This question covers Windows only. I know Microsoft makes a wide variety of other software products (Office, Exchange, etc.), I'm not interested in them, only in the Desktop Operating Systems.

First - unlike the most of you, I've read Microsoft's financial reports, and understand accounting. I know how much money Microsoft has on hand, and how unlikely this scenario is. I'm asking the question to find out what people currently think are their best options, if Windows is no longer available.

Second - this is not a troll. I know there are a lot of Windows fans here. I'm not trying to insult you. I'm asking what you would do in a theoretical situation.

Third - I'm going to be posting the same question in several places. The plan is to write an article based on the feedback I get. I am assuming that a response to this post means that I can quote you in full.

So what would you do if you could no longer buy new copies of Windows?

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I'd stay with Windows 7 until it becomes out-of-date enough to need a different OS such as Linux (which would probably greatly increase in popularity).

Dual boot with XP and whatever version of Unix/Linux has my fancy.

I haven't bought a new copy of Windows since 2003, so I'd probably keep using that one. I'd probably dual boot with new Ubuntu releases or something of the sort, though.

>First - unlike the most of you, I've read Microsoft's financial reports, and understand accounting.
I find that statement somewhat insulting. "Unlike most of you, I know what I'm talking about...". Presumably you think "most" of us are oblivious pimple-faced kids in our parent's basement living off of ramen noodles and soda pop. At least, that's what your tone suggests.

>I know how much money Microsoft has on hand, and how unlikely this scenario is.
It doesn't exactly take a huge stretch of the imagination to realize how unlikely this scenario is. Just how stupid do you think we are?

>I'm not trying to insult you.
If you weren't trying then you're a natural!

>I'm asking what you would do in a theoretical situation.
Windows is pervasive enough that I doubt it would just go away if Microsoft went bankrupt. Someone would get a hold of it and keep it going ("someone" being Apple or Sun, most likely). I would keep doing what I'm doing now: constantly evaluate my needs versus the available tools and use them accordingly.

>Third - I'm going to be posting the same question in several places.
I can see it now. You use two or three of us as sound bites, out of context so as to make anything we say support your conclusion, and then claim "most of" the industry feels the same way.

>I am assuming that a response to this post means that I can quote you in full.
I recommend you also assume that permission to publish those quotes is required because all content posted by Daniweb members is copyrighted by DaniWeb LLC as per the acceptable use policy. You really need to do more research before digging yourself into a legal hole, Mr. I Read Financial Reports And Understand Accounting. :icon_rolleyes:

commented: ka ching! :P +0

I think my views are summarized in my sig-block =P

i would become a developer for the ReactOS project and run linux until said project was complete.

Getting rid of all their leisure crap, unnecessary incentives, lease some space, auction off more crap, halt a few projects, few more layoffs and reorgs, let the interns do even more grunt work than they already do, and that would probably keep them living. Otherwise they'd just eventually get a bailout or be bought-out.
(Did I just describe ever Dilbert comic strip?)

If somehow they did magically disappear, I'd go with a Unix-based system and probably start playing even more with analog computers.

Being ultra happy!!! No more Windows fans!!! Fantastic!!! This must must be the heaven!!!

this is not a troll. I know there are a lot of Windows fans here

saying that there are a lot of Windows fans here, probably is the biggest troll of all.

unlike the most of you, I've read Microsoft's FINANCIAL reports, and understand accounting. I know how much money Microsoft has on hand, and how unlikely this scenario is.

suuure ...

I'm asking the question to find out what people currently think are their best options, if Windows is no longer available.

Windows no longer available? well ... In a perfect world ... but maybe, before you start writing your article, you should re-think that phrase.
the Bible isn't being written anymore, still millions a year are being sold. just because there are no new versions of Windows (in that utopia you refer to) doesn't mean the older versions won't be sold anymore.

Windows is pervasive enough that I doubt it would just go away if Microsoft went bankrupt. Someone would get a hold of it and keep it going ("someone" being Apple or Sun, most likely).

now this, I agree, is bit non-sense. Apple, Sun nor any other company would ever "adopt" Windows. They would be able to lift their products over the existing Windows installations and installments, they would have the best and most up to date product on the market, and you think they would trade ALL THAT for an OS that's got more bugs (or shall we say: undocumented features) compared to the number of feathers on a flock of birds, has a bad name, and already has several lawsuits against it?
well, the OS is dead, long live the new OS.

I'm going to be posting the same question in several places. The plan is to write an article based on the feedback I get. I am assuming that a response to this post means that I can quote you in full.

of course you may post me in full, on the condition that
a. you don't change anything
b. do mention me as author
c. respect copy-rights (you just saying "I'm allowed to quote you" doesn't make it so). What appears on this fora, is actually property of DaniWeb.

So what would you do if you could no longer buy new copies of Windows?

I would pray to the ancient Mayan Gods, because indeed, the world is comming to an end ...
well, I wouldn't mind. let's "investigate" the current situation.
Why is Windows at this point still the most, or one of the most used OS ?
1. it comes pre-installed on a lot of pc's, and a lot of regular users (those who just want to check their mail and look at funny cat vids (aren't they adorable? ) on 'the internetz') don't care about switching to a different (better) OS, since you can just as easily install firefox or chrome on Windows.
2. A lot of companies design their software with this in mind. both software and hardware alike (unfortunately, but true) ... yes, the plug-n-play of Windows is a lot more user friendly then some other OS (even though those differences are being cleared up pretty fast)
3. Let's face it, a lot of IT guys use their machine for more than just work: the games industry is not a backroom chamber anymore, it's a billion dollar industry, and, unfortunately, Windows is still the platform they mainly target.
good luck in trying to find a game you CAN'T run on Windows. but the number of games that can be played on all the other OS's as well ...

do you really think, that the moment when Microsoft decides to pull the plug on Windows, Dell, HP and all those other firms will stop creating and selling pc's with an OS pre-installed ? Do you believe the games industry will throw in the towel and lay off all their employees ? they will just re-work their configurations so they'll run on another OS, and the pc builders will pick up on another OS to pre-install.

long story short: the only thing that will change once Windows dissappears, is that the logo of the OS changes.

Windows is pervasive enough that I doubt it would just go away if Microsoft went bankrupt.

That's the real question. It's true that there have been several cases in the past of companies going bankrupt or nearly so (being bought at a discount, liquidated, etc.) and their flagship software product would live on through some other company or consortium that takes it over. But for that to happen, it must be a very critical software that many important companies depend on and could not reasonably phase out. Whether Windows qualifies for that is debatable, especially in a hypothetical scenario where Microsoft is going bankrupt.

Microsoft is extremely strongly tied to Windows, despite some of their efforts to do or say otherwise. Windows is what made Microsoft, and I think that a major downfall of Windows is a necessary condition for Microsoft to go belly-up (but not necessarily a sufficient condition... Microsoft might be able to survive a "Windows apocalypse"). As long as Windows stays alive, by being widely used, pre-loaded in PCs, the near-exclusive platform for many software products (games, professional software, etc.), and so on, Microsoft will have something firm to stay on, and will still be able to survive even if all their other products and secondary markets (e.g., servers) disappear.

I think the major concern that Microsoft has, or should have, is that Windows' future is starting to look a little grim. They are pretty much the only people still selling an OS as a product, while more and more consumer see the OS as a feature or characteristic of a product (of the phone / tablet / computer).

The diverse choices of OS are starting to have an effect on people's attitudes towards changing their OS. With the different phones, the different apps, and the different cloud services or browser-based applications, the "habit" factor is no longer as strong as it used to be. It used to be that ordinary people wanted to stick with Windows because it's what they knew, and anything else made them feel lost, but now, you have no choice but to be able to adapt to different user experiences depending whether you're using your phone, your smart TV, your google docs, etc..., you just have to be versatile, and the OS just becomes one more thing you can easily switch between.

Then, a lot of software and hardware companies that used to exclusively support Windows are starting to support the alternatives (Mac and Linux) more and more. When it becomes common-place for most software, including games and professional applications, to be available on all platforms, I know that many people will permanently remove Windows from their computers, because many people today keep Windows around (or endure it) just for a few specific pieces of software. I've started to see engineering requirement lists for selecting software, libraries or hardware, that specifically mention "Linux support" as a necessary thing, because it's really wide-spread now, to the point that people don't even want to hear about anything that is "Windows-only" any more.

The point is, eventually Windows will no longer be a standalone product or a necessity. It will become, like other OSes (OSX, iOS, Android, Linux distros, etc.), more of a "flavour" to a computing product (phone, tab, computer, whatever). When it becomes one flavour out of many, and no longer a necessary or habitual one, it will have to compete on its own merits in comparison to its competitors (and will probably have to be free, like its competitors and like web-browsers have always been), and that's something Microsoft has never done with Windows, actually having to compete on grounds other than necessity or habit.

Microsoft also has to contend with the hordes of programmers and system administrators who have wet dreams about Windows disappearing from the face of the Earth, so that they would no longer need to write software for that piece of shit system.

These are the challenges that Microsoft is facing right now, and if they are not wise about it, Windows could slowly die and disappear into irrelevance. This could be as quick as Apple's resurrection about a decade ago, which took only a few years. But there are also many reasons to think that this is unlikely to happen in the near future, as long as the paradigm remains more or less the same (e.g., a big technological shift could flip everything on its head, including Microsoft, of course). Exclusivity contracts and patent lawsuit threats is part of the reason why a lot of people need Windows to remain profitable and relevant, so that Microsoft doesn't throw a fit and decide to drag everyone else down with it.

So, to the question of whether Windows would be picked up by another company if Microsoft went down, I think that the answer is that before Microsoft goes down we will already have seen the down-fall of Windows, whose pieces might get picked up by some smaller company to support legacy users and whatever market remains for it.

So what would you do if you could no longer buy new copies of Windows?

I would reclaim the mostly useless partition of my HDD that contains a Windows installation. That would give me a few hundred GBs of additional free space. That's about all that would change. Oh.. and I might pop a bottle of Champagne! ;)

I would reclaim the mostly useless partition of my HDD that CONTAINS a Windows installation. That would give me a few hundred GBs of additional free space. That's about all that would change. Oh.. and I might pop a bottle of Champagne! ;)

or, you could use it for 'good ol' time sake' to re-install Microsofts last stable OS, being Windows 3.11 (still would save you a few hundred GB's of space ;) )

Microsoft is "too big to fail". Just like the big banks, the US taxpayer would have to bail them out. Without Windows the whole governmental bureaucracy would be in jeopardy.

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