I could be wrong, but I suspect they will keep Windows at least subscription-free. That doesn't mean you won't have to buy your initial license in the future for your computer. But since the O/S is necessary to use the computer in the first place, people will not be happy to find their computer won't work at all unless they pay a subscription. Of course, the free offer is just for one year (but may be extended), and then after that, folks will just have to pay for a copy if they want to upgrade. Of course, if you buy a new computer, it will just come with it.

They will make their money by selling the licenses to system builders, and support services to business and government accounts, as well as the app store, cloud storage, etc. And I imagine (especially for businesses and government accounts), they make a bunch of money selling Microsoft Office products.

John

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