Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

Microsoft knew they were losing the client device market to iPhone and Android (after their Windows Phone flopped). So they essentially gave up on improving Windows, and decided to turn it into a thin client for Microsoft cloud services. For this model to work well, they need to force users to have a stable identification, aka Microsoft account, in order to login to the thin client.

Windows is over. I moved to Apple silicon a while ago and never looked back. Even though macOS has its warts, it's not hostile to its users.

I remember an interview with Bill Gates around 2000 (maybe even late 90s) where Gates said that the future of software was online subscription.

He even stated back then that he’s have Office run over the internet if he could.

Another example of this is how Xbox Live has been a thing since the original Xbox. Long before iOS and Android. And more recently, Xbox Live has become more than just a subscription service but a full on streaming platform.

Let’s also not forget that traditionally enterprise licenses for Windows would be billed annually. By this, I don’t mean someone purchasing Windows Server for their home lab, but actual data centre use. (I’m pretty sure this was the case, been a long long time since I’ve gone through a Microsoft audit, let alone been purchasing data center licenses, some someone do correct me if I’m misremembering here).

So I don’t think any of this is a knee jerk reaction to Apple and Google eating their market. I think it’s always been their long term strategy but it’s just taken this long for the wider industry to align.

Now with the gaming market being increasingly subscription based, other software vendors switching pricing format (eg Adobe) and the internet being far more accessible than ever, MS are in the best place they’ve ever been to press home the final missing piece: Windows Home.

MacOS is less hostile but still very hostile.

>Windows is over. I moved to Apple silicon a while ago and never looked back. Even though macOS has its warts, it's not hostile to its users.

It's also very naggy about signing up to iCloud and using an Apple Account.

It doesn't force you - but it's still annoying.

I don't know why you were downvoted.

This really appears to be the simplest explanation -- turn every desktop into a thin client, served by walled-garden apps, and with Azure integration/dependencies.

Then charge subscription fees to turn all computer owners into renters. Oh, and show ads too, while you're at it.

Thanks. The subscription model is now almost the default for everything. Investors like the steady stream, which makes sense financially. But unfortunately it has resulted in much lower software quality, because software shops now don't have to make a high quality, solid version that they sell once; they can just ship MVPs with bugs or missing features and tell you that we'll work on fixing/adding those features, just keep your subscription and you'll get it.

I miss the days when you bought a high quality version of something that you kept using for years.

> Windows is over. I moved to Apple silicon a while ago and never looked back. Even though macOS has its warts, it's not hostile to its users.

You can also move Mac OS X out of the way by running an ARM Linux VM on the Apple ARM computers.