<![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription - Valleywag Comments]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription - Valleywag Comments]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Great post. But for us California natives, Albany is a suburban enclave just north of Berkeley, and not a watchword for corruption. All most Californians know of Albany, New York is that it is the administrative capital of a province of the eastenertards.

masterofmonkeys

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @Valleygrrl:
I'm not a microsoft cheerleader, but they do have a history of starting something and failing a few times before they kick people's butts (Xbox?), so with such deep pockets, I'd be careful before I count them out.

I am not a cheerleader but a MSFT fan. But I doubt a bit right now. I guess I have to "save" MSFT... again!


bigdowro

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I"m going to guess they'll give it a shot, but not on the scale that will make them look like fools.

deeponetech

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I could honestly see the second coming of the WordPerfect Era if Microsoft actually started to aggressively persue this.

Sure, people have gotten used to Office and Works, but with the idea of a monthly service for something that can be done for a flat fee, consumers, like myself, would be more apt to go and do business with an alternative company that would still provide a flat fee software, or even go the way of GNU software. (It's not like my employer hasn't been tinkering with that idea lately, anyway...)

Soldier_CLE

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Well, if Albany doesn't work, there's always Xbox Live...

VakeroRokero

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @paintbait: Well said. They are there to make money and they will do whatever it takes to get it and as much of it as possible.

I am on ubuntu for few months now and trust me I am never going back. I am in fact soon taking a course on linux platform, so that I can contribute to it as well.

Hope more and more people will switch to OpenSource, so that our goolies are not in the hands of corporates who can squeeze them whenever they like.

there is already enough enslavery as it is, so leave my computer alone, you pieces of shieets.

mohkahn

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I'm not going to argue that it's a stupid idea, but what's the point of further bashing Microsoft?

They're doing what Mac does, playing on the ignorance of the general populace. Anyone who knows anything is going to steer clear of that crap, and anyone who knows anything knows that the Mac Commercials are full of shit and so is anyone who is trying to sell a product and make an inordinate amount of profit.

Microsoft is no worse than any one else.

Paintbait

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @Darkenigma75: You had to go there did ya, oh yeah, well 360's suck my balls, with your red rings of death. Why don't you go watch a HDVD on it, while I stick with my PS3 and blu-ray player.

graffiksguru

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> You know this would work. The computer literate are totally outnumbered by the computer illiterate. Look at all the fools who take their computers to best buy and pay between 85-150 dollars an hour for software installation! MS will get people to do this if they pushed it. Ignorant people who don't know any better will pay for this.

And the 360, regardless of it's hardward failures, which MS did take care of, they took care of me nicely, is way better then the P.O.S. PS3. And can't even be compared to the Wii, not even in the came ballpark with each other.

Darkenigma75

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I think any claims that this isn't a good idea are very VERY premature.

Do you really want to pay $120 up front for a piece of software you may or may not fully utilize at all times? Would you easily pay $10/mo for this software (at a price that over time would equal a larger sum perhaps, but in effect "cost" you less because you're not paying for it all at once, a typical problem lots of people have, right?)? I think lots of people would.

I don't know too many students who pay full price for software, especially $120 from amazon.com. Instead they pirate the software because it's a cheaper and easier alternative. Why not provide these people with a bundle of software at an affordable price that fits their income level?

It may take a couple of years, but this is most likely the future of the vast majority of large software packages. Adobe is putting a free version of their software out and I predict you'll be able to 'rent' the full verions of Adobe software in the near future as well. Expensive software can't compete in a world with free software, unless a new model comes around that somehow entices people to pay smaller amounts (but in greater quantity!) for the expensive software.

MasterDave

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> When did this turn into Gizmodo?

matto

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> This is a copy & paste from my comment @ GIZ but I would like to share...

There is a clear line for me with subscription based models. I can't quite place my finger on why but here is is...

***
---PAY OUTRIGHT---
If I pay outright for something (own) then I am OK with hiccups and bugs. (Maybe not OK but I deal with it, perhaps an expectation through experiences I have worked through?)

VS

---SUBSCRIPTIONS---
If I have an ongoing subscription (rent)
IT IS NOT FRIGG'N OK when something does not work as advertised!!!
When I have an ongoing expense it better work whe I sit down to use it.
If it doesn't can I deduct my wasted time from next months "rent"?

***

I can't help but wonder though, will my kids have different expectations because they will grow up in a "for rent" society?

I give props to Microsoft and Apple etc for providing the the tools to do what I have done, but for the health of us all I hope the future is open source.







jchasse

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @cha0s: Hey now, Bil may have enough money, but think of the poor Microsoft janitors - they need money too...

Sbudda

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Let the dumbasses do this.....all it will do is push more people to the opensource side

superbryant

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I bought MS Word/PP/Excel/etc as a student for my Mac in 2002. I've used it ever since when upgrading computers since there's been no newer version as far as I know. Sometime after I bought it, not even a year, I got an email from the University (I bought it through them) that their license with Microsoft was expired and I was not allowed to use any Microsoft software I may have bought from them in the past. This was the first time I was told, or it was made clear to me that I was basically 'renting' my merchandise and didn't actually own it despite buying a box with a disc in it. In my entire computer experience this has never happened with other software I've had..making me pretty wary about buying Microsoft products again.

lesbiansayswhat

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Well... things just aren't working out that great for Microsoft, isn't it? Back when they could've done a subscription model and get away with it scot-free, the majority of us had internet connections that couldn't sustain it.

Now, we do have an internet connection that's a bit better than before, but Microsoft pissed off a good many of us, plus there are more viable competitors around. I can see how this one's going to go... their proposed subscription model won't go too far.

Microsoft. Your potential, our passion to screw you over.

azntg

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @coan_net: I agree, if you're able to subscribe on a month-by-month basis this would have some value for an occasional user of a product that may only use an app a handful of times and then not touch it again for another year.

For the average consumer, it would suck.

barty

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> they should have code named the Xbox "Spitzer". With the near 50% failure rate on the 360 ( i had two fail on the same day), it has become one expensive box for mr softy

theglue

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> We have already become less dependent on MS products over the years so why would we want to let them suck us dry of money on a monthly basis.

The only thing we use MS for is PC OS. If they make it a situation where your being forced into some subscription based OS we will be moving to some other OS.

bohemian

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I have a really good solution to this!!!

Don't buy their service.

Problem solved!

Blinkman

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> You aren't reading the tea leaves properly on this one. The software by subscription model is dead.

MS is taking plummeting product quality and bloat to the next level. This trend will continue until MS blends current malware technologies, using P2P networks into Vista2 which will attempt to infect every machine on the Internet.

They will monetize this by instead selling software to rid your machines of their other loathsome products.

Estimated pricing:

Microsoft Anti-Windows: $499

Microsoft Anti-Office: $349

As usual, you will be able to buy machines with this software pre-bundled, and there will be volume purchase agreements for large businesses.

macbeach

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> You know, with this shitstorm brewing, there's never been a better time to switch to open source. $0 up front, $0 a month sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

HeartBurnKid

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Not sure the usefulness of a subscription for Microsoft Apps that come free. As an engineer, we have gone to subscriptions for AutoCAD drafting software. It is nice that every 12 months, a disc comes in the mail with the latest version. The downside to this is that they priced the standalone version price so high, that the subscription makes sense financially.

billbillbillbill

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Isn't this kind of what Sun Microsystems meant by "the network is the computer" a few years ago?

daddydave

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> FAIL! I hope this one goes down in flames! Doesn't he have enough money?

graffiksguru

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I know students who go to school who may need to use Word or Excel for a few months to get school work done - so something like this would be good for them (since they are normally poor and can't afford much) - but other then that, just people who think renting long-term from rent-a-center places would go for this.

coan_net

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> "In "Albany," Microsoft has picked a perfect codename: a byword for bureaucratic waste, dysfunction, and corruption. As in New York's capital, someone needs to clean house. And as in New York's capital, it's not going to happen."

It also means someone is paying a large sum of money to get scr*wed...

rbb

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Did that cover remind anyone else of "Mad Magazine"?

SkyeBlue

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> owen, i must say, i disagree with many things you write on this blog, but you hit the nail squarely on the head with this one. msft is one of the most ridiculous companies when it comes to adopting new business models. their office monopoly is going to end sooner than they all think, unless they actually start embracing the web.

jasonoliver

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Look what MS has invested in the business community and how they have positioned their licensing structure. I think it makes as much sense as anything else. It would need to be dirt cheap for it to make sense though. Why not just stick to annual instead of monthly though...

WannaBblonde

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @cha0s: don't be confused: no one is wondering at all what you think or what you like. please shut up.

planet_of_the_snapes

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> When is the last time you bought a PC for home use? MS Office no longer comes bundled with the majoprity of systems. Instead, you get MS Works, a crappy substitute.

Hanke

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @Valleygrrl: How exactly is Micro Soft kicking anybodies butt with the Xbox? PS3 is already where Xbox is and they've been out less as well as the Wii is the most profitable gaming system to date.

They just have a crap load of money to throw around but if you read MOST people on the board at MS wanted nothing to do with the Xbox and keep wanting to shut it down, because it's eating their profits.

Skankingmike

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Google Docs is not even close to being on par with MS Office -- yet. Maybe a few years down the road that comparison will be valid, but so far you're getting what you pay for.

Open office might be a better comparison, but even that is still not quite as good.

Shadowman615

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Who said that Microsoft Kicked Peoples butts then used Xbox as an example. Is that the same Xbox animation houses went out and bought to fill their render farms. The 360 is pants too!

symo

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> @FilthyHarry: but if there's anything Apple's proven, it's that some consumers are looking for an ecosystem solution, not disjoint products from different vendors.

Most people are already practically renting Windows. OEM copies are tied to machines, so given a 3-4 year average life span, it's effectively renting.

sample032

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I disagree with the poster and the commenters thus far. $15.00/mo for the Office suite alone is worth it.

Say what you will about their business ethics etc etc -- no office productivity software comes close to Office. $15.00/mo compares favorably to the one time cash outlay of $300ish typically necessary to obtain a legal copy.

Google docs and the similar online suites are cool no doubt, but they're a long way from replacing my locally installed copy of Office.

tg7400

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I guess they are modeling after 24 hour fitness?

qrius

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> Your arguments make sense for the here-and-now but I don't think you realize where Microsoft is going with this. Given their history, Microsoft will use their desktop monopoly to force people into the subscription model. When you can no longer buy a computer with Office pre-installed and you HAVE to read a document sent in the latest version of Word, you'll need to get this subscription. Or maybe people will wise up and start switching to open formats for their documents.

SFJoe

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> This was a wonderfully written article that surmises all of Microsoft's business ethics. I really enjoyed it - thanks!

shreveyboy

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> LOL! do it, M$... soon you will be dead.

It'd be hilarious, if some innocent newbs wouldn't fall for it.

Seriously though, M$ is now very inferior to many open source alternatives.

l337_7r4d3r

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I'm not a microsoft cheerleader, but they do have a history of starting something and failing a few times before they kick people's butts (Xbox?), so with such deep pockets, I'd be careful before I count them out.

Valleygrrl

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> People wonder why I don't like microsoft. It's mess like this. Bill Gates, you have enough money.

cha0s

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's absurd software subscription]]> I can see back when Gates started how this might have been workable but too many free or opensource products out there now just ready to jump in if MS screws the pooch with something like this.

FilthyHarry

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