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[Richard]

Certain service packs may be released for your version of the OS that you can install for free, but when it comes to an entirely new version of Windows, you’ll have to pay to upgrade. We’re used to this, and it mostly feels right, but instead of solely carrying on with this method for Windows 7, Microsoft is also interested in offering Windows as a subscription service.

I (along with a lot of other people) have mixed feelings about this, but not surprisingly, I view it as a mostly negative thing. On the beneficial side of things, I can see some end-users responding favorably to this move in the sense that they can more than likely avoid paying a larger up front fee and know that they’ll receive the latest and greatest under their subscription arrangement

Source

If it came to subscription payment its bye bye windows for me, when were free OS's like Ubuntu and OpenSuse

[spock1982 (Ernie)]

I can't see myself using an OS that is provided as a service.

[OldManDeath]

I would do it as long as the initial cost and the cost of upgrades does not exceed the current cost of the Windows OS over the normal life expectancy.

[xpgeek]

Probly not heck no. Unless, they started releasing new OS's every 2 years on schedule or something and it would actually be way less expensive to just get them provided to you as a subscriber. Its just comes down to cost really, how much would it be.

[Ryan Wagner]

Yeah, I think I would need some sort of guarantee that a new version would be released on a regular cycle. I'm sure they would offer some sort of special subscription-based stuff though.

[Ashley Wagner]

Well hopefully it wouldn't be a monthly subscription fee.... because I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to have to worry about sending off another payment.

[OldManDeath]

Well hopefully it wouldn't be a monthly subscription fee.... because I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to have to worry about sending off another payment.

I am sure they will be glad, or require, it to be setup as an automatic payment.

[leland]

Well they have tried the subscription stuff with business customers (it's called Software Assurance), the problem is they did not live up to their end of the bargain that said they would get a new copy of the OS every 3 years, which was the length of the contract.  What makes us as consumers think they would do any better?  Would I pay a subscription fee; maybe depending on how it was setup.  If you only spent $50 per year per license it might be worth it, but more than that I have to wonder when the average user tends to use their Windows license for 3-5 years.  If they were to put out incremental updates every 6 months to a year it might even get interesting.

However, it's beginning to look like a great time to move over to or at least get comfortable with Linux.  Even spending money on something like CrossOver Linux to get better Windows compatibility might be an excellent investment over buying another Windows license.

Leland