Or double down on AI. Then double down even harder.
- Make the use of Copilot mandatory; simultaneously heavily monetize it to instantly turn the AI division into a profit center.
- To that end release the successor to Windows 11, a cloud-only offering that replaces the taskbar with a Copilot instance which launches programs for the user. Downplay any accusations that the new Windows Live 365 With Copilot is just a rental Windows 11 with the taskbar hastily hacked out.
- Don't forget that Windows Live 365 With Copilot does not include a subscription for Copilot, which must be booked separately.
- Get all of your customers to switch by immediately dropping support for all previous Windows versions, "migrating" their support windows over to Windows Live 365 With Copilot. Corporate customers, which have gone all-in on Azure, will need years to migrate off the Windows ecosystem, which means excellent short-term revenue.
- Make sure that Windows Live 365 With Copilot can only save to OneDrive to make it maximally hard for those customers to get their data out.
- Hope that the current world order disintegrates before the massive exodus of customers ruins the company.
- Whether or not it does, turn off your business phone and spend the next five years doing massive amounts of cocaine on a private island in the South Pacific.
I had avoided it until late last year when I had to reinstall a friend's borked install after it had somehow managed to shred its registry hives.
Holy shit. That installer is an embarrassment. First it couldn't get past the first reboot until I found out that you can set it to use what looks like the Windows 7 installer for the first steps. Then I had to deal with a dog slow installer that needs half a dozen reboots for some unfathomable reason. Then an endless cavalcade of sales prompts, including one for an Office subscription where they try to hide the price from you. All to end in, well, Windows 11.
I simultaneously installed Fedora Kinoite on his old laptop. I don't think the Fedora installer is one of the better ones but it was so much easier and faster to set up the machine that it was almost comical.
Seeing both systems side by side really drives home just how clunky Windows is. And how Microsoft installers are barely better than they were 15 years ago, but now they have ads.