Micro$oft to start charging fee for Windows 10

F-14 Ace · **on:** July 14, 2016, 12:27:09 PM

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/20...oo#77046886dfab

Micro$oft will start charging a monthly fee to use Windows 10. Supposedly it only applies to businesses at the moment. Supposedly... Regardless, my disappointment with Micro$oft has reached a climax and I've already decided that I'll never buy another Windows computer again. A Mac or one of those Android laptops sounds nice.

ADFan185 · **Reply #1 on:** July 14, 2016, 02:41:08 PM

That's horrible they have like 60-85 billion dollars and they're charging there users to use there product. That is being selfish and greedy. I'm disappointed in them right now. That's totally wrong of them to do this.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #2 on:** July 14, 2016, 03:57:05 PM

Currently I use Linux, so this doesn't really concern me so much. But it doesn't really surprise me. There was already a move to start charging monthly for certain things I believe, if I'm correct. Like Microsoft Word and Photoshop. It was just a matter of time before an OS got included in that.

ADFan185 · **Reply #3 on:** July 14, 2016, 06:06:43 PM

Yeah true I'm lucky I don't have Windows 10 so it also doesn't concern me.

Kor · **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2016, 08:33:46 PM

If they do I could easily just move to Linux.

ADFan185 · **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2016, 08:46:18 PM

Any reason why they're changing money to use it

retrorobby · **Reply #6 on:** July 15, 2016, 02:28:26 AM

Quote from: ADFan185,Jul 14 2016 on 07:46 PM

Any reason why they're changing money to use it

Lol cause they want to make more money and don't care about the user end. It really doesn't surprise me that Microsoft was going to start charging Windows monthly. Like some of us have said already it was only a matter of time.

The good thing is that I have Linux on another computer. So I know how to use that operating system well.

ADFan185 · **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2016, 02:43:36 AM

I'm glad I still have Windows XP on my computer

JulianR94 · **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2016, 04:50:44 AM

Can't say I'm surprised either. XBox live service already costs money for absolutely no reason, which is why I own a PS4. And then even Sony moved on to make online gaming cost a few bucks, and lost me as future customer. It absolutely enrages me, as I see no benefit for the user. Sure, you get a crappy game for free now and then, and a few discounts, but other than that it's just a mindless money-grab that hurts them more than benefit. Same goes for an OS. Especially considering how much fixing Win10 still needs.

Now, I personally doubt Microsoft will end up charging for existing OSs for home users. I for one, when I bought my new PC, paid 100Ä for Win10 to be included, as I wanted a solid disc copy of it for restore purposes (which I used once already). But I'm not keen at all on switching over to another OS. I've grown fond of Win10 once I learned how to access every area. However, given what they stated about making Win10 'universal' for cellphones, tablets, PCs, I highly doubt they want to risk every market and Apple completely taking over. It's mind-boggeling how stupid people in these big companies can be, with absolutely no connection to reality.

So here's hoping that they get an overwhelmingly bad feedback for this heinous move to screw over their customers, and show insight like they did with XBox One already (where they had planned to make it a forced always-online platform). Otherwise, I can see a bright future for Microsoft's competitors.

ADFan185 · **Reply #9 on:** July 15, 2016, 07:49:21 AM

Sadly companies don't care if they screw over there customers by doing these horrible acts of greed.

action9000 · **Reply #10 on:** July 15, 2016, 06:43:09 PM

What choice do businesses really have?

If you're a business who needs to use Windows 10-exclusive software for your work, you're going to pay the subscription.

You see similar practices all over the professional world.
Here are some examples:

Here's Informatica, a piece of pro-level database integration software:
https://www.informatica.com/ca/products/clo...us-pricing.html
It costs $2,000 per month for the "basic" licence and $4500 / month for the advanced licence.

Here's Composer Cloud X, a music production suite:
http://www.soundsonline.com/composercloud
Starts at $30 / month.

Autodesk suite went subscription-only recently:
http://www.cadalyst.com/management/autodes...only-2016-25644

If you just want Autodesk Maya, it's $185 / month or $1470 / year
http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/subscribe

People have already mentioned Photoshop.

You see this sort of stuff all the time on the business side. From Microsoft's point of view, it probably makes a lot of sense. Businesses are used to subscription models for their software already. It probably won't really take off on the consumer side anytime soon but these costs are relatively low for businesses. Such a model makes upgrading much simpler AND encourages everyone using the software to always be running the same, most recent version as upgrades will generally always be free.

There are some reasons why this may not actually be awful on the corporate side. I'm not super concerned.

JulianR94 · **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2016, 10:09:13 AM

Yeah, I agree on the business side. I should make clear that I was solely talking about the home users, and charging them fees for using an operating system.

You are totally right with businesses. It is a small amount of money to them and also encourages them to stay up-to-date all the time.

ADFan185 · **Reply #12 on:** July 16, 2016, 10:47:16 AM

Yeah to the multi billion dollar companies it's a small amount but to family owned businesses not really a small amount.

JulianR94 · **Reply #13 on:** July 16, 2016, 10:53:17 AM

Quote from: ADFan185,Jul 16 2016 on 04:47 PM

Yeah to the multi billion dollar companies it's a small amount but to family owned businesses not really a small amount.

True. However, seeing as how actually quite a few businesses stayed with Windows XP for way longer than advisable, continous upgrades seem the better solution to me.

Now, you are also right, of course. It is harsh on them, which is why I am still looking at this with mixed emotions. I see no problem with offering what MS has in mind, yet when they try to force their way it becomes very much debatable.

Will have to see what they make of it, in the end.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #14 on:** July 16, 2016, 11:01:00 AM

A recent Windows update rendered all my old games unplayable, even the ones that previously ran just fine. Flight Simulator won't work because someone at Micro$oft decided that the copyright protection software was a "security risk" and the update blocks the program from running. Rather than giving me a "I don't give a crap run it anyway" option, they just flat out wouldn't let the game run. I literally had to bootleg a copy of a game I already owned to get past Micro$oft's BS.

I had a Windows tablet it it was totally worthless. The screen didn't even rotate. Dropping it on the floor was the best thing I ever did with it because I went and got an Android tablet to replace it. Half the cost with ten times the functionality. Seriously, Windows tablets can't do squat! They're just a watered down version of Windows. They hardly run any apps since most apps are geared toward Android or Apple. If you want a tiny Windows computer with no keyboard and half the functionality of a normal computer, complete with slow loading times and frequent program crashes, and that won't do anything you'd expect an actual tablet to do, then a Windows tablet might be for you. If you want a real tablet, go for a different brand.

JulianR94 · **Reply #15 on:** July 16, 2016, 11:44:59 AM

Feel you. I used to own a HTC Mozart, Windows Phone. Needless to say, it was the worst piece of garbage I had ever possessed. Literally everything about it was crap, except some selct few design choices. Now that I own an Android HTC One, I can really see the difference in App variety, functionality and quality of the whole OS.

I should note that I am not defending MS by any means here. Like I said, I am very conflicted about this and still hope they refrain from applying this money-grab tactic even for business users.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #16 on:** July 16, 2016, 12:45:01 PM

My Windows tablet only had one camera which was a webcam, so you couldn't even take any decent pictures with it. I've still got the useless piece of junk sitting around. One of the automatic updates deleted the driver for the touch screen. I called tech support and they insisted that I had a hardware problem. Upon reinstalling the OS, the touch screen worked just fine. Until the update that caused the first problem was reinstalled, that is. Still the idiots at tech help insisted that the problem was hardware related. The tablet had a keyboard but the touch pad was clunky and only work some of the time. The ONLY use I ever got out of the tablet was when I was using the GTA5 save editor to mod the game on my Xbox. Instead of having to run back and forth to my main computer, I could just plug a USB into the tablet and run the program from there. It was also useful for looking up game information. A two foot drop onto a carpeted floor from my nightstand shattered the screen despite the thing being in a protective case, and now the touchpad on the keyboard won't even work, otherwise I might still be able to get some use out of the thing. I'm still trying to decide if I should just toss it or if I should use it for BB gun practice and THEN toss it. I tried to see about getting the tablet repaired and nobody seem to know how to fix a Windows tablet. So chalk up another failure. You can't even repair the piece of junk! It probably costs more than the darn thing is worth anyway.

I'm still up in the air about whether to buy an Xbox One or a PS4 since I'm not too thrilled with Micro$oft at the moment. The only thing that might entice me is that the Xbox One is (supposedly) getting reverse compatibility (something it should have had in the first place) to play 360 games.

JulianR94 · **Reply #17 on:** July 16, 2016, 01:05:56 PM

Quote from: F-14 Ace,Jul 16 2016 on 06:45 PM

I'm still up in the air about whether to buy an Xbox One or a PS4 since I'm not too thrilled with Micro$oft at the moment. The only thing that might entice me is that the Xbox One is (supposedly) getting reverse compatibility (something it should have had in the first place) to play 360 games.

Myself having had only the PS consoles from PS1 to PS4, I will try not to be biased and say this:
It all depends on what kind of games you want to play. PlayStation 4 is a more powerful console with better graphics and perfomance most of the time, and it has awesome titles such as God of War, DriveClub, Gran Turismo, Uncharted, etc. So it's perfect for me, as I never was a Halo, Gears of War, etc. guy. Also, you can use Sony online services to download demos and buy games, the subscription is only for actual online gaming (and only for titles which you can play in singleplayer; multiplayer only titles you don't need PSPlus for), while you have to pay for Microsoft online services alltogether, as far as I know.

As for the rest, yeah, I can feel you on that too. I try to refrain myself from ranting, but trust me, I could when it comes to Microsoft.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #18 on:** July 16, 2016, 01:12:47 PM

The ONLY reason I'd consider buying a Xbox One is because I already have a 360 and a bunch of games that I hope to be able to play on the Xbox One.

JulianR94 · **Reply #19 on:** July 16, 2016, 01:15:30 PM

I see. In that case it would make sense to get one.
Have you checked this list here?: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-the-x...s/1100-6434025/

You probably have in a way, but it lists all backwards compatible games. And I have to say, that's not a long list.