Windows tries to compete with Linux

[oldrocker99]

In an article in todays New York Times http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/0...ref=technology, Microsoft reports their grand plans for Windows 10. I replied to the relevant part on the NY Times website comments section:

Frederick Wrigley
Norwich CT

"It’s designed, Microsoft has said, to run on any device — PCs, phones, game consoles and even the tiny embedded computers that make up what’s called the Internet of Things."

Interesting. The Linux kernel already does those things (including game consoles), and is free, as in freedom, as well as gratis, to use. This is why it's already running 80% of smartphones, 60% of tablets, virtually every router, every set-top streaming box or USB streamer, and every cable decoder.

Good luck, Microsoft. Just as they came out with low-priced, cloud-based computers THREE YEARS after the Chromebook, which, two Christmases ago, were the #1 computers sold on Amazon, it looks as though they're repeating that history.

And they'll probably sell it with the usual tone-deaf commercials that we've seen before.

{EDIT} Four hours later, no notification of its being posted. Hmmmm...

{EDIT} It did get posted, and it drew some interesting comments:

College Grad
Gotham City Yesterday

I'd like to hire you to work for me, 40 hours per week plus OT. In exchange I will pay you $0. I will own all IP you create under my employment, maintain all commission streams you generate in perpetuity, and be free to loan you to my friends under the same terms. Sounds about as reasonable to me as a company giving away it's products for free. Much like Obama and all of his "free", development and products have a real cost and that cost must be met to ensure we move development forward.

To which I replied:

Some people think that all free open-source software (FOSS) is written by amateurs who only do it for the good feeling they get. Actually, while there are programs written for altruistic reasons, at least 50% of FOSS programs are written by people who get paid to write them: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/...-a-9-to-5-job/.

The GNU license, under which most FOSS software is licensed, requires that the software be made available for free; Red Hat Linux is required to be made available at no charge. However, there's nothing in the GNU license that says you can't make money. Red Hat makes its money by providing service, and Red Hat certainly pays it developers well to write FOSS. Red Hat has made a profit every year it has been in business, and became a billion-dollar business in 2011.

Your comment shows your unawareness of how these things work. Besides, your politics betray you. That's PRESIDENT Obama.

And another reply:

Urbana IL 19 hours ago

The difference being that Linux is actually moving development forward, while Microsoft's record on the phone is: swing and a miss, swing and a miss, swing and a miss, swing and a miss... but our next swing will be awesome!

By the way, how much does Google charge you every time you look something up? Nothing? Guess Google doesn't have any development costs to make up.

Ho, ho...

[Tar_Ni]

Great post though. Thumbs up!

[King Dude]

I think SteamOS would steal the PC gaming community towards the Linux side, however, AMD is lagging behind on Linux graphics card driver support. Don't get me wrong, Ubuntu a great gaming distro, but SteamOS is dedicated to gaming whereas Ubuntu is a general-purpose desktop distro.

[mastablasta]

but problem is, there are still many games that are windows only. even on steam. so I have this doubt how much the steamos would actually "steal". I mean you use steamos right now you "lose" access to a whole lot of games you can now run on windows.

[pfeiffep]

Maybe, just maybe, Microsoft is getting the message. Windows 10 will be free at least the upgrades, but only to Win 8 and a year for Win 7.

So are they still going to charge for Windows 10 new install>

[oldfred]

Does that mean that Windows 10 is free only for one year and then you have annual maintenance fees? I know Windows would like to convert to that model so they get revenue forever.

[oldrocker99]

but problem is, there are still many games that are windows only. even on steam. so I have this doubt how much the steamos would actually "steal". I mean you use steamos right now you "lose" access to a whole lot of games you can now run on windows.

Yes, I realized that when I deep-sixed my Win7 partition, I'd lose the ability to play some games I really liked, like CIV V, X-COM, Borderlands 2, Skyrim and Oblvion, Bioshock:Infinite, and Empire:Total War.

And what has happened? PlayOnLinux enables Skyrim and Oblivion to play at least as well as Oblivion played for me under XP in '06. All the other games (except Bioshock:Infinite, for now) which I mentioned are sitting comfortably in my Steam for Linux library. No, I can't play the Battlefield series; I'm not very hungry for Yet Another Shooter, even if it is online. I already have Counter-Strike, Metro:Last Light, and Left4Dead for that, and, of course, the complete released Half-Life 1 games, and the Orange Box collection as well. Also, a lot of games these days are being released cross-platform, like last year's Europa Universalis IV, which came out for Windows, Mac and Linux on release day, Civilization:Beyond Earth Linux players had to wait about five weeks to get a native version.

Besides, I have talked with Linux diehards who did all their gaming on an X-Box or Playstation. I didn't join them, because the only way you'll get my keyboard and mouse is to pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

[oldrocker99]

Does that mean that Windows 10 is free only for one year and then you have annual maintenance fees? I know Windows would like to convert to that model so they get revenue forever.

As I understood it, Windows 7 and 8 (poor sufferers) users will, for one year after release, have the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. After that period, it won't be free any more.

Microsoft, which has moved somewhat away from Steve Ballmer's "Linux is an abomination" attitude, is using Linux for about 20% of its Azure cloud service. They're also giving away their phone software. Not that that is making people flock to Windows phones, which still have only about 1% of the market. Of course, when Google made Android free, the result was 80% of smartphones using Android, which has been good for Google. Microsoft, like a slow-moving ocean liner, just thought of giving away its phone software in 2014, years after Google did it. With predictable results.

I just, myself, love experiencing the schadenfreude over Microsoft, which once Ruled the Waves. Now, it's moored at port, and rapidly taking on water.

[pfeiffep]

Does that mean that Windows 10 is free only for one year and then you have annual maintenance fees? I know Windows would like to convert to that model so they get revenue forever.

Also the way I read and understood the hype free is for consumer grade products only.

[mastablasta]

No, I can't play the Battlefield series; .

actualyl i think BF2 is gold or maybe even platinum under wine.

not the point. the majority of games (even new ones) still only run on windows (some promise Linux port but how good it will be and if they will even be making it is another story). even some older ones. second issue are drivers - still not as good.