Lots of people missing the point here.
What if you had a tablet device that could go weeks without charging? It could handle basic tasks on its own, or more intensive tasks when connected to the internet?
Office 365 is a good example. Basic tasks of word can be handled by a cached web client, but if you need to do something more advanced and need the full version of word to run, the ARM architecture can’t run it so spin up a virtual instance and stream it to your arm device.
Windows 11 will have this baked in. It’s not a forced replacement of a local OS.
But you don’t need to host your local OS in the cloud to run an application in the cloud.
Edit: clarification.
If your hardware is ARM and you need to work in x86 then yes you do.
Microsoft has recently announced Windows Copilot, an AI-powered assistant for Windows 11. Windows Copilot sits at the side of Windows 11, and can summarize content you’re viewing in apps, rewrite it, or even explain it. Microsoft is currently testing this internally and promised to release it to testers in June before rolling it out more broadly to Windows 11 users.
Assuming this will use OpenAI API like other Microsoft’s AI products, this is going to be expensive to operate. Subsidizing it indefinitely is surely not an option. How would Microsoft monetize it? By charging subscription like GitHub Copilot, or monetizing it somehow using users data they collected? I assume it would be the latter.
There’s talk about Microsoft SoCs on their own products, much like Apple does the M1 SoCs.
These Microsoft SoCs would be used in Surface devices and likely have dedicated AI hardware. Again, much like Apple.
If we’re talking about specialized models, not one generic LLM for everything a la GPT4, they might not have to be THAT big and could run on reasonably powerful devices.
I really doubt that, at least for the next few years. “AI Assistant” usually means LLMs, and even M2 struggles to run them mostly due to large compute and RAM requirements. If Microsoft could somehow release a truly local AI assistant feature that can run on average windows users’ hardware, that would be shake the whole ML field.
True, but they could get the base requirements of a task using OpenAI and then use specialized models locally to do subtasks.
Microsoft owns 49% of OpenAI, they don’t need to pay nearly as much per request as we do and the cost will likely decrease over time too.
Google tried that.
Anyway, I’ll stick with Linux.
With Chromebooks? ChromeOS is a pretty solid Linux distro if you’d ask me. It is built around cloud-sync and Google Drive, but otherwise perfectly fine to use offline. Even Steam is supported nowadays
The best thing I ever did with that one used Chromebook I bought was install Gallium OS on it. I ended up with a fully functioning laptop that was able to fulfill my mobile computing needs for $50. It’s a shame Gallium got discontinued. ChromeOS was very primitive and restrictive when I tried it 5 or 6 years ago, but you say they even support Steam now, so apparently they’ve made some improvements. Still wouldn’t want to use it over a Linux distro like Gallium that would let me have full control of the device, though.
In case anyone reading this is interesting in alternatives to ChromeOS, more info can be found here: https://mrchromebox.tech/#alt_os
Haha that will be the year of the Linux desktop, in many ways
Typical loop in this case:
- Oh, M$ is so disgusting, I never gonna switch to the new platform!
In a few months/years
- Well, my apps/hardware are not working, time to switch anyway. Not because it’s not working anymore, but because the platform is mature and I actually like it.
We’ve seen this spiel a few times, companies want to move to the cloud and then don’t because it’s ridiculous and plenty of things are just fine on local machines.
I don’t lend this any more credence than all the “we’ll all be gaming in the cloud in 10 years” crap when stuff like GeForce Now was popping up.
Microsoft has a track record of having excellent uptime! /s
I find it somewhat funny that this article came out on the day Microsoft 365 had an outage for most of the day.
Did you know Windows10 LTSC exists? It’s mainly free of any telemetry and you can tweak it fully, and even remove Edge by force if you need to ( though I believe you can also force remove Edge in the normal versions). Been much happier with the version.
Although it’s generally good idea, you will have hardware/software issues in the future. As I remember there is LTSB out there and it was pretty solid, but in times I used it long ago, I already had a lot of issues that required hours to find a workaround.
Was already considering running Linux on my next machine. That just made it a definite. Is Mintos still the best choice for an everyday desktop?
Mint is a great choice, especially if you’re looking for something that resembles the classic Windows (2k to 7) desktop paradigm.
you mean linux mint? it’s pretty good and user-friendly, also has a nice community from my experience. would definitely recommend.
This sort of question is very much a matter of opinion, but Linux Mint is a very friendly desktop choice. It’s become my go-to for all of my desktop installs.
How is this supposed to work in countries that have bandwidth caps, or slow internet connections?
It seems like every company these days wants to move everything to the cloud, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. While something like this makes sense in some instances (like kiosks or similar maybe?) for the vast majority of use cases this is a non-starter.
When I had a laptop, it’s wasn’t always connected to the internet and it certainly did not have a mobile internet connection - nor would I pay for another one when I have a perfectly good one in the form of my phone.
Most of the time, believe it or not I didn’t need an internet connection - half the time I was sitting at a park or a restaurant and playing singleplayer games or writing code.
I never connected to the restaurants free wifi, as I have trust issues with it. And I used a cable to hotspot when necessary. (Either that or i use the browser in my phone, mainly for stack overflow purposes)
If this happens, and windows goes Cloud ONLY - it would necessitate an always on and active internet connection.
God forbid if you decide to move out of signal range with it - let’s say, watch a movie on the laptop while camping in the outback. On top of that, what if your internet goes down - ISPs can and have been a-holes in the past, and this isn’t going to stop them in the future.
I have to wonder why anyone on earth would go for this? It’s inherently limiting, despite all the AI gimmicks they are touting.
I for one and not switching back to windows any time soon - I mean I wasn’t anyway, but I’m definitely not now.
On the other hand, this makes sense, why else would they release a sub par ARM chip in a surface pro 9 for the only 5G model? I always thought that decision made no sense. Now it makes perfect sense.
I live in a third world country. There is no way that this takes off here. Windows will just have to abandoned this country. But maybe they will as there is not a lot of money here. People will often buy laptops second hand at the market and the sellers load it with pirate content or can do it if they are asked. The only people really paying for Microsoft products here are the big corporations and foreigners, like myself, who are working here.
Additionally, most people just use their phones as a hotspot for data while at home. That is good enough for streaming and basic stuff. No one is going to get a fiber connection and pay a microsoft subscription. I honestly do not see this working here and I expect Microsoft will have to pull out or continue to offer offline options.
Ya I’d be fully Linux after that. Still too many benefits of having your own hardware.
Cool, I’ve been looking for an excuse to move to Linux again. I tried ubuntu years ago but it was too limited in features and capabilities to fully replace windows for my productivity needs. Time for me to dual-boot so I can start getting more practice with Linux (Probably going to go for Linux Mint this time around)
mint user here. rocksolid distro, maybe not bleeding edge but very good as a daily driver; also for music production. reasonably customizable desktop with cinnamon.
only caveat: some vst plugins do not work well with wine when it comes to their copy protection (#izotope and #ssl among them), others do (such as #kilohearts)
Cool, I’ve been looking for an excuse to move to Linux again.
What part of the article is making you want to change to Linux?
The part where windows is moving to the cloud - don’t want that or need it.
Agreed. I’ve been lazy because I’m a gamer, but at this point it’s time. I hope the other game companies can figure out something like Proton to play on Mint.
You can play nearly anything through proton by adding the game’s .exe as a non steam game. ProtonDB is a valuable resource.. You can install Mint alongside windows anyway and just boot winders for the games that don’t run on Linux.
Can you dualboot with bitlocker? Are there any halfway decent full drive encryption methods with recovery keys that won’t regularily corrupt the system? I’m mainly hesitant to make the switch based on those requirements. Plus, I have been in the MS ecosystem for such a long time. All I know and I worked on it as a sysadmin as well for many, many years. Big comfort zone.
Since you can wipe a computer without a bitlocker key, I would assume you could encrypt the windows half with it, but I can’t say I’ve tried.
Yeah - fortunately I gave up gaming long ago (got too addicted and had to step away to maintain a productive healthy lifestyle). I need it for Office productivity apps, CAD and 3D slicing software, and photoshop. All of my needs are available as open-source programs, or Photopea does almost everything I need from photoshop these days lol.
So my only excuse lately has just been that I’m too lazy to make the switch since I have everything mostly setup in windows how I like it. But it wouldn’t be hard to export some profiles and import them into the Linux versions of the same applications.
But windows actions lately have really pushed me towards linux - I hear they’re trying to put ads into the windows 11 start menu. Its ridiculous that I now need to install third party menus and file explorers if I want to still use my operating system ad-free.
Kill two birds with one stone, get a Steam Deck?
You get a distro (arch) wrapped up into an excellent gaming device, and can drop into desktop mode for productivity needs. For 400 bucks, it’s a pretty sweet setup, imo.
Or, if you have the machine already, certainly take advantage of the enhancements Steam has contributed to proton, and game on.
I bought one for this reason but have been meaning to dual boot it. Partially because Im not wild about its desktop but also I want to seperate my gaming and nongaming more.
Yeah I had a catastrophic lighting strike and ended up having to buy a nice gaming pc during the pandemic. I love everything I’ve heard about steam deck but will be pc bound until I get my money’s worth xD
Also check out lutris, which is a game launcher and a website full of working install scripts.
I like that name, I gotta say.
It’s actually hilarious that consoles might become the new must-have gaming equipment because of this.
I agree, I think if this is how windows goes forward a lot of tech people will leave their ecosystem entirely. The one thing stopping them is the convenience of windows (mostly free if you know what you are doing and most processes don’t need to be thought about). A subscription based OS throws everything out the door. This gives them an unbelievable amount of control over what you see/do/store. Want to view a website for linux installation? “Nope that goes against our T&Cs, you’ve been banned from your OS with all your information on it”.
The upside I see will be linux will start becoming easier on everyday users because the tech people switched and want the convenience
The tech people switched long ago.
Linux distros like Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint and Pop! have been fully capable of replacing Windows for typical work and home uses for several years.
Even gaming is very close to being on-par now.
There are still niches dependent on Windows, like specialized engineering software or anyone that simply refuses to use anything other than Adobe products.
Yup, I totally have been making the switch to Open-Source software or browser-based software (like Photopea) for the past few years to ensure I’d be able to easily make the switch when windows finally pisses me off enough. But I think I’m already at that stage - every major windows-10 update seems to break more and more features on my computer lol
Okay, but like, are you SURE you wouldn’t prefer to open PDFs with Microsoft Edge? I’ll ask you again next time, just in case you change your mind!
I’m pretty sure you meant to actually select Edge, so I’ll go ahead and switch that to your default so we don’t need to bother you again next time. You’re welcome!
You could try distrosea before committing to an install.
It gives you a VM online to play around in for almost any distro you can think of.
Don’t forget that desktop environment (DE) and distro are decoupled in Linux, so if you didn’t like the feel of Ubuntu (GNOME DE) you can go with Kubuntu (KDE Plasma DE). Both are on DistroSea.
I highly recommend KDE these days, on Ubuntu or other. It’s just so damn usable and flexible.
Yeah? I tried Linux Mint Cinnamon edition on a friend’s computer and the Gnome they’re running seemed sufficient for my needs. Is KDE really that much better “out of the box” without the need to customize?
Ask 3 Linux users and you’ll get 5 dissenting opinions. Mine is that KDE Plasma is very simple out of the box and more familiar to Windows users. A previous Windows user can use it without any kind of deep learning. Gnome is a bit more alien, borrows a bit more from OSX, and does force its workflow on the user more.
KDE also offers an insane amount of easy customization for those of us with a desire to tweak or enjoy a different aesthetic or workflow. The built-in shop for widgets, wallpapers, themes, cursors, etc makes that very accessible to anyone. Gnome customization requires a lot more command line and editing of configs.
I’ve dabbled in Linux for decades, but fully switched to Linux as my daily driver about 5 years ago. I still have a Windows partition set up for dual boot, but only boot into it once every couple months now to run very specific software. I can honestly say I miss nothing about Windows. Linux has matured leaps and bounds even in the past 5 years. Gaming, productivity, programming, hobby. It can do it all. I will admit there is still a technical barrier to entry. You will need to get used to the command line and searching the web frequently for how to do something. But if you have those skills I don’t think it’s a contest anymore. Linux is the better OS.
I’ve been on Fedora for about a year and I’m very particularly making a point of never opening the terminal to prove it’s no longer necessary.
So far, haven’t needed it.
I don’t have a problem doing things by the command line… it’s certainly sometimes easier that way. This is just a response to the people that complain about having to use it. Turns out, they really don’t.
Yeah, stuff like this is why I just recently changed back to mac a week ago (after years of hating them). For gaming I swapped my Xbox X to PS5 too at the same time (the Xbox X can’t even remote play in windows because I just get a black screen, which is embarressing for them).
Got sick of Edge hijacking my Chrome tabs randomly too. Things are getting worse in windows, not better
I haven’t run Linux in ages (2012 maybe?) But I’m about ready to give it another look. I use windows on my machine less and less frequently, and it seems like it’s never been easier to switch to something less “taking all the control away from the user” focused.
I’ve been using Linux at home for ages (20-25 years ) and haven’t missed the “Windows experience” one bit.
I switched to Linux a long time ago, it’s only getting better and better. After valve started making serious investments in the ecosystem it has only gotten better for desktop usage and it simply ‘works’ in ways that even windows struggles with, ie: ps4 controllers/switch controllers work ootb, gamescope allows significantly more control over how games are rendered and offers a true console-like experience combined with big picture UI.
@floofloof. That’s a hard no. I mean if work wants to do it…ok? But on my own machines…Linux or Mac. I can just picture some jerk DDOSing it.
That’s going to be interesting.
Here in Germany, we are forced to use Windows in schools because “it’s what the kids need in the real world”.
By forcing Windows to work cloud-only, they are literally making it illegal to use in schools here, because we can’t force children to use anything doing data-harvesting in order to pursue their education.
Fun times ahead!
At this rate if Germany becomes a leader in exporting non data harvesting devices/vehicles I can assure you I’ll be buying all my electronics from Germany soon enough.
Sounds like the beginning of the Linux revolution starting with kids!
based microsoft accelerating linux growth by making windows shit 🙏
in the US, all the kids use chrome books, data harvesting is rampant
