SuperHero
Joined: 10 Dec 2003
Location: Superhero Hideout
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 Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:07 pm Post subject: Windows 7 going modular, subscription |
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| Ars Technica wrote: |
The software+services side of modularization is what is surely driving this change at Microsoft. As I argued last summer, this is all a critical piece of Microsoft's software subscription dreams. In "2010, a 'Windows 7' software subscription odyssey," I noted that Microsoft has been reinventing its approach to Windows in order to facilitate the continued sales of multiple levels of the Windows "experience." Microsoft has confirmed that there will be multiple SKUs for Windows 7 and that there will be different subscription services built around the OS.
Whether or not this is a good thing is difficult to predict. Generally, we're very much in favor of package-based setup routines, much like you find with popular Linux distributions. Why run a web server when you don't need it? Why start device drivers that aren't going to be used? Why install a library on a system that doesn't need it?
But just imagine a Windows 7 install that allowed you to install only what you wanted. Don't like Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Mail, Windows Firewall, etc.,? Don't install them or their supporting code. You've got to like that, if you're a Windows user.
Does this mean that Microsoft will ask you to subscribe to the next version of Windows, as opposed to buying it? That's unlikely, unless you're in business. The next consumer release will likely be a standalone OS stocked with an array of built-in and subscription-only modules. |
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