Microsoft aims to suck consumers into a web that many will find difficult to get out from.
Around the 27th of July will start banging their drum as they offer Windows 10 for free, millions are expected to download the new software to their computers and every new computer will come with the new OS installed.
But as they say in this world nothing comes for free and in Microsoft’s case the free 12 month software licence will terminate in July 2016 which is when Microsoft will dumb down the capability of PC’s unless you fork out a monthly or annual licence fee which could be as high as $10 a month per PC in a home.
The unlock key to how Microsoft will try and lock in consumers to paying monthly for the privilege of having Windows on their PC were outlined this week by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella when he predicted that Microsoft will lift their cloud based revenues from a current run rate of $6.3 billion for the their cloud services such as Office 365 to $20 Billion by June 2018.
Last week, Microsoft said sales of Windows to PC makers to install on their machines dropped 19 percent for the Pro version and 26 percent for other versions in the most recent quarter.
Meanwhile at Google executives are sitting and waiting as they further develop their Google Docs and free Chrome operating system.
Already several big Companies in Australia have dumped the Windows from their PC’s ahead of the introduction of Windows 10.
Woolworths already has 25,000 employees operating on the Google OS. So has Clipsal and Sound retail group Addicted to Audio.
Nadella announced the run-rate goal for cloud services at a meeting last night with analysts during the software maker’s Build conference in San Francisco.
Run rate refers to quarterly revenue presented on an annualized basis.
Microsoft wants to get a billion people using its Windows 10 operating system before they throw the charge switch in 2016.
Windows chief Terry Myerson said that Microsoft has developed tools to make it easier to convert applications originally programmed for Google’s Android to Windows phones and those written for Apple’s iOS devices to Windows gadgets without rewriting the bulk of the code.
Microsoft is trying to use Windows 10, to jump-start the personal-computer market and to entice more tablet and smartphone buyers to choose Windows models. If they achieve this they are in an excellent position to restrict PC operations or restrict access to certain services running on the Windows OS unless a consumer or business signs up to pay for the privilege of using their Windows OS.
The company is also betting that easier development of mobile apps and the ability to repurpose work done for other operating systems will get more engineers to build Windows programs, which in turn could help woo users back to the platform they have been dumping in favour of Android and Chrome.
“One thing we haven’t had — a great Windows release could drive people to refresh their PC,” Myerson said in an interview. “I see people with these Windows 7 PCs and I look at a great new 2-in-1 device with touch and I think there’s so much more you could have. I’m a little more optimistic.”
With Windows 10, Microsoft is introducing what it calls Universal Apps, which work regardless of the size of the device — though developers will have to add code if they want to tweak the programs to only show certain things on, say, an Xbox, or to make use of 3D holograms using HoloLens technology being developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft said companies such as Disney, Netflix, Evernote, and Box are creating Windows 10 Universal apps.
For Windows 10, Microsoft will have one app store regardless of whether users are on PCs, tablets or phones and will add the ability to pay for apps through customers’ wireless carriers — an advantage in countries where fewer customers have credit cards, Myerson said.
Nadella also demonstrated additions for Office software, including functions from SAP SE and LinkedIn. and a service for Uber. that lets customers summon a ride based on appointments in their Outlook calendar. It grabs their location from Outlook as well.
What Microsoft is aiming to revive the Windows franchise with Windows 10 by giving software away fror free, and 12 months on when consumers have got use to the new sofware start charging consumers.
In the browser market Explorer has been smashed by both Google Chrome and Firefox now the Company wants consumers to start using their new called Edge.
New features in Windows 10 will constantly prompt consumers to start using Edge and their doomed search engine.
Edge Browser
The program has a design that blends some aspects of Windows 8 with the older, more popular Windows 7’s appearance. It adds a new browser, which the company said Wednesday will be called Microsoft Edge, to succeed Internet Explorer. The update to Windows will also bring Cortana to PC desktops, and will have touch-enabled Office applications such as Word and Excel built in for smartphones and tablets.
Sales of Windows are suffering along with a declining PC market, after corporate customers upgraded new machines last year because Microsoft was ending support for the 13-year-old Windows XP. That buying cycle has petered out and global PC shipments dropped 5.2 percent in the first quarter, according to researcher Gartner Inc.
