One OS to rule them all, one OS to find them, one OS to bring them all and in the light bind them.

Can yall idiots just fact-check for a goddamn second? https://www.windowslatest.com/2023/10/16/no-windows-12-is-a-free-upgrade-and-wont-require-a-subscription/
Edit: Just type "windows 12 subscription" into your search bar. It's fewer words than any of these comments!
- No man dont ruin Linux rabid users from removed about Windows.
  
  Someone mentioned Linux!
  I use Arch btw.
- But but but that's not as fun as hearing a bunch of Linux users removed about shit they heard once maybe.
  Really though this website seems to have more misinformation and just general stupidity than even reddit.
- I simply just hate windows and dont care if its true or not. they sell you without subscription.
- It's only free since they assume you'll be paying for windows11 subscription.

if this is true I might actually stop being lazy and mess with Linux for my personal systems
- Please do.
  One of us, one of us!
  
  There is no "us" or "them". If Microsoft will maintain its streak of spoiling everything they touch, everyone will switch to Linux sooner or later 😉
- https://www.windowslatest.com/2023/10/16/no-windows-12-is-a-free-upgrade-and-wont-require-a-subscription/
  As it turns out, the rumours discussed by some outlets are based on the “IoT Enterprise Subscription” of Windows 11, not Windows vNext. For those unaware, Windows 24H2 or Windows vNext is what Windows 12 is being called publicly. As you can see in the above screenshots, the “subscription” code strings found in the preview builds are associated with a new Enterprise version of Windows 11 loT and have nothing to do with Windows 12 or future versions of the OS.
  I’m not saying to use it or to not switch to linux, but maybe this isn’t that much of a concern.
  I’d be more concerned about
  the next version of Windows will be heavily integrated with AI and cloud capabilities.
  
  Windows accounts for 12% of their profits, and I'm willing to bet that the consumer versions are a very small part of that. Most businesses are not buying OEM licenses. They are already using a subscription model for M365 which includes Windows licenses or a standard EA or SA agreement.
  They learned after the Windows Phone that they don't need to win the client OS battle as long as they can get their other products on the devices. Since then Windows has really focused more on keeping you locked into the Microsoft ecosystem versus keeping locked into Windows itself. Hence why the upgrades have all been free where in the past you would have to repurchase each new edition of Windows.
  Of course I could be completely wrong. They have done some bonkers stuff in the past.
  
  Good ol click bait titles.
- I haven’t found it that difficult. Just take the plunge.
  
  I'm not concerned with difficulty just that it'll take a bit of my time
  yes I'm lazy
- I'm an early adopter of Linux (early as in 96-97) but I also run MacOS and Windows so I'm I tell you this from an unbiased point of view. Linux has never been easier to run. My daily driver is a ThinkPad running Pop!_OS Linux and I never have to think about it. I just installed and everything ran.
  I don't game on my daily driver, I use MacOS for music. At this point Windows is relegated to Adobe Creative Suite, GeForce Now, and the occasional game I can't run on Linux or GeForce Now.
  
  Truly ungovernable, mad respect.
  
  No doubt. LibreOffice is way better than the windows office sweet now. Seriously zippy fast and easy to use. And less stuff breaks.
- Just start by dual booting one of the "easy" distros and doing stuff that doesn't require Windows. Eventually you'll start spending more and more time on it out of comfort, then one day you may realise that you haven't needed your Windows partition in months, and can skip out on it entirely.
  
  Another alternative is to use FOSS software this is available on Linux and Windows. Get used to the software before the desktop itself. For me, dual booting was a lot of work and wasn't fun. Maybe live booting for a session or two could be a way to go? I never tried that.
- It's easy if you know how to manage your anger
  
  oh I'm experienced with anger I assure you. I work with CSS and PHP in my job
  
  Or not. Swearing at the screen and punching the keyboard always feel cathartic after failling to do something for the nth time.
- News flash, it's not
- I made the switch about a two months ago. I'm using my windows side of my dual boot a hell of a lot less than I thought I would, mostly thanks to steam's proton.
  Started with zorin, but eventually landed on mint.
  
  I’m trying to narrow down today’s distro choices, would you mind telling why you switched away from Zorin?
- I’ve already been playing with Nobara and Linux Mint.
- linuxjourney.com is a good resource
- Hard agree. I got a friend trying to get me on linux, and I've just been on windows since my first pc.
  But fuck it. I'll maintain 10 until eol and then whatever Linux supports will be the games I play on steam.
- I personally reccomend Zorin OS. The default GUI has the windows layout, so you won't be too confused. Also it is very pretty.
- if you don't use linux, why are you here?, not gate keeçing, but it's linux memes, i didn't know other people could find it funny
  
  I use Linux for work and on some virtual machines personally to mess around sometimes so I know my way around it
  
  To be clear, it may be a linux meme, but it’s a post about a possible future with Windows, that may lead some to switch to linux. Windows users being in here, commenting and asking questions, isn’t weird.
- or just crack windows (is faster than setupping everything in linux)
  
  Setting up a functional Linux environment can be accomplished within a comparable timeframe to that required for a Windows installation. When opting for user-friendly distributions such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu, the installation process becomes equally accessible for users, presenting no significant challenges when compared to Windows, so while you are entitled to hold this opinion, its factually incorrect.

This was based on a report that was debunked almost immediately, y’all gotta stop reposting this every day.
- Nooo but it confirms my viewpoint :-(
  
  Oh that sweet, sweet confirmation bias hit. Nothing like it!
- Good luck, the vegans of the transistor realm have decided that complaining about fake news regarding windows is the best topic to just never shut the fuck up about.
  
  Are you OK?

I love paying for spyware!!!

Everyone here thinking it’s the beginning of the great migration :tm:
Sorry guys, people are just going to use cracked versions of windows to play games
- I suspect most people that only use their Windows computer for general stuff like web browsing, e-mail, multi media, office etc., which is probably the majority by far, will actually fall for the subscription scam.
  
  Yea sadly most people already do via an M365 subscription, if MS decides to tack an OS in with that, doubt many would care enough to make a swap.

This is the moment where Hannah Montana Linux will shine
- If you’re not running Ubuntu Satanic Edition are you really a devout follower of the dark Lord
- uwuntu better
  
  Hell of a targeted ad
- A chance for Faramir, Captain of FOSS, to show his quality.

Guess that's the day I move over to Linux full time? Just installed mint on one of my work machines to play around on anyways....
- The best time to start is now. The second best time to start is now.
  Welcome!
  
  Fuck, I missed the two best times to start

Kudos to Microsoft on keeping to inpirationally show us with every edition it can still get even worse... 😅

Nah, just PC Mag fearmongering again

It's not going to happen for normal users. This is most likely for users that already use some ms subscription, like office.
- Exactly, it's going to be Office 365+Windows in a single package kinda deal.
  Probably with a mostly functioning Windows left if you stop paying, but no access to specific features or Office.
  It's just a way to get people to pay a few bucks a month extra for the Office 365 package, which in the long term culminates to getting full bank plus then some for Windows, instead of a one time flat fee people will then use for as long as they keep the system.
  Most people I know use the same system/laptop for 3-4 years, some even as long as 6-8 years if the thing doesn't break down.
  The subscription will likely be setup so that you pay what you'd normally pay for a basic Windows Home (100-130ish) within the first 2 years (say $5 a month) and every year you use the same device longer than that, is just extra gravy for Microsoft.
  But I doubt they'll drop the simple license. There are to many devices where a subscription wouldn't work and especially in this day and age, connecting the device to the Internet for any length of time is a big nono for the user/company.
  
  John Riccitelo sees your "they couldn't possibly be this self-destructive" and raises you a golden parachute.
  To be clear, all the not-so-bad alternatives in this thread are still dealbreakers for me. I do pay for one Office sub, because I need it for work, but I have Windows installs in maybe half a dozen devices and I am NOT paying subscriptions for all of those.
  The real silver lining is that if they do attempt it, and they might, it wouldn't be the first time a Windows version bombs so bad in favor of its predecessor that they have to roll things back immediately, so we have a pretty clear picture of what that would look like.
- It’s none of the above. Turns out all the references to a subscription in the test builds were to Windows Internet of Things Enterprise subscription edition. Most enterprise things are ran on a subscription type license where you pay for support and rights to use it on an annual basis.
- Or they might lock additional things behind the subscription, like PowerShell, or Windows Defender.
  
  Windows Defender
  So like a mafia stategy. “[not really] Nice OS, be a shame if something happened to it. Maybe you should consider our protection plan”?
  
  It's for Windows 365

The enshittening continues. Why charge people once when you can charge them repeatedly until they decide enough is enough and leave?
- Enshittification referred to products and services that were previously good
  
  Hey now, Windows XP was pretty decent!
  
  Things dont have to be good to get worse.

My suspicion is that home installations will still be available at retail or OEM channels.
The subscription likely applies more to enterprise and possibly Windows 365. Enterprise licensing is a mess which might actually be simplified by a subscription pay-what-you-actually-use model.
Also it’s be cool to see windows 365 come to consumers as an alternative to a full PC. Would be able to standardize on home thin-client builds, or possibly add it as a feature to the Xbox Platform.
- Maybe all business versions, or subscriptions if joined to a domain
  
  I’m just imagining a not-so-distant future where there’s $200 set-top boxes that can hook up to any HDMI port and have a current-gen cloud console and a nearly fully functional PC. Or cloud laptops that have W365 bundled in as part of a 5G service.

This is really just going to make Apple more sales and cripple the PC gaming market.
Then, Apple will do it and… maybe that will be the year of Linux desktop? 😉
- Linux Gaming is now a truly viable force thanks to Steam (Proton). The PC Gaming market will be fine without Windows.
  
  Except it's still hell for online games with anti-cheat. Just about every other month, another article comes out about "Linux players unable to launch..." or "Linux players banned from..."
  Edit: "They hated him because he spoke the truth."
- As much as I hate being bled to death by subscription services, It’s probably still cheaper to subscribe to windows for a whole decade than use an apple computer outright for half that time.
  The majority of Linux users aren’t in it because it’s free (as in free beer) anyway, and most broke gamers will likely continue to just pirate windows regardless.
  However now that data usage and privacy and security is becoming a hot topic in the age of AI, I think once Microsoft and apple both start getting really brazen with their telemetry and embedded spyware, it will finally be the year of the Linux desktop! ;)
- Apple is by far the worst offender of expensive shit products. It's not going to make apple gain shit...the barrier to entry for an apple computer is just fucking stupid for what you get...nothing that good.
  
  My MacBook air was like 1700, it’s faster than most pcs of that price.
- Manifesting this outcome right now

I’m looking forward to see more Linux adoption because of this 😃

Wait. A few years ago, Windows decided they couldn't keep up with warez, so they allowed unactivated Windows for the first time. Now, they are going back to paid model, just to let the piracy shine up again!
In addition, this means, that if I bought a computer with Windows pre-installed, I couldn't operate it? This will render OEM Windows installation useless. So.. year of the Linux Desktop?
- Theyre gonna follow the Adobe model and use online DRM to make it impossible to pirate. You can't pirate software if core functionality depends on online services.
  
  If you think you can't pirate Adobe I've got news for you

OP is spreading misinformation. Ban his ass.

Was already looking to jump ship at the file explorers having ads as a "test" but boy howdy, do it Microsoft. This would push me to make the Linux switch outright.
- Why wait for Microsoft when you can just...
  
  Still just a bit worried about everything I use not being compatible. Windows is the normie choice so chances are if it exists there's a Windows version but with Linux I'd start from scratch.
  Tell you what, when I replace my motherboard in a couple weeks, I'll slot this M.2 I've got and put a Linux partition on it. Any recommendations on what 'version' to start with for a heavy gamer? The different names of Linux 'versions' are kernels, right?
  
  I run everything but work and a gaming rig on some flavor of Linux.
  In the past, I ran all Linux except work, so even gaming.
  I just missed the ease of use of third party tools, mostly for modding sjbgke player games.
  Maybe vortex works and I just don't understand his to use it on Linux, buy I've also run into third party tools for other games (again, single player - not trying to cheat necessarily, though some questionable QoL mods end up creeping in after a few play through) and I'm not sure how to get them to run.
  I've always had trouble with wine, never set up lutris, but proton was a boon for gamers everywhere, Linux or otherwise.
  Anyone have a primer for a power user (sysadmin type duties on my own server, have been using Kali as an educational tool since back track) that's pegged at gamers making the switch to Linux? I've mostly just figured it out looking to random guides and stack overflow, lol.

I've successfully banished all Microsoft trash from my home network but I also work at an MSP all day while having "God damn it Microsoft" tourette syndrome 8 hours a day so I think I might become an evil villain if/when that goes live.
- My favorite quote from one of my coworkers this week: "Why did I expect that copying text from one Microsoft service to another would work?"
  
  They made the fatal error of expecting that anything Microsoft makes would work as intended.

Link if anyone's interested.

Microsoft is so far from where they started and yet still the same dumbasses that they always were

I've held off until now (I haven't), but now I'm going to call it (for the 1000th time):
This will be the year of the Linux desktop.
- Unfortunately, unless Microsoft fucks up BIG time and makes Windows simply unusable, people will continue to use it. I think the year of the Linux desktop will come by the time GTA VII gets released, once we all here are six feet under.

A screenshot of something that was posted 12 days ago?

It’s a bold move now that gaming is viable for linux. Please proceed Microsoft

Windows_12_cracked_Sub_2027.7zip
3489 seeders / 783 leechers

Remember when Windows 10 was meant to be the last edition of Windows ...
- It never was. That quote was an offhand comment by a developer evangelist that everyone ran with as the official word from Microsoft
- It still is, they just changed the number on a random patch when they cut the actually useful option to put the taskbar on the side of the screen.
  
  I'm glad to see somebody else as salty as I am over them removing that feature for Windows 11, as that immediately killed any enthusiasm I had towards it.
- It still is. Windows 10 and 11 are built on the same version of Windows NT with different patches.
  Windows 11 current release - NT version 10.0.22621.2428
  Windows 10 current release - NT version 10.0.19045.3570
  Both are Windows NT 10.0.

yes yes win 12 ...if you do not pay and its not foss....maybe you are the product

Guess its time to learn freecad. I cant stand this sub model.

Fuck Microsoft. Is there any decent music recording/editing/DAW type software for Linux?
- Ardour
  Reaper
  Studio One
  Bitwig Studio
  LMMS
  Zrythm Studio
- There are a lot of pro audio tools available on Linux. I myself use some of the more basic tools, such as the universal plugin host Carla to host LV2/3, VST and LADSPA based audio plugins. And a basic lightweight MIDI mixing sftware called jack_mixer, combine that with a patchbay like qpwgraph, and virtual audio channels set up through pactl and I have a custom, lightweight but infinitely expandable plugin chain and mixer set up I can use for video recording and streaming.
  But software ranges from that all the way to full featured integrated DAW setups and everything in between.

I've been considering making the move to Linux for a few months now. If this comes to pass that will more than likely be the final nail in the coffin. Based on what I've seen, Linux has become a lot more user friendly since I messed with it when I had it on a mini laptop back in the day.

I will never buy subscription software intended to run on my hardware.
If it runs on my machine, and any non-local services are not key to the core product functionality. I'm buying a perpetual license or you're not getting a penny.

So I bought a Steamdeck, and while that is not my first experience with Linux.
It has opened my eyes to how easily it can replace my windows system for personal use.
Couldn't be happier, even with how locked down steamOS is, it lets me do anything I need.

Wait, how do the keywords they mentioned indicate anything about a subscription?

what a shitshow!

Even if w!ndøws did start charging a subscription for their OS, you would not see a single change in the states in places like schools , libraries, or anywhere else with nearly public computer access.
W!ndøws has so much of a foothold on the PC market and everybody from your ancient 90 year old grandma to your 90 day old already know how it works and how to use it. The average person would absolutely protest and complain if there was a switch to Linux (or BSD or anything similar) since they might actually have to learn more than just the basics of how to use a computer.
- Gotta remember in the workforce - the youngest people in our workforce used an iPad or an android phone before they touched Windows. Those minds are gonna be way more open to alternatives.
  
  I love that people downvoted you... they clearly don't have kids. My kids know Android... because of tablets and my wife's phone... they've spent little to no time in from of an actual computer and the laptops in schools are chromebooks. I'd like someone to point out where windows is in any of this.
- In India and South Africa, Linux has been facing a huge increase in usage since last year. It shows that windows isn't invulnerable like that.
- Public schools are primarily using Chrome books at this point... so your premise from the get go is already broken.
  
  Yeah, I haven't been in public school for over a half decade, for one, and two, all computers at my school were windows. My knowledge on public schools is outdated.
  But I guess you're right.