Windows 7 End of Support

lehnerus2000 said:

I suspect that by 2023, a lot of local OS functions will have been transferred to the Cloud, specifically to prevent users from controlling their own PCs.

I also suspect that M$ is heading somewhere that will at the very least be controversial. If it isn't everything in the cloud or selling our stats, it could be renting the OS and/or showing ads everywhere. It could be something even worse than that. They have to have a plan for making up that lost revenue from giving it away for a year. They have something up their sleeve and it'll not be pretty but those on 10 with their forced upgrades will have no choice but to deal with it. The average end user isn't going to care to put linux on their computer and it is already next to impossible to have 7 or 8.1 on new computers thanks to a secret agreement between m$ and Intel.

townsbg said:

I also suspect that M$ is heading somewhere that will at the very least be controversial. If it isn't everything in the cloud or selling our stats, it could be renting the OS and/or showing ads everywhere. It could be something even worse than that. They have to have a plan for making up that lost revenue from giving it away for a year.

Brds7t7 said:

I also think that there will be more ads and annoyances baked into Windows 10 further down the line. I expect them to lock it down a little more too.

I suspect that ultimately Windows will be turned into an Azure-based subscription OS (Pay-per-Click).

Brds7t7 said:

Technically Windows has always been rented software, even in older Windows versions. You buy the licence, but it's only giving you the right to use their software. You're still bound by the EULA terms.

In terms of renting it I'm speculating about end users having to fork out money yearly or even monthly or you lose the ability to use it kind of like office 365. That's unprecedented. Previously you only had to pay for Windows when going from one version to another no less than about every 2-3 years. Even then that was optional although they did their best to get users to upgrade. If they go that route users will be forced to update to whatever version they implement it on by their horrid update system which is one of the reasons why I don't like it.

7 users weren't forced to go to 8 when it came out and either where forced onto 10 although they did try to trick and nag users into installing it. With each version they did make it harder to get it on new computers and withdrew support but users weren't forced to upgrade. They are heading down a dangerous path and I don't trust them. They will have to change their policies drastically for me to go to 10 and I highly doubt that they will do so.

Brds7t7 said:

lehnerus2000 said:

I suspect that ultimately Windows will be turned into an Azure-based subscription OS (Pay-per-Click).

What is Microsoft Managed Desktop?
What is Microsoft Managed Desktop? - gHacks Tech News

Announcing Microsoft Managed Desktop (MMD)

So computers are heading to a cloud based portal for which we are given a terminal and won't be able to do anything without access. All for the low price of $20 per month.