Coming down the pipeline - Windows365

[Markverhyden]

This has been bandied about for several years. The concept of "everything", aka OS and apps, using a subscription model. I got an email from TechRepublic about a MS Mini PC based on W365. Not being officially launched until next year. Supposedly around April.

Microsoft Reveals Mini PC for Easy Access to Windows 365

Windows 365 Link, set to launch in select regions in early April, can connect to various peripherals either wirelessly or via cable.

www.techrepublic.com

Windows 365 Link: Cloud PC Device, Simple and Secure

Discover Windows 365 Link: The Cloud PC device for secure, instant access to your Windows 365 environment, connecting you in seconds for seamless productivity.

www.microsoft.com

 

[britechguy]

If they limit Windows 365 to only Microsoft Store (or whatever it may be called at introduction) apps I suspect this will be Windows Mobile all over again. And we all know how that ended.

 

[phaZed]

Dead on arrival.. except for those who have no idea what they just bought.
Medium and large business may like it, but it doesn't look like a good deal even when looking at the dollar proposition, IMO.

 

[britechguy]

Dead on arrival..

Well, rest assured, you're not alone in your assessment. Only time will tell, but I'd be willing to bet significant amounts of money on its ultimate failure.

 

[NviGate Systems]

The one thing MS just can't do. Not in the genes.

 

[britechguy]

The one thing MS just can't do.

1. The *one* thing?!! The Microsoft Graveyard is second only to the Google Graveyard, in my personal estimation. I haven't done an detailed analysis.

2. What "one thing"? The antecedent is really not clear.

 

[Metanis]

I like the idea of subscription-based Windows because it will surely drive people toward Linux. Although it will also drive them away from PCs too.

 

[britechguy]

I like the idea of subscription-based Windows because it will surely drive people toward Linux.

I could probably count on less than 2 hands the number of Linux converts that came from subscription-based software (of any type).

Believe it or not, I really like Linux and it has improved (or at least a very great many distros have) over the decades. But the window for any mass movement to Linux by the end user community is long, long, long, long over. To believe otherwise is the living embodiment of the literary reference, "Tilting at windmills." Linux has found its niche, and it's a critical one, in data centers the world over. The desktop, nope. Not gonna happen.

 

[timeshifter]

This sounds like the network computer they were talking about in the early 2000s. Or, an RDP server from recent years. I don't get it. You pay $349 for the box and you still need monitors, etc. Seems about the same price as a desktop PC (close). Why not just buy a real computer? And performance is dictated by your Internet speed, assuming you're Internet is up.

THEN, you need to pay $30 to $100 per month per computer. Maybe this is a thing for larger organizations where they want to be able to manage it all. Maybe it's an answer to the MSP model.

I don't get it.

 

[Metanis]

Not gonna happen.

I'm only saying that if Microsoft forces home users onto a subscription model then some of those people are going to finally entertain alternatives. Obviously, businesses have little choice and many of them are already on a subscription basis

Most people like to coast and once they have their licensed copy of Windows they resist all change. Inertia is a powerful thing. (Look at the people who tried to stay on Windows 7 and now the people trying to retain Windows 10!)

However, a subscription fee will cause some of these people to abandon computers entirely in favor of their phones or tablets. Some serious percentage will just pay the fee since they are already paying for a 365 subscription for Office apps. And some will switch to the Apple ecosystem.

But maybe 5% - 10% will just abandon Windows and try their luck with Linux. And perhaps that would be enough to get better support for Linux on the desktop. Even 5% of a billion users is a helluva potential marketplace.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I wonder if this is an attempt to have machines that are powerful but able to be locked down with reduced costs. Because many companies spend insane money on thin clients for what for most people would be crap specs but have some sort of simplicity and configuration ability.

I've often been shocked to see the sticker prices for Celeron or AMD based thin clients. Perhaps this is some sort of "any machine can be a thin client" with some sort of minimum requirements to line up with management expectations.

Otherwise it doesn't make much sense. This is Windows RT all over again.

 

[Markverhyden]

I' d guess their use case is larger organizations where users don't have high demands on machine specs. Just email, web, docs, database entry etc, etc. After all they really need to have Entra & Co to properly manage them.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I had my entire executive team in the Ignite session where Satya Nadella announced these things... and everyone was just so darned excited.

Then I showed them this: https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Pro-Desktop-Computer-1000Mbps/dp/B0C89TQ1YF

I said, I'll sell these when MS cuts the price in half, because that's what they are worth. We can do this ourselves with more control, less headaches, and better margins. Cold water on my C suite did exactly what I needed it to do, so onward to using brain cells... These are NOT useless, though I struggle to find an SMB use, SMC use... sure... but not SMB. For those that haven't seen "SMC" before, that's Small, Medium, and Corporate. Think the M side of SMB and up, these are for established organizations with at least 100 seats. They will make zero sense in smaller orgs without some serious diligence in a hard niche.

These are NOT for home users, anyone that thinks so is... misguided. These are useless for home users UNLESS the home user wants to have a machine in the cloud that doesn't crash... ever. Built in time machine style backups... And the ability to record actions based on triggers to catch the kids doing stupid things after the fact. (Windows 365 / VDI is magic in the compliance space people!)

Now, all that being said... these are NOT dead on arrival. They are secured, validated, and trust-able endpoints that DO NOT REQUIRE MANAGEMENT that provide an RDP endpoint to get to Windows 365 or Azure VDI.

There are valid use cases for them, for example... Windows 365 endpoints with Quickbooks On premises installed on them, that are then in turn hooked to a Windows VM in Azure to run the server side components. These devices have superior Intune connectivity to easily manage the entire user experience into and out of any Microsoft virtual environment.

The thing that's sticking in everyone's craw, is the knowledge that this solution is utterly temporary (QB on premises is dead in a year or two, and most LOB applications are going to the cloud as well) and that if you're going to support an end user's device, you may as well only support ONE OF THEM, and just have the endpoint itself do the lifting and forego all the additional expense of the cloud hosted environment.

In the same breath Microsoft was talking about Windows 365 Link they were also unveiling upgraded Intune functionality that drastically extends and accelerates Intune's application publishing abilities. Which again, further extends our ability to manage endpoints correctly, and eliminate these duplicate devices.

But, again these aren't "dead", they do have value. But the value is in specific niches where you need an endpoint device that can be trusted, but doesn't require technical support, or management. Microsoft releasing their own also makes sense against the link I posted above... that Beelink IS NOT TRUST-ABLE! Microsoft's endpoint is... an immutable, trust-able device, has value... but again within its niche.

P.S. There's another related product that was announced... https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/local Let this one sink in...

 

[Metanis]

This post has really made me realize it's time to fully retire and let my few remaining clients find a real MSP to service their systems. I'm just not willing to spend the time getting and staying proficient at this stuff. I'm still more than capable of dealing with hardware failures and routine PC issues but those problems are exceedingly rare any more.

 

[britechguy]

This post has really made me realize it's time to fully retire and let my few remaining clients find a real MSP to service their systems.

It's also the perfect example of why I never, ever wanted to become a "real MSP." I'll probably keep serving my client demographic, residential and micro-business users, until I can't anymore. Their needs are not the same as larger entities and certainly don't involve all the things discussed, thank heaven.

Tools to tasks. Security measures based on what's being secured.

 

[timeshifter]

Then I showed them this: https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Desktop-Computer-Support-Ethernet/dp/B0BVLS7ZHP

Can you check the link? Didn't work for me.

 

[frase]

Beelink are overated and over expensive, I have read are prone to failure cheap Chinese made systems. Even MS with the new Flight Sim went full plane in the cloud mode [pun intended] to geomap the game environment. So expect trees in buildings and other oddites.

 

[phaZed]

I've sold quite a few Beelink Mini PC's and have had no returns. Most Electronics are cheap - and Chinese-made.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Can you check the link? Didn't work for me.

Updated to : https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Pro-Desktop-Computer-1000Mbps/dp/B0C89TQ1YF

Hopefully it works this time! It was working for me at the point of posting.

Also, in response to those above that claim quality issues... I've got 12 of these in the field, so far so good. Though I do have several concerns regarding their quality and supply chain.

Also, a mini-PC with 16gb of RAM, a 500GB SSD, and a quad core 3.4ghz CPU WITH a Windows 11 Pro license for $160 is... well... I'm having a hard time complaining. Even if I have a 50% failure rate, this is still less expensive on a proper deployment model with M365 services behind it than the "official" local alternative from Dell and the like.

@Metanis You're living the reason why I closed my MSP, and went full time with a larger shop. It's literally impossible to keep up as a solopraneur now.

 

[trevm999]

Yeah, if you're doing VDI, you basically just want Teams on the local system for calls, and then do everything in your remote system. You don't really want to have to support the user endpoints at all. You go with thin clients, and that's a whole seperate system you still have to manage with seperate tools. And if you need to be SOC2 compliant, there's still requirements that need to be met for your dumb endpoints, even if you're not really doing anything on them.