When Microsoft introduced Windows 365 a few weeks ago, the combined described it as a system that would let users pay a monthly fee for access to Cloud PCs that basically put your Windows computer in the cloud so you can access your apps and services from any device, even an iPhone or Android device. But the company didn’t say at the time how much it would cost.
Now Microsoft has started selling Windows 365 subscriptions to business and enterprise customers, and we can see that business pricing ranges from $24 per user per month to $162 per user per month, depending on what kind of resources you want to allocate for your cloud PCs.
At this point Windows 365 is very much aimed at business and enterprise customers, which means that it’s not something you’re likely to buy for your home computer needs.
But with more and more of the things we do with our computers moving to the cloud, it’s not hard to imagine a day when rather than buying a new laptop or desktop with maxed-out specs, consumers might be able to pick up budget devices with decent screens, keyboards, and batteries but inexpensive processors… because they’re basically dumb terminals for streaming your PC experience from the cloud.
Microsoft isn’t the first company to offer a virtual cloud PC experience. A French company called Shadow has been offering something similar for the past few years, except Shadow’s PC in the cloud is very much aimed at end users who want the equivalent of a high-end PC that can stream video games from the cloud. Also, Shadow filed for bankruptcy this year, so maybe consumers aren’t ready to stream their PCs just yet and Shadow was head of its time… or maybe there won’t ever be much demand for this type of service.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Windows 365 Cloud PC pricing [Microsoft]
Windows 365 pricing starts at $24/month per user for a cloud-based PC with 1 virtual CPU, 2GB RAM and 64GB of storage and goes up to $162/user/month for 8vCPU/32GB RAM/512GB storage (discounts for customers who also use Win10 Pro on devices). - CrossOver 21 released (run Windows apps on Linux/macOS/ChromeOS) [CodeWeavers]
CrossOver 21 released, allowing you to run some Windows applications on Linux, Mac, and Windows PCs. It includes Wine 6.0, dark mode for Mac, bug fixes for Office 365 on Linux, and faster startup on Chrome OS. Pricing has also changed, now starts at $60. - Asus Chromebook CX9400 with 4K display [About Chromebooks
Update: The previously announced Asus Chromebook CX9400 will be available with up to a 4K display. Other specs include support for up to a Core i7-1165G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD. - Logitech Debuts Wireless Earbuds Built for Business [Logitech]
Logitech’s new Zone True Wireless earbuds (and wired earbuds) are designed for Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams with active noise cancellation, a noise-canceling mic, long battery life, and a USB receiver for use with a PC. Coming this fall for $299/$99. - More Google Pixel 6 hardware details [9to5Google]
The Google Pixel 6 is coming this fall, and in addition to featuring updated cameras and a new Google Tensor system-on-a-chip, the phone will have an in-display fingerprint sensor, but it will also have a real speaker rather than the under-display type used in the Pixel 5. Incidentally, while Google hasn’t announced pricing yet, officials have hinted in several interviews that the phone won’t be cheap. Except flagship-class pricing. - ONEXPLAYER Handheld gaming PC will be available with Core i7-1195G7 [@OnenetbookO]
The ONEXPLAYER handheld gaming PC was available with up to an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor when it first hit Indiegogo. But it’s getting a spec bump soon, with top tier models featuring Core i7-1195G7 chips with top speeds up to 5 GHz. - Sxmo 1.5.0 released with networking, screen lock, and UI improvements [LinuxSmartphones]
This simple, lightweight user interface for Linux phones is a bit less user-friendly than most modern smartphone UIs, but it runs super smoothly on the PinePhone, a $150 phone with low-end hardware. The latest version adds new features for networking and screen locking, along with a bunch of bug fixes and other tweaks.
Keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also find the latest news about open source phones by following our sister site LinuxSmartphones on Facebook and Twitter.
One more reason why I stopped buying new computers.
Software as a rental. Add cloud storage and your data and your programs are all held ransom n
By big tech? Why don’t they just rent the computers as well?
I stopped at windows 7 never gonna buy another Microsoft o/s
Or another computer
I’ve got stacks of dell laptops mostly xp
Mostly not connected to the net and never will be
Its a treadmill to disaster and not worth the price of my time or currency or data.
I’ve dropped off the update cycle and all my stuff still works
Bye bye Microsoft