With two weeks until the free Windows 10 offer ends Microsoft has revealed their plans for the Enterprise editions. Dubbed Windows 10 Enterprise E3, it will cost $7 (£5) per month, per PC. That’s right, when Microsoft said that this would be the last version of windows they meant it.
Only certain versions of the high end Windows 10 Enterprise Edition at present are affected, with both Home and Pro versions being left alone for now. It’s being billed as an integration of current services, alongside things such as Azure and Office which are already part of their existing cloud solutions. But this starts windows down the same route as Office, which is available as a subscription package with the paid for versions becoming more restricted over time. Some consumer devices such as android and ios handsets can only use the subscription based office 365.
Unfortunately Microsoft has tied things like DX12 and UWP to Windows 10. Meaning that as DX12 becomes mainstream Windows 10 becomes the de facto choice for gamers. However, with subscription plans for Windows now a reality, Could it be a matter of time until it trickles down to the consumer level editions? More importantly, who would be willing to tie their OS, effectively their PC, to a monthly subscription?
