Recently Microsoft released the link 365 which is basically a thin client for Azure. You can’t run anything locally nor is there any local files. It literally just connects you to a desktop elsewhere.
Do you think this is what Windows 12 might look like? I feel like this idea is not practical for average consumers. Maybe they will make something that’s like Chrome OS?
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Yup. SaaS with nice regular subscription revenues.
IIRC this concept was predicted in Gates’ book “The Road Ahead” … in 1995.
This product is not for you, individual consumer. This is for corporations who don’t want the overhead of managing individual PCs and everything that can go wrong with them, instead relying on virtual workspaces and roaming user profiles.
Microsoft is increasing pushing companies to Azure as that’s where they can make bank. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the Microsoft norm.
Also I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a consumer version if this in the works.
There are two questions. Is it cheap, and can it be hacked to run Linux instead?
It has a TPM and restricted boot so probably no Linux
OK, so it is a door stopper. Thanks for the warning.
A 3rd question will be: It the power button on top or covered?
No, it’s a piece of shit and it’s more expensive than mini PCs many times more capable.
Username checks out
No lol.
At least I hope not
Everything Microsoft has been doing for years now is aligned in the direction of jamming as many subscription services down our throat as they can manage, whether we want them or not. They are not alone in this by any stretch. Cloud based hardware definitely fits neatly into the current tech zeitgeist.
I hate the fact that TPM and other DRM is the standard now. I can’t even run third party software on it.
That’d be a Chromecast TV stick, just with Azure?! How much is the hardware? I’d say this sells if it’s priced right. Let’s say $20 for the box plus $120 anually for a base subscription including Office 365. With optional extras like gaming that’d be on top. Plus extra storage fees and a bit of upselling, it’d be a viable business model, in my eyes.
Edit: It’s $349 plus a currently unknown subscription: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsoft-builds-a-349-mini-desktop-but-only-for-accessing-windows-in-the-cloud/
That’s really steep for what you’re getting, I think. As a “PC Replacement” at home I can see there being a place for this. If you don’t need local compute, why not stream it. Steam Link was $50 and has the same basic concept, except for games.
Yeah, I think $349 is too much. You can get a MiniPC on Amazon for like $250 and that’d include a recent (low-power) CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD. So way more for $100 less, and you don’t even need additional cloud subscriptions.
$350 gets you a pretty decent PC. That’s a ridiculous price for a thin client that requires a subscription to use.
It is pennies for a company or consumer who has never looked a older hardware.
Have fun trying to flash another os when the servers shut down.
Likely not possible thanks to “enhanced security”
Yep 🤣
The future of windows is /dev/null
What would be cool is if there was a company that made Linux platform that was consumer focused.
Isn’t that what canonical was trying to do for years now?
Linux Mint, Ubuntu, even Arch are tying to make Linux easier to use for average consumers
Investors won’t be interested in that, it sounds too complicated. How about /dev/null as a Service?
