The writing is on the wall–I suspect the next Windows OS will be a subscription service. Gather your ISOs while ye may.

  • megopie@beehaw.org
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    6 months ago

    some are talking about this like it’s going to be the straw that breaks the camels back and suddenly everyone will flock to a Linux distro, but, realistically, most market share is based on what companies use for work stations, and companies ain’t gonna change unless it starts to seriously impact productivity or it cost them more.

    For personal/freelance-work computers, some people will just suck it up because of inertia. Of those who just can’t stand it… most will probably buy a mac next time they get a computer. There will probably be an increase in Linux usership, but it’s probably gonna be a 5-1% change in market share, depending on how fucked 11 ends up being as time goes on.

    Probably the biggest increase in market share will be from schools adopting chrome books or the like.

    • Michael H. Jenkins@infosec.pubOP
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      6 months ago

      I’m anticipating that an ad-free version will be made available on educational or commercial licenses–or to home users for a nominal monthly fee. This mirrors the model used by Hulu, Prime, et al so there’s a roadmap in place for it.

      I’m with you re: FOSS OS migration. Some folks will but the majority will stick with Windows because that’s what they do. It amazes me how many people think that Windows and MacOS are the only possible choices.

      • megopie@beehaw.org
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        6 months ago

        Now I’m wondering if the point of the ads is not to make revenue, but to get people used to paying a subscription fee for their OS by way of a “removing ads” fee, maybe they start bundling other things into the subscription version like game pass or office to sweeten the deal, then slowly transition to a purely subscription model.