They know exactly what they’re doing and how people feel about it.
They haven’t made money on Windows in years. Nobody has been willing to pay for a new version of Windows since XP. What they do make money on is cloud services. So Windows is a loss leader.
Just like the cheap rotisserie chicken at Costco is there to make you walk past and look at everything else they’re selling, the modern role of Windows is to funnel people towards Microsoft cloud services, which is what makes them money. Step 1 of that process is to make sure you create a Microsoft account.
They know exactly what they’re doing and how people feel about it.
They haven’t made money on Windows in years. Nobody has been willing to pay for a new version of Windows since XP. What they do make money on is cloud services. So Windows is a loss leader.
Just like the cheap rotisserie chicken at Costco is there to make you walk past and look at everything else they’re selling, the modern role of Windows is to funnel people towards Microsoft cloud services, which is what makes them money. Step 1 of that process is to make sure you create a Microsoft account.