It isn't impossible to defend, why, just imagine how much more stable & reliable Windows would be if they blocked other software companies from accessing the Registry in Windows.
It is a perfectly defensible position, supported by every product manufacturer that puts either of the following warnings on their product:
"No user-serviceable parts inside"
"warranty void if seal broken"
"Windows ain't done till Lotus won't run"?
PC sales could start to resemble cellphone sales...
It will be no more inconvenient than paying a monthly Netflix fee, antivirus renewal, magazine or newspaper subscription...
People don't seem to find these subscriptions inconvenient, why should an OS subscription fee be a problem?
The vast majority of users of Office use leased copies already - it's called Software Assurance (or Educational Assistance for school students)... Retail Sales represents a significant revenue stream, but I suspect more dollars come in from the various license agreements.
Subscription for updates after first year? Seems a pretty simple model to me.
If you like your three year-old OS that hasn't been patched you can keep it, if you want to keep it current, send us $29/year per system.
Just like countless Anti-virus software vendors do...
OEMs will drop the pre-installs if the software doesn't add value...
They paid frys and best buy to destroy copies of win 7 and office 2010 to force users to run an OS for tablets.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Rather than have big box retailers physically ship back retail copies of older OS/software, they paid them to destroy them, giving them credit for each destroyed copy. This is how newstands process out-dated magazines and newspapers, they rip off the cover/front page and return that for credit, destroying the magazine for the publisher.
Because consumers are clueless about the subscription model, except, of course, for magazines, newspapers, Netflix, etc., right?
Consumers can handle the subscription model.
If windows break - as it tend to do - use something else.
Uh, no, it doesn't - Windows 7 and 8.1 are very stable products successfully being used the majority of computer users. A few years ago millions of computer users were exposed to Linux for the first time on netbooks, and the vast majority of them asked 'can it run MS Office?' And when the answer came back 'No.' They carefully packed them back up and took them back to the store...
2020 will be the year of Linux!
Windows with Bing is free (as in beer), full capabilities version of Windows 8.1 for low-spec systems.
There is a long tradition of computer users that lease their OS - they are called mainframes.
Are you imagining a current consumer Chromebook will last 5 years?
Will the batteries last that long?
The HP Stream 7, at $100 list price, is a very useful tablet. It only has 1 Gig of RAM, but with a quad-core CPU and flash storage (32 Gigs included, expandable with micro SDXC card) they perform quite well.
AND, they currently ship with 1 yr of Office 365 AND 1 yr of OneDrive storage, up to 1 TB. What does MS charge for a TB of storage for one year in OneDrive?
"A car is just a big purse on wheels." -- Johanna Reynolds
