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Microsoft wants to stream your OS to you. Ignoring the whole "Microsoft" angle on this, I personally hate this idea. I miss the days when a computer was a standalone device that COULD connect to the Internet, but didn't have to. These days, so many things DEPEND on having that connection, and just flat out won't work without it. Maybe I'm a stodgy old guy, but can't we go back? I want my computer to with exactly the same online or offline.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/27/23775117/microsoft-windows-11-cloud-consumer-strategy
@mike wait wtf. I hate that.
@mike I like the idea of buying Windows once and not paying monthly for it.
@mike I entirely agree. Our devices shouldn't be taken this far. They may evolve into appliances, but not to this point where one needs Internet all the time which is not realistic. I realize a lot are use to being always connected, but that is not possible in all scenarios. This is a power move by Microsoft, to generate constant stream of money which is not reality of what people can afford.
@mike I dislike this idea. Cloud computing should be an option, not a requirement.
@mike I 100% agree with you. You can't even work on a flight without paying for their shitty wifi anymore. But I would say that the fact I'm using Linux helps me a lot. I feel like it's the right way to do things. Can't stand cloud computers anymore. Same for phone. I'm trying really hard to switch to a Linux phone for that particular reason. My Pixel watch ECG won't even work without a connection... There should be no reason for that....
@mike we are going back to the mainframe
@dottorblaster @mike
If only!
This is heading for something worse, I fear.
My mainframe experience was system docs that matched reality, rock-hard networking, and a few other benefits in return for the old-school hassle and remoteness of borrowing someone else's computer.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this could be worse than that.
𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊 
Buy Windows for only 12/dollars a month, and it might increase every year
Do they give the client device for free? If and only if, they include the client device as part of the deal, this gets anywhere close to being reasonable. Paying money for a device that is constantly in the brink of disconnect shouldn't be any less capable than the device I already have.
Also, where did you see 12$/month ?
Only price I could find is 31 USD per month per user. This is too expensive for a VM with 2vcpu 4gb ram and 128gb storage.
@murtezayesil
I think it's going to be something like VMware live migration with you running a local copy of VM and another copy of it "in the cloud", the two replicating constantly, so you can still have some access to your data offline, but have ability to offload computing expensive tasks to more powerful hardware. And you always have your data backed up! I still don't like it and won't use it, but some might if they can make it truly seamless 
@selea @mike
@m0xee
This seems like a complicated solution to a problem that should have never existed. Want backups?
Backup your fricking Active Directory server. It would probably cost you 5$ per employee, not 30.
Cheapest tier (30$) offers 2 CPU threads and 4gb RAM. Companies will end up paying a 1000$ laptop every 3 years. Funny thing is, you need to pay 1000$ for a laptop to access the freaking thing anyway.
Even Microsoft sales more reasonbly priced alternatives. See Surface Pro 9.
Sorry for replying from a different account, but I failed to fit into the 500 character limit on that instance.
Well, that was just my guess of how it will work from technical perspective. Companies will likely have an option to host this on-premise with HyperV-based tech, they already do something like this with RDP, it's not a problem that doesn't exist, this is just a more streamlined solution to that. Then they are going to pay only for CALs like they already do, probably way less than $30. For SMBs that might make sense even at higher price point, they get backups and get taken care of maintenance of client PCs, except for hardware, but there is a separate warranty to cover that.
And yes, of course they do it to milk their users and impose vendor lock-in, but it's not like right now there is an alternative company making alternative Windows
Of course it's not for those who care about their privacy and self-host, but there are people who use iCloud, Google Drive and all that bullshit — even for personal use. There is market for that, why not give them a way to back up their entire running system to "the cloud"? Throw in an extra, so they can now rent more processing power on demand?
Then again, I don't know what the final product will be like, but I don't think that it's a problem that doesn't exist, I see a market for that, and maybe they do too, they probably did study the market very well during COVID lockdowns and all this work from home thing and came up with this. Of course they might've just went nuts like a lot of companies do, even RedHat did. It is indeed sort of crisis going on, some downsize and cut down on personnel, some look for new sources of revenue.
But from MS I don't see this as something new and Orwellian, Widows has been a horrible choice for privacy-conscious, those who'd like to have control over their data, for years. This direction is bad, but not something completely new, a lot of people don't own their data, don't own their music, don't own their movies and seem to have little problem with that. A lot of us here aren't like that, but a lot of us don't use Windows already
@selea @mike @m0xee
@mike You can still have that experience with Linux, so regardless what Microsoft does with their OS, the door to Linux is always open.
That said, if Microsoft were to do this, then technically they are going full circle to the way we used computers in the 1950s. Thin clients connected to a mainframe.
It's even one of the features of X11 that people have used against Wayland adoption in recent years, which is now resolved and solutions like RustDesk exist.
@mike I am talking about this for some years already. We had that old terminals that had zero processing and depend on a server to work, than we migrated to regular hardware, but life is cyclic. So this is something I really don't like the idea, but at the same time it were a matter of time to happen.
Being online means less requirements to hardware, no local IT, make sure you are not into piracyy, total control of your data (impossible to block anything) and monthly payments.
@mike Not a single thing in that article sounds anything but terrible. 
@mike didn't Sun try that before they went bankrupt?
@mike Careful about asking to go back! They might continue rolling back to the days of Terminals connected to mainframes where you had NOTHING local!
@mike Ew. Gross.
@mike
That's insane. Things like this just make my happier every day I switched to Linux years ago and I'm thrilled to stay with Linux indefinitely.
@mike for sure it sounds horrible, but then I realised at my day job most of the apps I run are either cloud based (gmail, Google suite, workday etc) or shitty wrappers around cloud based apps (Figma, Miro). Honestly don’t think it would make a bit of difference for me (well, aside from the fact I use a Mac!). On my personal machine though it would be a different situation as I use a lot more local software.
@mike I agree with you on this. At this point in technological stability, this move is at least one presumption too far in the direction "everything will work all the time".
@mike Iʼm with you. I want the computer to work as quickly as possible, not wait for things to come down the internet.
@jackyan @mike the problem is updates for the OS, not sure if you'd want to put an unpatched OS anywhere near the internet. Linux does basically everything, if you havnt given it a go as your desktop it's worth a shot, basically all core functions are quite doable.
And it will be on your computer, not tied to a cloud subscription.
@mike The micro-computer is dead, replaced by the internet computer.
@mike I've got my laptop like that actually; I use it for my music sheets from the orchestra (which I either download or scan in manually) in a completely offline fashion 
Also cropping or making a setlist can be done offline.
@mike I was having similar thoughts recently when my system seemed to get stuck while I was trying to use the OS search facility ...
https://fosstodon.org/@sxa/110532290776032326
@mike Can't wait to get cancelled and no longer have access to "my desktop" for the most arbitrary reason.
@mike is this s good place to talk about newpipe, shosetsu, and tachiyomi being some of my favorite apps because I can just download stuff for later?
Really really wished more "WebApps" had a nice simple to use save to use offline button.
@mike I kinda wish they make such a splendid job that 1 blue screen takes down a whole server.
@mike this idea is sooooo old
@mike Well there's my cue to go back to Linux.
The enshitification of Windows continues.
@mike Linux is your friend. Try a couple or so distributions, even in 'Live' mode. Maybe stick one in a VM and play with it for a while, and if you don't get it, *seek advice* - there are good forums out there. I doubt you'll rush back to MS.
@mike Oh wow, good thing the Azure infrastructure could never possibly have an outage that would disable computers worldwide without warning! 
@mike Sure, why not. They better get me faster Internet and pay the bills for it though.
@mike I share your frustration 
@mike My GD printer, which I'm hardwired into, will not print or scan unless I am connected to the internet and logged in to the printer, which is INSANE. And sadly, work has spotty wifi, so some days I just can't effing print. If my OS moves to requiring connectivity, I will lose my mind.
Yeah, that's what Micro$oft needs, more of my money on a monthly basis. Hard no.
Time to turn my sole remaining Windows system into a Linux box I guess.
@mike "You will own nothing and be happy."
If they can force one to rent the thin client machine used to connect to the OS, I'm pretty sure they will.
First the software (relatively trivial because it's digital), next bait some people into renting things to normalise it, then lobby the government to make it illegal for people to own things.
@mike And people wonder why I advocate for wider adoption of Linux on the desktop.
@mike I don't know if it's related or not, but this has the same feel for me as the fact that now you buy things but you don't actually own them (e.g. ebooks) or you can only lease them (e.g. office software). I hate that.
@mike
They want to get rid of general purpose computers that do what the owner wants. They want to replace them all with rented computers that do what the corporation renting them wants.