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."
I'm looking forward to the Year of the Linux desktop ™️
Right now, my Windows 10 installation is pretty bloatless and is easily revertable when an update wants to change things. However I'm definitely looking for a more mainstream Linux solution because I know these times won't last.
Check out Endeavor OS. I've been using it for about 3 months now as a full replacement to my old windows 11 set up.. everything I've needed it to do, with the exception of a few games has worked either right out of box or with minor tweaks. The forums are active and the Arch Wiki has answers to nearly every question you may have about the backbone of the OS. System updates are incredibly easy and are done on your schedule, not Microsoft's.
I've got a windows 10 PC that I built as a gaming computer like 10 years ago. To be honest it spends a lot of time turned off because Linux has become much better for gaming using Proton.
However sometimes it is really useful to have a windows computer around. Being able to use Visual Studio for C# and C++ projects is particularly good given how much scaffolding their frameworks give you. Still, if I end up having the system being forcibly upgraded or when it leaves LTS it will probably end up being sold for spare parts.
We would need large companies and developers to start making their applications for linux and right now thats very hard because linux has 2500 different package managers and no one wants to maintain version of their apps for even the top 5 linux packaging methods, so unless that changes they will continue to make windows/mac only apps
Actually, yeah, that's a cool way to look at this. Imagine everything getting support over night. The only reason I don't use Linux is because a ton of the things I do on a computer require windows.
Been and gone for me.
it may actually come now if this happens
Literally can't happen, at least not on the scale y'all like to imply, not in the way Linux is today. If your OS doesn't work with a ton of peoples' hardware at all, no wide adoption. Don't pretend this doesn't happen-- it happens all the time. I was never able to get sound working on Ubuntu with mainstream hardware. If your OS requires a ton of technical knowledge to get any basic hardware or software feature working, no wide adoption. If your OS runs any commonplace software in a glitchy, super-slow way, no wide adoption. Wide adoption of desktop Linux is just not going to happen until a distro has a well-organized, goal-oriented, QA-pushing non-profit such as Mozilla making sure it works for the masses, on almost any hardware.
Remember when Microsoft said that Windows 10 would be the last edition?
In effect, it will be for some people fed up with all this bullshit.
They're not wrong. It'll be the last Windows for me.
tbf, it was Jerry Nixon who said that, a developer evangelist for microsoft, not the company itself. the media just ran with it.
I don't believe for one bit that windows will move to a pure subscription based model. They are greedy, but not stupid.
What's more believable is that the base OS will be the same as usual, but if you want fancy AI assistants in your OS, you must subscribe, with the justification being that MS must pay for the servers running the models you're using.
The idea that windows would require a subscription for an OS pisses me off more than I thought.
Good way for them to guarantee a exodus of people switching their OS.
Kinda like the reddit exodus...
If reddit decided to charge for access I'm sure everyone would leave
"Like all reddit protests, this will blow over too"
But why though? Like, the major complaint people have with Windows now is that it’s starting to advertise. They need to consistently provide updates and security patches, and the consumer has clearly shown it’s willing to pay subscriptions. This is kind of a blending of that. As long as they remove the advertising, and keep their “AI” out of my files I’d actually be happy paying for Windows again just like the “old” days except as a subscription. If it means that every windows install doesn’t come with Candy Crush and other bloatware I’d actually chalk this up as a win for consumers rather than the “free” windows right now that’s ad ridden and full of trackers.
Of course the realist in me also knows though that they’d fuck it up and make you pay while tracking everything, but I’d rather have an either or.
People hate advertising. That is why people switched over to cable. If you give companies money directly, they won't have to do ads to make money.... just like how cable has no ads! Or Netflix!
Can anyone confirm that my understanding of the source article is correct?
The "Windows 12 may require a subscription" is coming from the fact that the word "Subscription" exists in a Windows config file somewhere?
That seems like a pretty big leap to me. Not that I don't think it's impossible that Microsoft would do this, but the evidence here seems thin to say the least.
Maybe this will finally convince the world to move to Linux Mint
You'll be surprised/dismayed how resistant people are to learning something new.
It's extremely obnoxious to suggest that people don't use Linux because they don't want to learn something new. They don't use it because there's absolutely no need for them to do so when Windows is a fantastic OS for their needs
Even when you're a bit more savvy it's easy to configure Windows to your liking without all the bloat and spying
I'm perfectly happy programming a Pi for little projects so I know Linux wouldn't be a problem for me, but I simply have no need for the hassle
Linux users are like militant vegans; they do more to put people off Linux than promote it
I'm technical and I still prefer Windows at home. Linux, as great as it can be for development, is not great for everyone. It doesn't "just work." My favourite example of Linux not "just" working is when Linus tried to install Steam on PopOS. He accidentally nuked the entire desktop. I could have easily done the same if I wasn't paying careful attention. One should never, ever be able to destroy their OS by installing Steam. That's part of the issue. When things go wrong, all of the instructions which present on Google are people providing terminal commands. Unless one is very comfortable with using the terminal, they're going to be copying and pasting these commands in and hoping for the best. This is what went wrong for Linus. This is far worse than following GUI based troubleshooting techniques which guide the user through defined and safe resolutions.
This over-reliance on the terminal is pervasive, and I find myself having to use it for everything from basic OS configuration to software installation to software configuration to drivers to hardware installation and troubleshooting. Every year I boot up a new flavour just to see if things have improved, and they haven't. Ultimately Linux is built by developers, for developers. That's great, and it does many things really well. I've just come to accept that it doesn't do consumer stuff very well. It lacks the UX polish present in Windows and MacOS, and most consumers like that. It fails especially hard when it comes to gaming. I literally cannot install any of my Fanatec wheel/peddle/shifter peripherals in any distro. Only 18% of games on ProtonDB are Tier 1. Even of those, it doesn't guarantee a trouble-free experience. Half the top streamed Twitch games just don't run on Linux at all, or require absurd workarounds and suffer from terrible performance.
I'll keep using Linux for my home server, but it's along way from replacing my PC or laptop OS.
I've been watching Reddit and Twitter, nothing can surprise me anymore.
That's not the problem... The problem is Linux isn't "normal". Their work laptop comes with Windows or osx. Their home computer comes with the same.
Now go tell the average person to install Linux... To them, you might as well be telling them to open up their computer and snip a jumper to make their computer faster. To them, you're telling them to take their working computer and do something they don't really understand and is beyond their ability to undo.
It's an aftermarket modification to them. If you want to make Linux approachable, it's really damn simple. Hand them a computer running Linux, with a pretty desktop manager, and a GUI for everything you expect them to do with it. Better yet, add an app store so they can try out software and run updates without feeling intimidated
My point is, if manufacturers start selling Linux machines again, a lot of people will get on board
People aren't opposed to learning, they're just scared of breaking it, and they need to at least be able to use a web browser without going up a learning curve
Humans are creatures of habit. The average user won't switch until the pain of using what they know outweighs the pain of learning something new + the fear of something new.
I have mint dual booted on my laptop with Win 11. I find myself using Win11 more.
Idk why, linux mint doesn't feel finished to me:
It does work mostly ok though and is quick, but it doesn't feel polished. Ubuntu was great but fuck snap packages.
If you're using synaptics as the touchpad manager, there is a config element to control the speed of the scroll
VertScrollDelta and HorizScrollDelta (integer) configures the speed of scrolling, it is a bit counter-intuitive because higher values produce greater precision and thus slower scrolling. Negative values cause natural scrolling like in macOS.
It’d certainly convince me. I run windows 11 since my laptop came with it but if I had to pay for my OS I’d run to Linux. The existence of Proton makes it much easier to switch now as well.
Switching to a Linux can be overwhelming. A few distros have made great strides to make most of the OS work right after installing it. But even if there’s only 1% issues due to hardware, drivers, gaming, etc., troubleshooting those issues would often require using terminal and are not accessible to everyone. There’s no customer support to reach out to, and online forums can be difficult to navigate for someone not familiar with coding.
It 'can' be overwhelming, yes. I've never found, however, so MANY online guides that literally tell you step by step what to enter in the terminal window to succeed. There's always a learning curve, it's just about whether or not you want to pay Windows every month to avoid figuring this out. This is why I mentioned Mint specifically, btw. It's the most user friendly.
Most of my tech literate (yes, literate, not illiterate) friends were actually supportive of this.
So imagine what tech illiterates will be like.
Most people will just accept it as a cost of computing, I fear.
For personal use maybe. Im 100% my job (and possibly most workplaces) will just eat the subscription cost to stick with what they know.
Arch
btw?
I have used Windows for a decade now and keep using it because my workflows and the application support are there. But as someone that uses Linux on my server, has tried out Linux desktops, and uses WSL, I can confidently say that I am gone if they start charging me a subscription. It will be annoying as hell but just like leaving Reddit I am willing to give up some niceties to keep my money and my morals.
So does Linux, I subscribe to the Arch rss feed, which is the operating system I use btw.
Oh thank goodness you told me, I thought you might be an Ubuntu user there for a sec
typical Arch user :).
If an arch user was a vegan what would they tell you first?
I know there's always someone evangelizing Linux when you mention Windows anything, but when Microsoft requires a subscription for Windows is the day I will actually move to Linux.
Why not now?
Not the commenter but the answer is easy - right now, it's not costing me anything to run Windows on my PC, and installing Linux takes research, time, and attention that I don't feel like investing in my home PC at the moment. Probably the next PC I build (whenever my 10 year old Dell i7 is too damn slow, only now starting to get laggy) will run Linux. Previously I only installed linux on laptops I retired from active use, just for shits and giggles. Never once had a linux powerhouse, but now that linux gaming is a reality, I'm very interested in getting away from the advertising platform that Windows has become.
Article: "We don't know how, but Windows is taking away a pint of blood from the user every time the OS is booted up".
Some guy at the edge of fainting: "I swear, I am this close to switching away".
Windows would always give you a homeopathic dose of value to being kept from switching out.
I have friends that no longer use Facebook to chat, but still doomscroll their timeline anyway, because once per twenty ads there is one post that barely interest them. They won't switch, they won't even try other media, they just keep telling themselfs about those two times per year they got something useful out of it.
I can confirm if Windows ever required a subscription I'd be swapping to Linux so fast. So Fast.
Am not convinced this will happen with Win12 or anytime soon. Microsoft realizes if they did this they would be losing monopoly over desktop operating system and with that they will lose a lot more than just OS money as people will migrate towards alternative software, like Google Docs or LibreOffice. What might end up happening is subscription based pro edition or something similar. If there's ever subscription for all of Windows am assuming they will make it easy to pirate.
Maybe the subscription edition means that it will be a different tier, so you will buy Windows for cheaper, but you have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription.
Or it has some connection to your Microsoft 365 subscription, and it would give you more Copilot/Other AI features.
This feels most likely to me too, though maybe even for an Edu or "managed" Windows install of some kind where you get more support and more opinionated stable installs or something. Sort of like Windows S mode but maybe with more help.
I'm already planning to. I run Windows 10 and as soon as that stops receiveing security support (or really as soon as I have the time) I'm gonna be swapping over to Linux for good.
Would fit in with the fact that Microsoft has just patched the remote activation exploit that was used for years.
They patched KMS‽
They patched HWID, but looks like a new version dropped shortly afterwards
I think they're referring to the use of a Windows 7 key to get a Windows 10/11 upgrade?
I will happily just not use it. My desktop usage is already 99% Linux, and it has been for considerable amount of time too. The only thing holding me back is my Destiny 2 guild. The moment that is allowed through Proton, I will be removing the partition completely
I'm so confused why Bungie doesn't just flip the Linux switch on... they don't have to do anything else. Cheating can't be the problem, since most cheats are developed for Windows anyways... as for support, the Linux community is very self sufficient, look at all the games running on through proton out of the box
They're already struggling with cheaters as is, because battleye has never properly prevented things properly. Supporting another system that can potentially flood their backend with more stuff they can't handle properly isn't in their interests.
They claim to have grasped interest in what's happening but some 200k views and half as many active responses later, nothing had happened
Sometimes moneygrubbing shareholders do us a favor by steering companies into implementing terrible policies. If Reddit wouldn't have been so greedy with it's treatment of third-party app developers most of use wouldn't be on Lemmy right now. If Microsoft forces Windows users to pay a subscription I think it sends more people away from closed-source garbage and into the arms of the open source community. I've enjoyed watching Reddit implode, hopefully I get to watch a similar show from our friends at Microsoft.
Linux. Again. Install Linux
Ubuntu Linux Debian Linux Fedora Linux Pop!os linux Arch Linux for all i care
Install Linux, stop accepting this bullshit from Microsoft. ALL of their software sucks, they care more about marketing and pulling money out of your pocket than actually giving quality software.
Open source software blows everything Microsoft out of the water, stop accepting the bullshit
Maybe this isn’t for personal editions.
I’d suspect Microsoft would prefer to move personal editions to being mostly perpetual and OEM licenses, while a subscription service for business/enterprise makes more sense. Windows licensing for business is a nightmare and a per-install subscription model could be much simpler to manage while still offering good breaks under Enterprise Agreements and putting license and support under one annual sku.
ETA: Also, worth remembering that “Windows 365” is a thing and it’s very useful for DaaS. Term-based licensing makes tons of sense for DaaS/Cloud Desktop/VDI environments.
And actually, that could make a lot of sense in a future home/personal market with purpose built thin clients. Or perhaps even a set top box. Maybe, even, the Series S. A small monthly/annual fee to to make your Series S into a full-fledged desktop PC, sounds like a hell of a deal to me.
I have ran GNU/Linux since the early 1990s. Practically since it first existed. Distributions like MuLinux, Yellowdog Linux, Slackware, Debian, etc. This generally has lead to multiple difficulties. Sometimes I had to dual boot to get around said difficulties. Around 2010, I got good enough with WINE, software work arounds and alternatives that I didn't need to dual boot anymore. I did like to play various games still back then, but around 2010 Valve's GNU/Linux support was improving (unless my memory deceives me)
This post has made me feel that for the first time, all that struggle was worth it, heh.
On a side note, there's some sort of dark irony with personal ownership dying under capitalism. I feel like the majority of us hate all these subscriptions models, but we keep playing along .vs. becoming cave hermits.
"Windows 12 is now included with game pass ultimate "
If they launch a subscription that includes ad-free Win12, Office, OneDrive and GamePass for like $20 a month, a lot of people would actually be happy about the change. Especially if the base version of Win12 was free with ads.
Then once people are happy with how good the deal is, they start raising the price and removing things that were once included.
Its the classic slow boiling frog, slowly raise up the temps until its fully cooked
*200$
I am on Game Pass Ultimate right now because I got a free trial month, which I am using to play Starfield. I have 18 days left on it, after which I intend to cancel the subscription and wipe Windows out of my life forever.
Spend your remaining 18 days playing Lies of P instead. Or TMNT Shredders Revenge. Or Arcade Paradise. Or Exoprimal if you wanna get wild.
Fuck that noise
A subscription really would push me to linux. I already prefer it at work anyway.
I don't even want windows 11. What makes them think I'm gonna actively buy and pay a subscription for Windows 12. Linux exists and I will absolutely buy a computer, wipe it and put a Linux distro on it. Microsoft is way too invested in this subscription nonsense.
Hmm, I’ll be running Windows 10 after EOL then. I won’t pay for Adobe subscriptions, I won’t pay for ANY monthly subscriptions. I will license lifetime software with 1 year of updates but that software works after the update phase has passed.
That feel when you just moved to Linux and you still enjoy Halo and Forza.
Gaben literal god tier status
What will be the Windows equivalent to "drink verification can?"
And Windows 12 will become business use only.
edit, i only see this being the case for an enterprise version tied to azure ad. There will still be a retail version.
I'm only on windows because it's easier for my setup and game support. The second that becomes costly or annoying is when I nuke my C drive and reinstall Mint. I used to use it as my daily before I started gaming heavily, I can easily go back.
autokms is gonna get a lot more popular if microsoft do this
Looks like M$ really got to like Linux! It does everything to promote it! :D
Guess it's time for templeOS then?
I’m just so sick of it. God I miss the early 2000s era of just about everything.
I'm somewhat amused by the fact that lots of people are suggesting Linux as an alternative but can't agree on which flavor to use as the alternative.
Don't get me wrong, I think Linux is awesome, but this is the problem. You're never going to get the saturation necessary to bring average consumers over in significant numbers until they have a clear choice.