4 ms·

Microsoft doesn't give 2 cents now on desktops and desktop software. They care about selling cloud and cloud products. Since they can't charge a subscription f

Microsoft doesn't give 2 cents now on desktops and desktop software. They care about selling cloud and cloud products. Since they can't charge a subscription for Windows (like Adobe does for its products), they don't care about it anymore.

radiator 6mo ago
Why can't they charge a subscription for windows? It could be only a small yearly fee.
- sheiyei 6mo ago
  Because Windows is a garbage product and they would quickly wipe out its userbase by doing that.
- MSFT_Edging 6mo ago
  It's primary benefit is that it comes free with the laptop they bought on Amazon. Once there's friction there, it'll make other friction seem less bad.
  - radiator 6mo ago
    Maybe they could find another way to market it, e.g. Windows is free but with ads, and there is a subscription which makes ads go away. Or something else. Some creativity is needed.
hnlmorg 6mo ago
Do they no longer charge annual licenses for Windows Server? On that topic, it’s always surprised me just how little Apple invest into their enterprise / business backend services. Everything about the way they integrate Macs into businesses is awkward. Apple could make so much money there if they wanted to. It’s a real missed opportunity.
- dangus 6mo ago
  The issue is that nobody (relatively speaking) uses Windows Server. I don’t even think Microsoft is all that adamant that their customers use it. It’s just not competitive with Linux and that ship has sailed. Linux is better and costs $0. Microsoft lets you run .NET applications on Linux and they’re better there. I think the same thing happened with SQL Server. Nobody’s choosing it for new projects, its niche is basically legacy software. I agree that Apple is missing an opportunity with business and enterprise but I think the issue is that they’re so far behind that catching up would be a massive investment that might never pay off. This is similar to saying that Microsoft missed an opportunity with smartphone ecosystems. They could spend billions on getting a smartphone back on the market and it would arrive and everyone would ask the question “why am I buying this when my iPhone has X million apps on its store and is a nearly perfect device?” If Apple Enterprise Cloud was available today who is switching and why? Apple would have to undercut established players to convince businesses to switch via a massive migration effort.
  - mapontosevenths 6mo ago
    I work with fortune 500 clients, and all of them use Windows server for something. Usually a lot of somethings. For example: Active Directory. If we look at Microsoft's revenue I think it's pretty clear that they do in fact care an awful lot about Windows Server - or at least should. In fiscal year 2025, Microsoft Corporation's revenue by segment: Devices: $17.31 B Dynamics Products And Cloud Services: $7.83 B Enterprise Services: $7.76 B Gaming: $23.46 B Linked In Corporation: $17.81 B Microsoft Three Six Five Commercial Products And Cloud Services: $87.77 B Microsoft Three Six Five Consumer Products and Cloud Services: $7.40 B Other Products And Services: $72.00 M Search Advertising: $13.88 B Search And News Advertising: $13.88 B Server Products And Cloud Services: $98.44 B Server Products And Tools: $98.44 B Windows: $17.31 B
    - dangus 6mo ago
      I don’t think this is clear at all because the segments are lumped together and highly unclear. What’s the difference between “server products and cloud services” and “server products and tools?” I assume the former is Azure and the latter is on-premise. In that case if we lump 365 in with server products and cloud tools then it shows that 2/3 of the enterprise revenue is going to cloud and 1/3 is on-premise (and I assume that 1/3 is declining over time)
dreamcompiler 6mo ago
I get the impression they care very much about windows because they can sell ads on it.
Ygg2 6mo ago
I don't disagree. A big reason 2026 is the Year of the Desktop Linux is that MSFT lost any interest in the Desktop PC platform. Outside selling more of my data and filling it with AI Slop. But if, say, AAPL had won the PC wars, we'd be staring at a much more locked-down, much more expensive OS experience.

radiator 6mo ago

Why can't they charge a subscription for windows? It could be only a small yearly fee.

sheiyei 6mo ago
Because Windows is a garbage product and they would quickly wipe out its userbase by doing that.
MSFT_Edging 6mo ago
It's primary benefit is that it comes free with the laptop they bought on Amazon. Once there's friction there, it'll make other friction seem less bad.
- radiator 6mo ago
  Maybe they could find another way to market it, e.g. Windows is free but with ads, and there is a subscription which makes ads go away. Or something else. Some creativity is needed.

hnlmorg 6mo ago

Do they no longer charge annual licenses for Windows Server? On that topic, it’s always surprised me just how little Apple invest into their enterprise / business backend services. Everything about the way they integrate Macs into businesses is awkward. Apple could make so much money there if they wanted to. It’s a real missed opportunity.

dangus 6mo ago
The issue is that nobody (relatively speaking) uses Windows Server. I don’t even think Microsoft is all that adamant that their customers use it. It’s just not competitive with Linux and that ship has sailed. Linux is better and costs $0. Microsoft lets you run .NET applications on Linux and they’re better there. I think the same thing happened with SQL Server. Nobody’s choosing it for new projects, its niche is basically legacy software. I agree that Apple is missing an opportunity with business and enterprise but I think the issue is that they’re so far behind that catching up would be a massive investment that might never pay off. This is similar to saying that Microsoft missed an opportunity with smartphone ecosystems. They could spend billions on getting a smartphone back on the market and it would arrive and everyone would ask the question “why am I buying this when my iPhone has X million apps on its store and is a nearly perfect device?” If Apple Enterprise Cloud was available today who is switching and why? Apple would have to undercut established players to convince businesses to switch via a massive migration effort.
- mapontosevenths 6mo ago
  I work with fortune 500 clients, and all of them use Windows server for something. Usually a lot of somethings. For example: Active Directory. If we look at Microsoft's revenue I think it's pretty clear that they do in fact care an awful lot about Windows Server - or at least should. In fiscal year 2025, Microsoft Corporation's revenue by segment: Devices: $17.31 B Dynamics Products And Cloud Services: $7.83 B Enterprise Services: $7.76 B Gaming: $23.46 B Linked In Corporation: $17.81 B Microsoft Three Six Five Commercial Products And Cloud Services: $87.77 B Microsoft Three Six Five Consumer Products and Cloud Services: $7.40 B Other Products And Services: $72.00 M Search Advertising: $13.88 B Search And News Advertising: $13.88 B Server Products And Cloud Services: $98.44 B Server Products And Tools: $98.44 B Windows: $17.31 B
  - dangus 6mo ago
    I don’t think this is clear at all because the segments are lumped together and highly unclear. What’s the difference between “server products and cloud services” and “server products and tools?” I assume the former is Azure and the latter is on-premise. In that case if we lump 365 in with server products and cloud tools then it shows that 2/3 of the enterprise revenue is going to cloud and 1/3 is on-premise (and I assume that 1/3 is declining over time)

dreamcompiler 6mo ago

I get the impression they care very much about windows because they can sell ads on it.

Ygg2 6mo ago

I don't disagree. A big reason 2026 is the Year of the Desktop Linux is that MSFT lost any interest in the Desktop PC platform. Outside selling more of my data and filling it with AI Slop. But if, say, AAPL had won the PC wars, we'd be staring at a much more locked-down, much more expensive OS experience.