3 ms·

Microsoft is famously a handful of very different and very large companies who don't seem to speak. The DevDiv part is a lot different now than 20 years (or eve

Microsoft is famously a handful of very different and very large companies who don't seem to speak. The DevDiv part is a lot different now than 20 years (or even 10) ago. The other sides of Microsoft are mostly the same as they always were. Microsofts OS division have bet everything on the strategy that "enthusiasts" aren't going to run Windows anyway. It's a segment they never cared about, and nothing indicates they ever will. I don't agree with the strategy (because it's these enthusiasts who recommend things to everyone around them and of course fix their parents machines every Christmas since the 90s), but I'm going to guess that more clever people than me have run the numbers and reached the conclusion that it's better to alienate our 10% of the Windows user base while catering only to enterprises and the non-tech-savvy users who are actually likely to buy the subscription recommended on the start menu. We weren't going to do that anyway now were we?

cjk2 2y ago
I don’t agree with this. You can run macOS without this crap so why can’t you run windows without it? macOS is arguably less enthusiast oriented than windows. Microsoft is one facade regardless of who is underneath it and they are aligned in user hostility at the moment. Even devdiv is a mess.
- alkonaut 2y ago
  > You can run macOS without this crap so why can’t you run windows without it? MacOS is a service tied to selling an expensive piece of hardware. They don't need to make money by selling MacOS, they make money selling the Mac. Microsoft makes money selling Enterprise Windows licenses, Office subscriptions, OneDrive subscriptions, AppStore cuts etc. But they let Acer put an OEM copy of Win11 Home edition with very little markup because it's likely that these customers will a) ensure thir employers keep running windows because everyone knows it and b) they are likely to buy a OneDrive/Office365/whatever subscription. > Even devdiv is a mess. How so?
pcdoodle 2y ago
This is a very good point. A lot of purchases in tech are recommended from a friend or family member. From 95 - Windows 7, I could talk grandma through her problems without even being near a computer. Now the start menu can't even search properly.

cjk2 2y ago

I don’t agree with this. You can run macOS without this crap so why can’t you run windows without it? macOS is arguably less enthusiast oriented than windows. Microsoft is one facade regardless of who is underneath it and they are aligned in user hostility at the moment. Even devdiv is a mess.

alkonaut 2y ago
> You can run macOS without this crap so why can’t you run windows without it? MacOS is a service tied to selling an expensive piece of hardware. They don't need to make money by selling MacOS, they make money selling the Mac. Microsoft makes money selling Enterprise Windows licenses, Office subscriptions, OneDrive subscriptions, AppStore cuts etc. But they let Acer put an OEM copy of Win11 Home edition with very little markup because it's likely that these customers will a) ensure thir employers keep running windows because everyone knows it and b) they are likely to buy a OneDrive/Office365/whatever subscription. > Even devdiv is a mess. How so?

pcdoodle 2y ago

This is a very good point. A lot of purchases in tech are recommended from a friend or family member. From 95 - Windows 7, I could talk grandma through her problems without even being near a computer. Now the start menu can't even search properly.