down as apps drop support, and that's without considering security. So we are already being "taken hostage" without an explicit subscription, and in a way that encourages throwing away perfectly good hardware and produce e-waste. The locked down hardware is the real big problem. A paid OS subscription on an open hardware platform is bad, but a "free" OS on a closed platform is worse, because while you are hostage in both situations, in the former, you still have usable hardware. IIRC Philips Hue supports zigbee, so you are not completely hostage. With an open zigbee controller, you still have working light bulbs, you can stop using Philips subscription software. Inconvenient, but you don't have to throw away your lightbulbs.
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  If we're going to pay then will MS cut back on the ads? Upsells? And digital colon probing? Or are we going to pay to be violated? And told to like it?
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  The issue is, if you stop paying, does that mean your hardware stops working? That your files are no long accessible? There's also a not-so-good incentive of the manufacturer not having to worry as much about QA because it's a given the fixes / maintenance is going to be paid by the subscribers. That is, no sense increasing quality if the lack there of doesn't effect margin and perhaps is even rationalized as justifying the subscription model.
xattt 3y ago
That may be the selling point of Windows 12. Because fuck you, that’s why!
Ekaros 3y ago
Isn't commercial support already kinda that? See some players in Linux world. It is not that weird of an idea. As vendors of OS, must keep putting real effort in their products. And that isn't free. So either they can sell copy one time or then sell subscription. Sad thing is that Windows has been extremely cheap for amount of use you can get out of single licence. Years of 24/7 use...

It's coming...OS as a subscription.

booleandilemma 3y ago

It's never too late to switch to linux.

chiefalchemist 3y ago
Yeah. That's where I'm headed eventually. I was going to say that in my upthread comment but didn't want to get distracted. I've used MS and Apple in the past, but both are privacy threats at this point. My next hardware update will be a made-for-Linux machine. Shame on me already.

GuB-42 3y ago

OS as a subscription is not a dumb idea. Not that I like it, but with security updates, hardware support, etc... an OS requires constant maintenance. And if you don't update, often thing start to break down as apps drop support. It would be fine offline, but you can't do much offline today. But that's not it. Windows 7 still works, in fact, all Windows versions still work if you still have the hardware (or VM) for it. It is just that upgrades from Windows 7/8 are not free anymore. But that's normal, major upgrades are rarely free. The free Windows 10 to 11 (previously 7/8 to 10) path is the exception here, because Microsoft really want as many people as possible to essentially beta test the latest version of Windows.

mentalpiracy 3y ago
You’re right, OS subscription isn’t a bad idea. It’s a horrific, intrinsically anti-user idea that should be loudly and aggressively smothered every time it rears its ugly head. There is no version of reality where OS-as-a-service does not become a n irreversible hostage situation, leaving users at the mercy of “line go up” corporate self-enrichment. We’re practically there already. Look at the trajectory of IoT products. Even if you pay extra for a product that is sold as no-subscription - like the PHILIPS Hue line for example - one day you will inevitably discover the hardware that you already paid for is being held hostage until you accept the new Terms of Service and pay a subscription fee. This isn’t hyperbole - it has already happened dozens, even hundreds of times. OS-aaS is a cute idea for a world where the free market is working correctly, bolstered by strong consumer protections and effective enforcement of regulations. There must be a line.
- GuB-42 3y ago
  The situation in mobile is already worse than an OS subscription. Imagine if I get screwed by Microsoft. I can always install Linux or some other OS on my PC. With mobile, even if I don't pay monthly for the OS, after a few years, the OEM discontinues support and the only option if some hacker didn't build a custom ROM for my specific device is to buy a new device or see my system slowly break down as apps drop support, and that's without considering security. So we are already being "taken hostage" without an explicit subscription, and in a way that encourages throwing away perfectly good hardware and produce e-waste. The locked down hardware is the real big problem. A paid OS subscription on an open hardware platform is bad, but a "free" OS on a closed platform is worse, because while you are hostage in both situations, in the former, you still have usable hardware. IIRC Philips Hue supports zigbee, so you are not completely hostage. With an open zigbee controller, you still have working light bulbs, you can stop using Philips subscription software. Inconvenient, but you don't have to throw away your lightbulbs.
chiefalchemist 3y ago
If we're going to pay then will MS cut back on the ads? Upsells? And digital colon probing? Or are we going to pay to be violated? And told to like it?
chiefalchemist 3y ago
The issue is, if you stop paying, does that mean your hardware stops working? That your files are no long accessible? There's also a not-so-good incentive of the manufacturer not having to worry as much about QA because it's a given the fixes / maintenance is going to be paid by the subscribers. That is, no sense increasing quality if the lack there of doesn't effect margin and perhaps is even rationalized as justifying the subscription model.

xattt 3y ago

That may be the selling point of Windows 12. Because fuck you, that’s why!

Ekaros 3y ago

Isn't commercial support already kinda that? See some players in Linux world. It is not that weird of an idea. As vendors of OS, must keep putting real effort in their products. And that isn't free. So either they can sell copy one time or then sell subscription. Sad thing is that Windows has been extremely cheap for amount of use you can get out of single licence. Years of 24/7 use...