"mechanic" wrote

| Microsoft would like Windows to be a cloud OS, just so MSFT can charge
| you rent on your software.
|
| What's wrong with that? We are already used to a rental system on
| our cars (in the UK called Personal Contract Purchase or PCP). It's
| the way things are going.

?? Speak for yourself. I have only software that I
bought, wrote, or got for free. No monthly payments.
No ads. My pickup truck is scheduled to be paid off
in 2 years.

In the US one can lease a vehicle. It's similar to
buying in terms of payments, but you don't own it
at the end of the term and there are limits in terms
of what you can do with it. (For instance, I've
installed a custom cap on my pickup. Couldn't drill
the holes for it with a leased vehicle.)

Leasing sometimes makes sense for businesses
that are writing off the costs, but it's hardly "the
way things are going" for people to no longer have
their own personal possessions. At least not in
the US. The UK seems to be both more socialistic
and more fascistic, so maybe that accounts for
your experience.

Software rental is a fad mostly for one reason:
The market is mature and software companies can
no longer depend on selling grossly overpriced,
periodic updates. That's tough for monopoly
products especially. Thus, MS Office 365 and
Adobe Creative Cloud are both rental and both
seem to be doing well. They're doing well specifically
because rental costs a lot more than buying the
software, at least for the average person who
doesn't need to buy every update. But the people
renting often want every update of that monopoly
product and use it for work. So they'll pay.

In order to move along the rental trend, companies
like Microsoft are making it harder to control your
computer, in the name of security and convenience.
There's also been a trend toward constant updating.
In a few short years people have gone from a view
that they buy software and use it for several years
to a view that it's normal for all software to need
constant updates, and that all those updates are
good by definition. That kind of thinking makes rental
software and services seem sensible. So again, that
approach has been pushed, mostly in the name of
security.

A lot of dubious profits are being made in the name
of security. People are literally being scared into
opening their wallets.

Online services also come into the picture. Many
people do want to use something like an iPad or
cellphone to shop online, play games, etc. They want
convenience. They often don't care much about ads
or privacy. And they don't really distinguish between
owning, services and rental. They just want the thing
to work. Most of that usage is consumeritic rather
than productive. In other words, those people are not
using those devices to do anything like work. So they
don't much care about the idea of owning the device
and the files on it.