It has been an interesting week to be Microsoft, as they have had to suggest to their user base that they might be better off moving to a competitor's product. Sebastian has already informed you about the fact that Cortana and Windows Search are going through a somewhat amicable divorce, but today we find Satya Nadella suggesting that Cortana will become an optional skill which you can choose for Alexa or Google Assistant; if you don't see any better perks for that level. Apparently they will also "be again completely consumer businesses" by offering consumers the same licensing scheme as they forced upon enterprise businesses, of which many have expressed strong feelings about since it was introduced.
What must really burn is their admit that Windows 10 Mobile is indeed as dead as the proverbial parrot, which has forced them to suggest that current users move to a different device as Microsoft will no longer even offer token support for that OS after the end of the year. People paying attention to this may remember that the last major update to the OS was pushed in 2017.
"Microsoft's guidance for customers is to "move to a supported Android or iOS device" and use the range of Microsoft applications on one of those platforms instead."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Pixelbook and 'Nami' Chromebooks the First To Get Linux GPU Acceleration in Project Crostini @ Slashdot
- DIY Clapper is 1980s Style With Raspberry Pi Twist @ Hackaday
- iPad Mini 5, new entry-level iPad set to arrive in early 2019 @ The Inquirer
- Google Play Malware Used Phones' Motion Sensors To Conceal Itself @ Slashdot
- Apexdesk Elite ZT Series Electric Standing Desk & Anti-Fatigue Mat @ TechPowerUp
- Twitter. Android. Private tweets. Pick two… Account bug unlocked padlocked accounts @ The Register
After reading the post from
After reading the post from here as well as form the links is that MS is going to a subscription mode for Windows. I actually have been saying this ever since Windows 10 was released back in 2015 and that it was only a matter of time before they blended Office 365 and Windows 10 together as a subscription model. Now the real question is will we get the same option for Windows as we do for Office. That being you either go Office 365 sub or buy the stand alone version of Office and not worry about any subscriptions.
I guess my other question is if we do get the stand alone Windows will it be full of advertising that we as users will have to find ways to block from showing up. I really do not care about Cortana since I do not use that software as my search for anything so if they finally give us a way to completely turn it off all the better because as it sits now if you turn the Cortana service off you also run into a lot of other problems in Windows such as the Start menu functions not working properly etc etc.