Australian retailers who faced losing Windows 10 sales after Microsoft decided to give the new OS away for free could end up selling a secret new Windows 365 subscription.
Speculation is mounting that Microsoft will give consumers and business 12 months of Windows 10 for free, now speculation has it that when the free period is over Microsoft could be looking to charge a monthly OS fee similar to what they are currently doing with Office 365.
Rumours surrounding the secret plan to charge for Windows was given credence when a trademark filing for “Windows 365,” mirroring the Office 365 branding was discovered. It strongly suggests the software giant is looking to charging a regular fee to consumers for the operating system or some specific functionality, rather than using the current one-time payment system used for major version upgrades.
The filing at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) spotted by Neowin covers the use of Windows 365 for typical computing purposes, including computer software and operating systems. It also covers a plethora of “as a service” items, including “operating software,” “platform,” “software,” “infrastructure,” and “desktop as a service,” as well as providing educational or training services, and the “electronic storage of files and documents.”
Last month, Microsoft revealed Windows 10 would be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 and later, calling it a “free upgrade for the first year.”
The last part of the statement concerned some users, believing there to be a subscription model being implemented. Microsoft later clarified it meant there would not be a charge for upgrading to Windows 10 in that year, and users would get a perpetual license for the software.
The trademark registration appears to change all this with the use of the letters 365.
It appears that Microsoft has had a rethink of their Windows strategy, with some observers claiming that Microsoft may give away a base model Windows but charge for other functionality.
Some observer’s claim that Microsoft could offer an overall package of Windows-related services, such as the bundle it launched last year, or it could potentially use the “desktop as a service” scenario to provide a web-based version of the Windows desktop, allowing users to access their account and apps from any browser.
