Microsoft talks up 'next version of Windows'

alphanumeric, post: 34141, member: 152 said:

Just to clarify what I was thinking. I can see Microsoft offering a subscription based OS. Windows 9 maybe? I just don't see them offering up paid support for their older operating systems like Windows 7 etc. And especially not for retired operating systems like XP.

Correct. XP is dead and 7 is already old.
I don't think we will see subscription with 9.
People will have to be lulled into it.
there will be backlash on a grand scale like there is with Win8.1.
Even though, many people who are getting 8.1 are liking 8.1 and realizing they were boonswaggled by the
psuedo-techjurnos, a know-nothing bloggers.

My point is/was that I

alphanumeric, post: 34131, member: 152 said:

XP is history, time to get over it and move on. Even if they offered paid support many people wouldn't pay for it and end up running unpatched systems. Hello bot net. You'd also get the "but I already paid for it, now you want even more money" cries. I just don't see subscription support working for the consumer side. Microsoft generates revenue by selling newer versions of its software, that's the way it works. Adding newer features to older versions is a lot harder than just building them into a new version. Selling extended support is a novel idea but I just don't see Microsoft doing it any time soon for any of their retired operating systems. In a way you may actually get what you want though, if a Windows 365 comes about. If they release a purely subscription based version of Windows you would just keep renewing it to get further updates. How long they let you keep doing that before being required to update to a newer version who knows. All I can say is, be careful what you ask for.

In the Windows world, 25% are still using XP (I don't think they would call it history), and 56% are using Windows 7, 9% Vista and 8% use Windows 8.

My point was, instead of throwing them under the wheel, why not offer them an alternative. I know several people who still use XP (lord knows I have tried to get them to switch), and several businesses that still run XP. They will probably continue to use it for the next 15 to 20 years, so why not try to cash in on it, Microsoft wins and the consumer wins. Windows 7 will be harder to dispose of than XP, or maybe even the ever so "popular" Windows 8. People use what they are familiar with and like, so let them use it and offer a paid support (for a reasonable cost).