this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2026
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Windows has stopped being Microsoft't core business since Windows 8 (2015), and turned into an expensive liability. The core of Microsoft business now lies in selling cloud services, compute, and Office 365 subscriptions.
The problem is - users pay for Windows only once, and not each year like all other fancy rich companies like Adobe make their users do. And the market is saturated, because Microsoft became monopoly around 1995. Every PC sold has Windows installed, and since everyone on the planet already owns one PC per person (citation needed), the sales directly depend on the birth rate.
Trying to change to subscription model was met with violent pushback from users, so they started adding advertisements to taskbar starting in Windows 10, and created a shittiest app store ever to copy Apple.
They have been trying to kill Windows ever since, but they cannot due to numerous contract obligations.
That is not in the slightest true. They pay once per computer. And people go through multiple computers in their lifetime. So it is not at all tied to birthrate.
Very few people buy licenses directly. Most people buy it pre-installed with an OEM license that is tied to that computer.
And so we get to the TPM 2.0 thing that would force people to buy a new computer, and caused many to look for alternative.
Well yes, but you still do not pay each year, this means MICROS~1 is losing profits (in their eyes, and compared to Adobe).
OEM licenses are also bad, because MICROS~1 is selling each copy of Windows for a significant discount, not for $199.99 retail price. And users can even transfer non-OEM licenses to another PC (oh horror!)
I think their point still stands. People “buy” windows when they need a new computer, so the the rate at which windows is sold probably hasn't changed much. If anything it’s probably slower due to more durable modern hardware like SSDs.
That does not make sense. If they have the monopoly and it's on every PC, which are being sold constantly, and it costs money to obtain, then it should at least should have a potential to be highly profitable.
I think the OP is suggesting that Windows OS has been/is a loss leader for Microsoft.
(Akin to Costco selling hot dogs for cheap)
The Microsoft playbook was "make windows accessible, then use it as a platform to up sell Office, Exchange, etc".
Now with their shift and focus into the cloud and cloud subscriptions. All the users need is a web browser and a dumb terminal: they don't have to run windows anymore.
Thus, Microsoft's investment in Windows and developing and cough testing cough a platform that will never be profitable is only costing MS money.
And in order to try to gain some net profit from Windows, they're turning it into the GeoCities of ad-ridden Operating Systems.
And yet, here we are. Until 2010, Microsoft would say - "What are you gonna do about it, install Linux and edit .doc files in vim lolol?", but now users would just buy Chromebook instead.
Coincidentally, Windows did not get any new features since Windows 95 up to Windows 8, because why change the atrocious Control Panel if users are gonna buy it anyway?
So they either decided that running a device driver certification program is too expensive, or they are panicking and adding dumb shit to Windows to maintain an appearance of doing something to shareholders.