Windows 12 May Require a Subscription
References to subscription 'edition,' 'type,' and 'status' found in a test build of Windows.
[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a "Subscription Edition," "Subscription Type," and a "subscription status."
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For the average consumer, this would help Apple and Google out more than anything. People want what they know.
On the more savvy user side and for gamers, this move would, potentially, help Linux adoption rates.
It would help all of their competitors. A non zero number of people would move from windows to each of the others.
Whether or not the number moving away from windows and on to each of the others is significant or not is a different matter.
The biggest thing helping Linux right now is Valve's work improving the gaming experience, IMO.
Even the rumor of this makes Valve’s focus on Linux seem that much smarter.
I've never used Linux but if Microsoft goes subscription I'm out and I'll be learning Linux.
NGL PopOs is easy and the works with steam/most things easily.
I really hope Windows doesn't go subscription based because of the proliferation of ads.
I've been meaning to install Linux on my primary gaming PC but haven't yet due to laziness. This would 100% get me to pull the trigger if/when I ever had to upgrade/reinstall.
valve would be really happy if Microsoft do windows subscription, lmao
For the average consumer, this would help Apple and Google out more than anything. **People want what they know. **
Exactly, which is why this will probably work, do you really think the average consumer that's used to Windows is going to switch to Mac when they can just pay 5$/month instead? Lol
As long as the price isn't ridiculous like 50$/month or some shit, the average consumer is just going to pay it lolol
To start, I don’t think it’ll be a “subscribe or else” type deal. My assumption would be something like a forced S mode unless you subscribe.
Second, people won’t jump right away. To start, word will get around and they’ll simply not update. Then, when it comes time to buy a new computer, the average user will be possibly swayed to look at entry level MB Airs (They often go on sale for like $750) or Chromebooks.
The people who will get really pissed will be power users and gamers who will be forced to shell out money to get back features they had in previous versions of the OS.
Honestly, I don't even think it'll be S mode. Just Home really and for pro users they'll end up with the subscription model
Yeah the only people whose minds this will change are agnostic techies
Yup, Chromebooks are already cheap and pretty intuitive, I think this will bump their sales a lot. I've ditched windows long ago except for my gaming PC and the PCs at my office (I don't have a say in those though, I just much prefer Linux
Yup, Chromebooks are already cheap and pretty intuitive, I think this will bump their sales a lot.
Won't matter to Microsoft at all. You'll use your Chromebook to connect your Windows 365 Cloud PC . They'll add it to the Microsoft Family Plan, same one that has MS Office in it, for free when its introduced and then slowly raise the price as people get embedded into it.
Gaming? You'll buy the WinBook Ultra that can handle streaming gaming or buy an Xbox.
Welcome to the future, it'll be here in 10 years or less.
Chromebooks generally encourage you to use Google's family of office apps. So I don't know about that.
It'll be a legal battle where MS will claim Google's closed ecosystem as a monopoly and force them to carry the "MS Cloud PC App" in the Play Store. Or you'll just go buy a "WinBook" made by HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc...
And tablets, which most people seem to be using these days.
I’d switch at that point. I’ve only not switched because the pain isn’t worth the reward right now. I’d have to learn a bunch of new apps and hasn’t been worth it.
Start charging a subscription fee. I’ll learn to use whatever tools a priority.
Trust me, it’s already worth it. Literally every other operating system in existence is better than windows. I’d use Temple OS before going back.
Caveat: if the software you need is supported. Unfortunately that's the major reason I haven't switched
Does that include the Miley Cirus operating system?
Yes.
I was thinking, "Wait...what...?" But there it is:
And a lot of linux programs take inspiration from Microsoft's design because they're the norm. When you think of a word processor you think of Word, same goes for all of Office 365 actually.
I think of Word 2007. All downhill after that...
Edit: Or was it 2011? I can't even remember anymore..
They implemented the ribbon menu in ~2007 office iirc, somewhen around Vista. 2003 is the old WinXP styled one with all these little menus and buttons, fugly but usable. Is that the one you've meant?
I’m having to use windows+office for work after a few years of being linux only, and god do I hate modern office’s interface.
The ribbon, on its own, isn’t super offensive to me - its just a chonky toolbar. But why on earth did they have to get rid of the classic menus?! If I don’t know where a feature is, it’s so much easier to skim through text menus than flipping from ribbon to ribbon, hovering over each button for tooltips, and popping out secondary toolbars of icons to find what I want. It’s maddening for someone who only needs to use office intermittently.
No I think it was 2011. Whatever the stable most streamlined release was before Office 365 rolled out.
Aha, okay. So we have different tastes in software. Are we supposed to fight each other now?
Yes. Grab your mswords! 🤓
If i remember correctly, 2010 introduced the ribbon and 2013 was the last edition before 365 took over
That's the one!
I think of Google Docs now because the inconvenience of not being able to have word on my own system without a price caused me to use the free alternative.
@solivine Same, and it just works better. Whenever I need a word processor or spreadsheet at home I don't need that much, and I need to be able to access it on all my devices, not just my home computer. So having the free alternative work faster, better, everywhere, then I don't even see Office as relevant anymore.
When you think of a word processor you think of Word.
Only if you're a cretin! The only thing one should envision when thinking of a word processor is WordPerfect 1.21a for the Apple IIgs!
Envisioning Calligra Words is also acceptable.
Now that's just some bullshit and you know it
Haven’t used windows by choice in over a decade, and no regrets.
Remove the bloatware with a free program like ShutUp10++, and Windows is a fine OS. Linux may very well be better still, but better enough to go through the effort of switching over, reinstalling everything, relearning everything, finding alternatives to programs, etc.? I doubt it. Not for me at least.
Then save yourself and use a Mac! /s
I think the general consumer mostly uses the web browser tbh.
Start trying some of the open source apps on Windows. For example, try using LibreOffice for a bit and see how it compares to Microsoft Office. You may be surprised to find that the difference isn’t as big as you thought.
LibreOffice works at least as well as Word on its own terms, the problem is how Microsoft deliberately breaks interoperability so you can't reliably share the documents you create on Libre with people who are going to open them with Word.
Absolutely. Works great for printing or converting to pdf, though. I just export them to docx anyway and see what happens.
Don't they both use the open format now? .odt? I haven't needed to use an office suite for a while, but I would have thought that it would force compatibility.
Word does not use odt
Sorry, first chance I've had to check.
I've just opened a new file in Word and gone to Save As, and .odt is the default choice.
OpenDocument Text (*.odt)
I wish. Try editing a document with tables.
LibreOffice is fine if all you are doing is writing a Dear Princess Celestia letter, but when you actually start doing advanced things, the jankiness of LibreOffice starts to become wasted effort. If I have to spend more time fighting the program than actually doing work, it's worth the money for Office. Especially at $70/year for M365, which is roughly 1-3 hours of work depending on what job and such.
Unfortunately the difference is huge. It's not just the cost of learning a new tool, it's that 10% of really important features are not there. For me for example it was the ability to apply a theme to an existing presentation in Impress. Well in the corporate world, it's mandatory.
Using Linux daily since 99, as my only personal OS since 2013, and still struggling with the office alternatives.
Since most companies are moving their tools to web-based versions, the switch will be even easier.
Office already has extensive een versions. They're not entirely there yet, but good enough if you don't need advanced functionality.
Like garbage. That’s why I haven’t invested in the time. I write large documents and do lot of research for publishing. As such learning a new tool is a pain in the ass
It does the same job but when you're using it constantly the small QOL things really matter.
Exactly. It’s taking the time to learn everything to produce a document quickly for publishing.
Even going from pc to Mac word requires an uplift.
I figure when I make the switch, it’ll cost me about 100k in lost productivity. Nothing has driven me to take that loss yet but a subscription might.
Favorite OS be damned when you have a fiscal consequence. Switching to Linux full time will cost me money at the end of it and I can't justify that until it costs me more to NOT switch to Linux.
My biggest argument for Linux is: Windows isn't going to get better, but Linux will.
I started using a lot of the same open-source tools that are on Linux as replacements in Windows to ease the transition. As someone else mentioned, most of the top projects strive to match the workflows of traditional Windows options. Some lemmy instances have huge posts of top tier open source alternatives to most things you need and somethings you don't.
There might be a subscription option or a subscription tier with a windows suite like office and stuff included in it, but for normal windows OS, they're decades away from going to a subscription only model, at best.
I imagine they’ll split it into an enterprise version and then multiple consumer tiers, with a "free/lite" version with ads and progressively more function or less ads. Folks that dont use a computer for more than web browsing will jump on that
might as well be that they change their licensing model for businesses to some sort of Subscription. The resale of volume keys has been a pain in their butt for a long time.
That honestly makes sense B2B, wouldn’t hate that as a policy but I do dislike it on the consumer front. But I’ll never use windows personally again so I really only care for how it affects the rest of the computing world
Judging by this decade I don't estimate in decades anymore.
Too true brother. I went from decades to years to months to weeks to, ah fuck... tomorrow?
Why? They could roll out W12 with subscription-only plans. Besides the contracts they currently have that specify a specific amount of security updates for X years, they can let W11 and previous versions die. No more updates besides what they need to protect themselves.
It's not like governments and businesses will balk. They already pay a premium for Windows licenses and they'd probably get deals, anyways. Average home users might not upgrade, but all new PCs sold will have W12 and require a subscription if you want to be able to use most of the features.
This is what happens by not breaking up MS more or imposing penalties for anti-competitive behavior.
I could see them releasing hardware that's tied to a subscription that Windows would track, perhaps, or offering subscription as a payment model for Windows.
You're right, though I can't see a straight migration to subscription-only happening. They haven't even gotten Office to subscription-only yet, despite their wish to.
They haven’t even gotten Office to subscription-only yet
Getting closer every day. Having a M365 subscription for Office is now the normal way that SMB and larger businesses work with it and at home Microsoft's "Family Plan" that includes Office has been doing nothing but growing since they introduced it. Last I checked they were over 50 Million subscribers.
Windows as an OS will eventually be going subscription. You'll pay the licensing to unlock features like the Windows "S" mode model or you'll pay the licensing in order to access a Windows 365 Cloud PC that's part of your family plan.
Most home users will have hardware similar to a Chromebook. "PC" gaming will be done via streaming or you'll just buy an Xbox.
Welcome to the future.
I've been hearing a variant of this since I joined Slashdot in 1999. "Microsoft really messed up this time, mainstream Linux adoption is right around the corner!"
Yeah, except the Steam Deck has been giving a huge reason to provide compatibility with Linux, and Valve/WINE have been pushing hard as hell to help facilitate it.
Unity pushed me to go with Godot. Unity already had a Linux editor, but this has pushed me to also move from Photoshop to Krita, since we’re in that kind of mood.
I tried several games last night that were rated gold or platinum rather than native on ProtonDB. While some people provided launch options, they all worked flawlessly out of the box. I’m even the first person to file a compatibility report for Furry Cyberfucker, let’s fucken go.
Piper let me configure my mouse and keyboard without the need for GHub. My HOTAS works flawlessly without the Saitek software, since I’m used to configuring buttons in-game.
I tried this last year, and went back to Windows with the same “it’s not quite there” response as everyone there. But I’ve been keeping an eye on this since I had to use ndiswrapper to get Ubuntu to play nice with my wlan adapter, and this month, I installed PopOS, and have been getting along pretty well. I haven’t encountered a single issue or compatibility that outright breaks this move for me, and I’m generally stubborn as shit to learn new things.
It may not be the “year of the Linux desktop” for everyone, but it is for me. If you’re expecting some monolithic mass adoption, keep dreaming, but this progress doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
I have two main concerns with switching. I may eventually switch when these get better.
I was just reading that ACT doesn’t work will with overlays on Linux. Here’s hoping though! I can’t for the day when I have a solid free/open source Linux desktop running all my games. One where I’m not afraid to update in fear of breaking. One where I don’t need to use docker to host Overseerr and nginx. One where I have the control like I (mostly) do on my work laptop.
One day….
I can’t speak for your FF stuff, that’s outside of my wheelhouse. However, Piper has taken care of my configuration for my G502 mouse and G815 keeb. Even the lighting options work. Will need to re-record your macros, probably.
Yeah, except the Steam Deck
aaand he replies with a gaming rant. Most users arent children nobody gives a fuck about steam and le wholesome gaben chungus. We want excel and word. Witcher 3 is not a selling point. You live in a teenager reddit bubble.
Hey, that’s cool, man. You do you.
Right!
If I had gotten 10 cent each time I heard (or said) this I would be close to 10 € by now :D
I switched to Linux back in 2006 but not everyone has the knowledge, the capacity or the motivation to do so.
I have the capacity and the knowledge but not the motivation.
Someday Linux desktop percentage will jump up, but not how the optimists have thought. It's going to be more because the younger generations don't think they need desktop operating systems, leaving them exclusively to to younger gen-X, older gen-Y, various hobbyists, and those who need a desktop workflow at work and like it enough to bring it home. The desktop will settle into its niche, like live theater, fountain pens, and a thousand other mass culture relics, and Linux will still be there chugging along while Windows and OS X (as we know them) slowly molder due to reduced profits in the desktop space.
I have a kid, and yes, there's a laptop she uses, but to her it's exclusively for games and for dicking around in Roblox Studio or TinkerCAD. I've even seen her close a game, settle into her chair at the very same desk, and pull up Youtube on an iOS device. And this is from a kid who is more comfortable with a PC than most of her peers.
It’s going to be more because the younger generations don’t think they need desktop operating systems
We're already there. The Millennials, and every Generation after them, by and large don't give two shits about the Operating System, they're used to working in an App Driven ecosystem...just like your kid.
2025 is the year of the linux desktop!
It legit could be. When Win10 support ends you have three options:
None of those three options are easy, and Linux is the only option that's free and guaranteed to work. Although to be fair most computers made after 2018 have the TPM chip, and so I don't know how many folks will actually be running 7+ year old hardware at that point. It's probably more likely to cause a jump in PC sales more than Linux adoption.
Personally, mine has TPM but Windows is complaining that it didn’t give itself enough space in the bootloader to upgrade itself to 11 and this is somehow my fault. I’m debating whether I’ll bother to try troubleshooting it when 10 goes EOL or just move my gaming PC to linux. I do like having at least one Windows machine around for compatibility but it’s getting too annoying to get caught up.
I’ve been using linux on my laptops and tablets for years so it wouldn’t be a huge hurdle for me to switch.
Yeah, and steamdeck might gain more customers too
if microsoft doing stupid shit with windows affected linux adoption rate, we'd all have switched by now.
I've played around with Linux before, but never really wanted to use it. I've always just been happy with windows. Without a doubt though, if they started a subscription for it. I would switch to Linux.
Or folks like myself that refuse to get a TPM just to run a worse OS. I’m fine with Windows 10.
I’m the tech savvy guy in the family. I’ve always said that I keep windows around for gaming and some level of music production. However, if this happens with Windows 12, I’ll move 100% to Linux and deal with the ramifications. Most of my game collection is on Steam which I know has some Linux support now for certain titles.
Only if they manage to contain pirates.
im really sad to say this because linux bros are cancerous but if they did a windows subscription i would probably have to swap linux...
