Courtesy of OSWeekly.com

(Column) - I think we’ve all worn ourselves out with talking about Vista. You might think that it’s now time for all of us to take break from talking about Windows and focus on items of higher and more relevant importance, but sure enough, just as one thing wears out, another takes its place. Whether good or bad, Microsoft doesn’t want us to stop talking about Windows, and even though many of us are just now getting used to Vista, Microsoft is already generating discussion about the next release of Windows which has a working title of Windows 7. Whatever the final name of the OS ends up being is anyone’s guess right now, but no matter what the name is, we’re likely to see some interesting and controversial changes in this next version of Windows.

It’s an established fact that Microsoft plans to keep offering big new versions of Windows over exclusively offering smaller updates, but the way in which you gain access to these newer versions is quickly becoming an issue of change within Microsoft. As of right now, the Windows purchase and usage process has pretty much stayed the same. You purchase a copy of Windows, install it on your computer, and then use it for as long as you’d like.

Certain service packs may be released for your version of the OS that you can install for free, but when it comes to an entirely new version of Windows, you’ll have to pay to upgrade. We’re used to this, and it mostly feels right, but instead of solely carrying on with this method for Windows 7, Microsoft is also interested in offering Windows as a subscription service.

I (along with a lot of other people) have mixed feelings about this, but not surprisingly, I view it as a mostly negative thing. On the beneficial side of things, I can see some end-users responding favorably to this move in the sense that they can more than likely avoid paying a larger up front fee and know that they’ll receive the latest and greatest under their subscription arrangement. In the end, this illusion of the benefits of a subscription model will likely end up being revealed as a smoke and mirrors trick.

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I don’t know about you, but I don’t subscribe to any software at this point in time. There are plenty of Web services that charge a subscription fee, but when it comes to my desktop, I more or less "own" that experience, and certainly have not trodden down the path of renting my desktop. Unless it’s just right, Microsoft will have to drag me kicking and screaming into this subscription arrangement.

In addition, with the recent Vista development delays fresh in mind, the amount that you end up paying for a subscription to Windows could possibly end up costing you more money over just purchasing a copy all at once. If Windows development ran like a well-oiled machine, then that would be one thing, but since it hasn’t in the past, I wouldn’t be so eager to subscribe to their development process.

Finally, a lot of people are using Windows right now simply because they have it on their computer. If their usage of Windows expired at the end of some sort of a subscription, then you can count on the fact that they’d be more inclined to examine other operating system options rather than signing on to another usage period of a desktop experience that they may not even be pleased with. Also, if Windows technically expires, then what happens to all of the data? Will the computer just become a useless box unless Linux or an older version of Windows is installed on it, or will the installed version just continue to run as is? As you can see, a lot of questions still have to be answered, and we won’t fully know what to expect until that final version of Windows 7 is released.

Besides Windows, the likelihood does exist that other Microsoft products (such as Microsoft Office) will soon be available to the masses by subscription as well. This is some dangerous ground to be treading on, and while I don’t fully reject the idea of application subscriptions, I do feel like operating system subscriptions are a leap backwards instead of forwards.