Windows 12 May Require a Subscription
pcmag.com
[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a "Subscription Edition," "Subscription Type," and a "subscription status."
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That's IMHO the best scenario we can hope for, though it doesn't seem promising even to pessimists like me.
My updated edit has an even better scenario that I just conjured up. Essentially bringing Windows 365 (cloud desktop) to home thin clients, netbooks, or even STBs like the series S.
The Series S (and its descendants) would be a hell of a versatile system as a cloud desktop with official licensing and support from MS.
It would also give people a reason to actually buy a Series S which can only be a good thing. Currently their market share for the console is basically in the toilet.
As a casual gamer, I like my series S, but mostly because of Gamepass. I don’t tend to replay games after I beat them, so game ownership doesn’t mean much to me.
That has the drawback, though, of needing a lot of storage if I’m working on a few modern high-end games, and the kids have a bunch of games that they want to play, too. The built in storage on the Series S is pathetic. The supplemental storage is confusing as hell and the proprietary drive that you can launch X|S games from is ridiculously expensive. I do really hate having to plan which games I’m going to play (and when) around download and copy times, and balance that against the games that I have currently and want to play.
Now, if the Xbox could easily be paired with a keyboard/mouse/4k display to be a fully-functional desktop computer while still retaining its capability as a current-gen gaming system? Shut up and take my money. What an incredible value add, and MS gets all the sweet sweet telemetry of a family computer.