Ed Bott is a MS apologist, but he makes a valid point that MS isn't likely to charge you a large fee
directly associated with the basic Win10 OS.
But they will use Win10 to lock you into their software world and then force you over the years to upgrade this and that, which they WILL charge you for doing. Office for example, isn't free, not after the first year anyway. And Office gets jerked around every year or so, with formatting and features that won't read from one version to the one after next, etc. etc. so you have to keep up fairly closely.
I can see MS packaging Office, etc. inside a premium maintenance package that includes some premium features for Win10 and selling it to you as an optional package. Get you used to paying a little extra for some premium stuff, get the idea fixed into their ecosystem.
Remember,
people are not happy with MS right now -- they are being jerked around and they know it.
And I hate to say it, when things get tight later on MS may decide to raise a little extra revenue from business and whack them for even more OS money as part of their premium package deals. Then they can toss the uptick in on all the rest of us who want more than the basic level of service.
MS is shrinking, PC is shrinking, and MS is plotting a tiptoe pathway through a minefield of pissed off people to try to keep what market share they currently have.
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HOWEVER, it is clear FOSS is coming into the OS business in a more comprehensive manner. I see Android being the vehicle, incorporating hunks of Linux as needed.
Google is funny -- if MaruOS or Jide do manage to put together a winning package set, Google won't wreck their business by rolling over top of it.
Google would offer to buy them out first, and
would give them credit for the unique non-FOSS code they incorporated into Android after paying them for it. Remember, Android itself started out in just this fashion.
Or, if an arrangement can be made, they will do like they did Republic Wireless -- let them be the low end provider at the level they have already implemented and take over at a higher position, offering a up level service.
Google is always very careful to respect the FOSS players, something MS never seemed able to even try to do.