DrJBHL

Join Date 04/2002

+4257

“Free Windows Forever” sounds great, but don’t bank on it.

TheVerge recently published an article about MS considering making its Windows Phone OS and Windows RT available for free to OEMs.

That question has been occupying my thoughts lately due in part to two recent Forums posts, and the ensuing comments. I held that due to Google’s business model, Android and Apple’s ‘Updates’ policies, Windows would probably follow suit.

Preston Gralla has been an astute observer and author (more than 40 books and countless articles and reviews) and he differs.

His argument is that those business models are precisely what will prevent “free Windows forever’. It’s a matter of dollars and sense (pun intended).

Apple’s update policy sort of forces new device purchase, and they aren’t ‘cheap’. Apple’s updates cause the hardware to become slower and slower, and engender app updates which do the same. To me, while these updates do improve performance on some devices (the newest), they force purchase on the older device owners. That smacks of ‘enforced obsolescence’ which isn’t a nice thing. I’m not sure this is a ‘forced’ thing, but its result does favor their sales figures.

Google’s income comes from advertising and the use of Google’s various services, so the OEMs get the Android OS for free. No revelations there.

Microsoft is a bird of another feather altogether. Licensing Windows is likely to bring in between $4.1 and $4.3 billion. Bing ad sales and MSs services can’t bring in anything like that. So, freebie Windows OS won’t be in the cards for desktops (shrinking sales) nor laptops (also shrinking). Probably not for tablets either, since their sales have plateaued and even contracted so far in 2014.

The only place where freebie W8.1 and possibly W9 will come into play is in phones, to encourage W8.1 phone sales. Maybe tablets as well at the low end of the cost spectrum, to enhance that (again, to encourage sales) especially in foreign markets.

I think that’s a very persuasive argument. What do you think?

Source:

http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/23629/free-windows-forever-microsofts-future

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Hehe, another reason I wouldn't buy an over priced apple(anything). I'll keep my brick.

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LightStar

Join Date 12/2002

+1607

Well, Microsoft may make it free to OEM's, but they will probably just charge the end-user for it anyway and call it something like a "software installation fee" or something just so they can make more money. Corporate greed at it's finest.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

I knew from the get go that Microsoft would not offer Windows 9 for free. Its two main income streams come from Windows and Office, and while MS has other irons in the fire, dropping payment for those two products would severely hamper research, product innovation and diversification.

Having said that, however, it may be that Microsoft sees the need to heavily discount Windows 9 in order to remain competitive in the OS market. Both Apple and Google have made ground in the OS market, so MS may see the need to sacrifice some profit to increase market share, and in doing so it can reap profits from its other applications made for the Windows platform.

I am very much looking forward to the release of Windows 9 and its improvements upon Win 8. That is not to say that I don't like Windows 8/8.1, because I do, and very much so. However, I believe Windows 9 will bring some new and exciting developments that not only build upon the innovation Windows 8 brought us, but go well beyond and then some. Given that UEFI was relatively new when Win 8 was being developed, and that CPUs have come a long way since, I believe Windows 9 will yield significant speed and stability improvements, among other things.

A whole lot of people complained, bitched and bellyached about Windows 8 and how unusable it is, but really, it is the stepping stone to a much improved platform in Windows 9. Furthermore, I wouldn't take the sales figures for PCs as being a serious decline and/or ultimate demise of the desktop PC. People already had PCs when tablets hit the shelves, so it was natural that they'd want to check out the latest in tech, rather than buy a new desktop PC.

The thing is, tablet sales have leveled off and many of those PCs people had before will need to be updated/upgraded in order to take advantage of the latest in OSes and software. I therefore believe things will come a full circle and desktop PCs will again be the flavour of the month for some time to come. I believe this because tablets simply do not have the processing power to achieve many tasks that a desktop PC can breeze through, and to make tablets more powerful and capable, they would have to become bigger, bulkier and more clumsy, and people do not want that in a portable device.

So long live Windows and desktop PCs

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DrJBHL

Join Date 04/2002

+4257

What might happen though is that MS will not charge for updates to RT and 8.1 and might sell the Surface a lot cheaper to compete.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

Quoting DrJBHL,

reply 4

What might happen though is that MS will not charge for updates to RT and 8.1 and might sell the Surface a lot cheaper to compete.

Yes, I see that as an option and it could put Surface in the hands of more users should MS undercut the other manufacturers, thus bringing more users to the Windows platform and becoming customers of the other MS offerings.

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BernieTime

Join Date 10/2009

+10

I recall having read an article recently that Microsoft is reducing the cost of OEM licenses to Tablet developers so that they can bring down the retail cost at market. Can't recall the source as it came aggregated on Zite.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

Quoting BernieTime,

reply 6

I also recall seeing that somewhere. There was also mention of OEM licenses being discounted for desktop and laptop PCs, though at the time MS had not confirmed this possibility. It's like they've leaked a little bit of this and a little bit of that to keep everyone guessing as to what their next move is.

Having said that, I think Windows 9 will be seen as a public beta sooner than most expect, as will its going retail. Not that Win 8 is a bad OS, its slow adoption rate was not what MS expected or wanted, so I believe it will release Win 9 ASAP to recover lost ground and re-establish Windows as the forerunner in OS technology... and yes, it will run rings around every OS released to date.

There will still be detractors and those whose decrepit old hands won't let go of XP, despite primary support ending next month, but I say expect big things in Win 9, it's going to be phenomenal.

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Uvah

Join Date 05/2006

+874

I intend to wait on 9 and see what's up before I say anything. I like the suspense. Lol

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

Quoting Uvah,

reply 8

I intend to wait on 9 and see what's up before I say anything. I like the suspense. Lol

After the disappointment of Win 8, I think many people will wait on Win 9 to prove itself, even if it gets positive reviews from the same writers who canned Win 8. The thing is, as Vista was the necessary step to Win 7, Win 8 is the necessary step to Win 9, and perhaps it will fall into obscurity, but it is not the bad OS many claim it to be.

After a year + of using it exclusively, I have found Win 8 to best the best OS Microsoft has released to date. I know many will not/do not agree with me, but that's their prerogative.

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Uvah

Join Date 05/2006

+874

No, it isn't as bad as all that but I have very limited experience with 8. However I do agree that its a necessary first step towards a more integrated OS. Now all they have to do with IE is take out all the butt fuglies.

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DrJBHL

Join Date 04/2002

+4257

Quoting starkers,

reply 9

After the disappointment of Win 8, I think many people will wait on Win 9 to prove itself, even if it gets positive reviews from the same writers who canned Win 8.

That would be the judicious thing to do...not all defects surface immediately.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

Quoting Uvah,

reply 10

Exactly, just as Vista wasn't that bad and was the next step to the "best thing since sliced bread" [Win 7], Win 8 is the stepping stone to the future and much greater things. Okay, the greater public didn't take to it too well, and Microsoft took a huge risk in releasing it at the time, but it was a risk that needed to be taken to launch Windows into a new era of computing.... and while many have written off MS as a lost cause, I think we're in for some pretty amazing things not too far off.

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Uvah

Join Date 05/2006

+874

Ever watch the news. Those big screens they use and manipulate with just a touch, those are common place now. Imagine what is really out there.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

Quoting Uvah,

reply 13

Ever watch the news. Those big screens they use and manipulate with just a touch, those are common place now. Imagine what is really out there.

Yes, there is some pretty amazing tech out there, and I'd love one of those big screens built into a tilt-top desk arrangement. Now that would be cool.

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