Another Bad Idea from MS

[Dangerousdave26]

I am not putting down Microsoft I just think this Idea stinks.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/29/microsoft.metered.computing/index.html

[Tweek]

Sure to please people who like intercontinental flights in their airliners...

[Silver Fox]

Necessary step for the next generation of 'computer as appliance'. It won't effect the high-performance user who will recognize the value of owning the machine outright... but for Joe the Plumber who just surfs, does email, has a media library and his digital pic collection this technology makes sense.

A modern day DVR rented from the cable company isn't much different... which is where computers are going.

[Navy Chief]

If I buy something, that's it. I refuse to pay a fee for usage. That is BS.

NC

[FengZ]

they are just planning for the next step in software evolution.

i believe almost all major software will go "server mode only" eventually (including the operating system itself), similar to what games like WoW has. Basically, you have to "log in" to use it with a paid account. For a developer, this can prevent (at least most) piracy, and ensure the user is always using the latest version. Plus on the client side, there is very little footprint. The core of the software engine resides safely on the server side. It's a strange idea, but look at the online game industry...it's already doing it. The same idea is also in place for Digital TV, netflix, etc. Also don't forget the bills you pay each month for cable, phone, DSL, etc. The same will eventually apply to software.

I also believe a lot of major software will be free, but you have to pay (micro payments) to use it's advanced features (again, already happening in games). This way, they can get the software into many more hands, but users need a paid account to use it.

What MS is doing in this case is the same except they are taking it to the hardware level. Which is pretty smart imo. This can actually save a ton of cash for companies.

For example, in one of my studios, i have a ton of 3D artists. Each artist needs a high-end machine plus copies of MAX, Photoshop, ACdsee, etc. MAX 9.0 alone is around 4K USD, and the photoshop suite is around 1K. So i'm paying almost 10K for machine + software per artist, which all depreciates in value from the day i buy them. If i can rent the entire thing for like 250-300 USD a month, that'll be worth it for me. Then i'll always have the fastest hardware and newest software. Though i don't see anybody pulling this off for at least a few more years...since all the vendors have to play nice....and that aint gonna happen any time soon.

-feng

[Fortiesboy]

If I buy something, that's it. I refuse to pay a fee for usage. That is BS.

NC

I agree- I buy a computer- I put on it what i want, and at the moment I keep my privacy. Where would be the privacy using this method?
Too many people able to decide what I do and when-
You want everything you do on a computer to be able to be accessed by God knows who?

And if the ISP went down, I can't use my puter? Till he comes back on line- or the server goes down? Same thing.

No thanks.

[GT182]

FengZ, if what you say happens, it'll be the death blow to computing as we now know it.

I for one wouldn't rent a computer if my life depended on it. And there's a lot of people out there that do rent them... from Rent A Center. The biggest ripoff in the nation.... IMHO.

[Cazzie]

FengZ, if what you say happens, it'll be the death blow to computing as we now know it.

I for one wouldn't rent a computer if my life depended on it. And there's a lot of people out there that do rent them... from Rent A Center. The biggest ripoff in the nation.... IMHO.

It will only be the death blow to the PC as we know it. We'll all be using Macs with some form of older Windows (XP 64 is fine) and jolly well be still flying our old FS9 and FSX.

Caz

[FengZ]

I agree- I buy a computer- I put on it what i want, and at the moment I keep my privacy. Where would be the privacy using this method?
Too many people able to decide what I do and when-
You want everything you do on a computer to be able to be accessed by God knows who?

And if the ISP went down, I can't use my puter? Till he comes back on line- or the server goes down? Same thing.

No thanks.

yup, it's not a great thing, but software is definitely headed in this direction.

Having lived in Asia for the past 2.5 years, this idea is not new at all over there. Everything there is paid-to-use, including all your house-hold bills. At first it was weird, but once you know the system, it's super streamlined. You basically charge everything to a small sim-card, and this card can plug into all major appliances such as electricity, gas, phone, etc. So just charge the card up with whatever amount you want, and use those credits the way you want (pay-for-use). I know it's a weird idea, but it's so clean. I never had bills in Asia...cuz everything is pre-paid (for example, i can put 10$ on my electricity card, and use it till it expires...then recharge the card....no bills, no hassles, and it's controlled completely by me). I don't need to worry about shutting anything off when i'm on vacation or moving....or call companies to cancel anything...

Whenever i'm in the states, i feel like the system here is so backwards. Bills, hassles from your cable companies, endless hours spent on the phone because they messed up your bill, etc...it's a headache.

Eventually, this paid-to-use will come to software, like it or not. It's a new concept now, but so was NetFlix, Google, and Youtube a few years back.

-feng

[IanP]

The primary reason so many people want to go to this sort of computing is piracy - it stops it almost dead, when only one person can log into an account at once. It's the same with Steam, GPGNet, the system that Company of Heroes now uses and endless other games. Simbin/Blimey have forced you to register a one-use code online to use multiplayer on their racing games for years.

I do believe that operating systems and office applications is a step too far. Possibly the one big step-up that MacOSX and Linux have needed, though, to enter the mainstream. What's far more likely is that MS will use it for corporate schemes, allowing "leases" for x amount of time (thus protecting against temporary internet outages) and allowing a code to be typed in given down a telephone, the same as activation keys can be now, if required. I can't see it working, even in the "always online" world that people seem determined to have now, in a consumer environment, though. Too many people would agree with the sentiments already stated here.

Ian P.

[FengZ]

It will only be the death blow to the PC as we know it. We'll all be using Macs with some form of older Windows (XP 64 is fine) and jolly well be still flying our old FS9 and FSX.

Caz

yup, i don't like it either. But i think for the average consumer, it'll come into play in a much different way. PCs will be like a cable box, and you pay a monthly service to use it....just like DSL or Cable. This is probably fine for most people. For us more hardcore people, i'm sure there will be a "pay once and get all option."

Also think of it this way. Right now, you paid on average 10-25$ for a single payware addon. Now imagine instead, you pay Carenado or Alphasim a monthly fee of only 5$, but you get to fly ALL their planes. You can of course add all your own liveries, modify them, etc. You basically become a subscriber to the developer...and whatever they make, you get. And of course there will also be a "pay once and keep it policy."

For me, i'll rather pay the 5$/Month and fly all of Alphasim's planes. But remember i can always pay the 25$ and own the plane as well.

A combination of old and new is the way to go.

-feng

[FengZ]

I do believe that operating systems and office applications is a step too far. Possibly the one big step-up that MacOSX and Linux have needed, though, to enter the mainstream. What's far more likely is that MS will use it for corporate schemes, allowing "leases" for x amount of time (thus protecting against temporary internet outages) and allowing a code to be typed in given down a telephone, the same as activation keys can be now, if required. I can't see it working, even in the "always online" world that people seem determined to have now, in a consumer environment, though. Too many people would agree with the sentiments already stated here.

Ian P.

yup, exactly. Expensive software such as 3D MAX already does this. As a studio, we actually don't own 3D MAX and Maya at all. We pay a license fee which expires every year. Their system still needs work (we always run into problems registering their license), but it's headed in the right direction for bigger studios (again, not much use for a single user).

Imagine you have 50 artists using max, but you want to switch 20 of them over to Maya. If i had paid for 50 copies of MAX, 20 will now go to waste. It'll be much better if i can just simply cancel my subscription to them, or switch the fee over to Maya. It just makes way more sense for someone like me who deals with this stuff constantly...

ps. I'm actually about to start a new studio and will need around 30-60 copies of MAX. I wish they offered this already ;P So on day one, i don't need to put down a ton of cash for software...and instead just pay a subscription.....o well, maybe one day.

-feng

[HundertzehnGustav]

let them do it and give me a reason to switch to an other OS...
?

[stiz]

for apps which studios use n such it does make sense ... but how far will they take it?? 50p every time you check your email?? i check mine about every hour ... so ... that'll be around £45 a day!

[ndicki]

Bastards.

Big Brother and all his little friends... Well, I managed without a computer before, and if necessary, I'll manage again. I'm not getting into that game.

[Drake]

Things like this will end up making Linux even more powerful and MS loosing more sales.

[rhumbaflappy]

Hi all.

Microsoft has long ago envisioned leasing software, rather than selling it. Integrating the internet with the operating system is the start of this process.

Leasing the physical PC is another logical step in dominating personal computing and the internet.

I don't think Microsoft suggested this to please us. They want to make money.

Dick

[GT182]

It's not so much the sales and OS as it is the "pay as you go" for access and gaming. Not being able to buy games and have them in "your hands", but having to play them off a server for a fee is what gets my goat. It could be "the" death blow for M$. I'm sure many will rebell against this idea. And think of how it will bring out the hackers and software pirates. Not a pretty sight at all.

[Lionheart]

Doesnt Norton and McCaffey do this already, charging a yearly fee? That is to me the same as renting, (not so much as leasing).

I loved having a cell phone I could 'charge' with cash. No fees for just having it, just 'pay as you go'. I never used it much, so I didnt invest alot into it. But if it were the opposite, I would need one heck of a good plan in order to keep finances reasonable.


I think its a radical jump to get to the full scale of things, but I hope that we are still able to purchase our own computers and things in the future, and that the internet remains open and free, (free in the sense, its not charged by the govt. like taxations, etc.. ).

It would be cool though to lease a 'super computer' that could run FSX at full scalers, lol.. Liquid cooled, 4 quad cores, etc... Sign me up for a month so I can test that out, lol...


Bill

[Nausicaa]

i believe almost all major software will go "server mode only" eventually (including the operating system itself), similar to what games like WoW has

A friend of mine on this very forum told me years back this would happen. I am not surprised to see it coming. It's the dream of a solution against piracy...amongst other things. Looks like it's inevitable, I am afraid.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

I saw this coming years ago.

I think the gaming industry like WoW are basically "preconditioning" people to this philosophy. It's like leasing a car versus buying a car. Leasing is the biggest ripoff in the world unless you can use tax benes to cover it.

Money paid for no asset. And a continuous stream of revenue to mega-corporations. From a corporate perspective this is the perfect world - rental of everything - guaranteeing a continuous revenue stream - especially if the people pay for repairs/maintenance. However this is the basic wrong/problem.

The decision-making power needs to be deliberately planned to be put into the hands of the consumer - not the corporation. Under the system Microsoft wants how does a consumer/user say I'm happy with what I use now and I want to use what I have now and pay no money. Why should the consumer continue to pay for something outdated? What gives MS the right/power to decide that people need to upgrade? How are people under the system proposed given this choice? Society has to get this right.

A personal example - I use several demo programs put out years (over 5) ago. Why because the people who made those programs put enough "power/capability" into those programs that they do all I'll ever want. No need to buy the program. Am I benefiting from their mistake? Yes absolutely! Tough!

I understand that economies run on the exchange of goods and services and value added. Ultimately the main problem is simple - the world has the ability to overproduce (due to technology) anything the part of the world with money wants. This leads very simply to revenue problems - how do you fix that - well obviously - one stopgap is rent it instead of selling it. Look at how many people are happy with FS9 versus FSX. From MS perspective wouldn't rental be a perfect solution? Basically I just want society to face the main overproduction problem sooner rather than later - renting is just a way of avoiding it. One politician told me "No crisis before it's time" - because the short term political costs of preparing for the future are too high. This attitude has to stop.

From a consumer perspective the basic principle is simple. Less money outta my pocket and give me the power of control not the corporations. It really is that simple.

Sorry for the rant but this is an issue that does bug me because of it's consequences for the environment as well as my children.

-Ed-

[Big_Stick]

Necessary step for the next generation of 'computer as appliance'. It won't effect the high-performance user who will recognize the value of owning the machine outright... but for Joe the Plumber who just surfs, does email, has a media library and his digital pic collection this technology makes sense.

A modern day DVR rented from the cable company isn't much different... which is where computers are going.

It makes perfect sense, and as usual, love 'em or hate 'em, Microsoft is ahead of the game again. For most people, it will save them tons of money and time and headaches, if implemented properly. Far fewer machine and software issues on your local PC; it'll all be worked out for you and the provider will be responsible. Gaming won't much be affected because special dedicated PC's will still be needed. It's really a good idea but security needs to be evaluated carefully.

[Hals und Bein Bruch]

...if they could charge you to think your own thoughts they would..!

[Drake]

I guess they figure if carbon credits can be sold this can too.