Constant maintenance does not entail running an OS on their servers and RDPing into it. I have a capable machine, I can service it myself. If Microsoft wants to

Constant maintenance does not entail running an OS on their servers and RDPing into it. I have a capable machine, I can service it myself. If Microsoft wants to EOL OSes after a one-time purchase, that is their prerogative. There is a distinct difference in expectation between subscription OSes and LTS releases, though. That's why Microsoft can value a Windows license at hundreds of dollars. OS vendors have a continued interest in supporting my hardware so they can exploit me as a customer. If Microsoft makes too hasty of a move, they know they'll just push their users onto competing platforms that don't charge for 5+ years of support. Stuff like MacOS, ChromeOS or even Linux.