No Longer Free: Microsoft Confirms Windows 10 New Monthly Charge

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: FORBES

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/07/14/microsoft-confirms-windows-10-new-monthly-charge/#90aea33dfab3

by: Gordon Kelly


For months Microsoft has been describing Windows 10 “as a service”  and now we know why. Microsoft is going to introduce a monthly subscription fee for Windows 10 usage…

That cost will be $7 per user per month but the good news is it only applies to enterprises, for now. The new pricing tier will be called “Windows 10 Enterprise E3” and it means Windows has finally joined Office 365 and Azure as a subscription service.

Of course the big question is now: How does this new subscription pricing affect the millions of consumers who upgraded to Windows 10 on the promise of it being free?



The good news is Microsoft has gone on record to say it is not being passed down to consumers at this stage: “This new subscription model is not associated with our current upgrade offering or applicable to the Windows 10 consumer edition,” a Microsoft spokesperson told PC World.

Could Microsoft eventually introduce Windows 10 monthly subscriptions for consumers? Without doubt, but I would be highly skeptical they would apply to anyone who has already upgraded. That said there is likely to be a threshold in future where Microsoft will draw a line in the sand for the ongoing addition of new features without a fee.

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST....

[Fishrrman]

Meanwhile, the Mac OS has been free now for years...

[driftdiver]

So you buy it and then pay to use it.

[geronl]

So you buy it and then pay to use it.

Probably going to be a hefty fee for deleting it.

[driftdiver]

Probably going to be a hefty fee for deleting it.

A whole new light in these forced upgrades.

[ABX]

This is for enterprise editions only and doesn't effect consumer 'home' or 'pro' editions. This is not unusual for enterprise editions of OS to offset support costs.

[driftdiver]

Meanwhile, the Mac OS has been free now for years...

Yeah but the hardware is overpriced to the extreme.

[ABX]

Meanwhile, the Mac OS has been free now for years...

This is comparable to the AppleCare Enterprise Professional costs. (actually, the MS is a fraction of the price of the AppleCare Enterprise costs)

[Fishrrman]

driftdiver wrote (regarding the Mac):
"Yeah but the hardware is overpriced to the extreme."

Depends on what you buy...

My late 2012 Mac Mini is running as well today as when I bought it in January 2013. I expect to get at least 2-3 more years out of it, maybe more.

I still use an iMac I bought in July 2007. Still runs "good enough".

I'm typing this on a Macbook Pro that's now over 6 years old and runs better now than it did when new (I put an SSD into it).

In 29 years of being a Mac user, I've never been bothered by a virus, etc. And I don't even use any "virus protection" utilities. I can download anything I want from anywhere I want. I open email attachments without worrying about what's "in them".

I almost never have to make a "tech support" call.
In fact, friends call -me- for Mac advice and assistance.

None of the Macs above were "overpriced to the extreme" -- I pretty much eschew the "high-end" stuff for the more basic models. They tend to run longer with fewer problems, anyway...

[Crazieman]

driftdiver wrote (regarding the Mac):
"Yeah but the hardware is overpriced to the extreme."

Depends on what you buy...

My late 2012 Mac Mini is running as well today as when I bought it in January 2013. I expect to get at least 2-3 more years out of it, maybe more.

I still use an iMac I bought in July 2007. Still runs "good enough".

I'm typing this on a Macbook Pro that's now over 6 years old and runs better now than it did when new (I put an SSD into it).

In 29 years of being a Mac user, I've never been bothered by a virus, etc. And I don't even use any "virus protection" utilities. I can download anything I want from anywhere I want. I open email attachments without worrying about what's "in them".

I almost never have to make a "tech support" call.
In fact, friends call -me- for Mac advice and assistance.

None of the Macs above were "overpriced to the extreme" -- I pretty much eschew the "high-end" stuff for the more basic models. They tend to run longer with fewer problems, anyway...

My Intel Core i7 920, purchased in 2009 still runs state of the art games.  In 4K.  Windows 7 x64

[geronl]

I have Ubuntu and Windows 8.1

I feel no pressure to switch