Endsormeans, that's just speculation at the time being. What the article refers to the current DaaS is for enterprises and indicates nothing for private customers.

I agree that such a subscription model is something that Microsoft would very much like to introduce to private customers. But considering they could lose for example half of their private customers with such a move, I'm sure they're be very careful evaluating whether such a move makes sense or not.

So... To me this is just business as usual. Microsoft doing their thing, being a corporation and all and trying to make money. I kind of would like them to force push this DaaS thing to private users, so that more people would gravitate to more freer alternatives . But I don't think it's going to happen in next 5-10 years.

Normally I would agree with everything you just said.
But for one thing.
that bias you speak of is from a knowledgeable and specifically educated standpoint ...of using alien OS's in compare.
Most windows users ..more than the half you mention..I am sure..will not abandon the platform.
We are talking about average run of the mill think for me please windows users..
and they will stay...change to a DaaS model of the same OS they have always used most of their lives...
is a small change ...
compared to learning and changing to a linux model and that has many scared / don't want to learn / couldn't be bothered / cannot do it ...
That there are even a viable options available.
Look at the other exemplary models tthat people cling to out of the same factors.
the iphone and android.
the majority will suck it up...and take it...and like it...
that I do foresee.

I too think that business model will get through to private customers as well. But that means a lot of trouble. It's already become harder with UEFI but if the lockup becomes more tight with Windows 365 and alike we might get a situation similar to mobile devices. Locked up bootloaders, no drivers... no possibility to install the OS of your liking. With low market share there is no reason for manufacturers to care about them.

exactly.
locked up anything..really only matters to people like us..who wish escape from a lack of choice..
unlocked bootloaders ...unlocked anything...mean nothing to those who neither care to leave the birdcage or don't understand they are in a birdcage to begin with.

There are surprisingly many of them. I lost count of how many times someone wanted to keep in touch with me via Facetime.

I: "Isn't Facetime Apple specific? Your preference for Facetime limits your social circle to only other Apple users. How about something that works on any device?"

They: a blank stare.

Seriously guys, what is the problem with Windows 10?
Seems like you guys don't know that Windows 10 has Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and a lot of other Linux features:

It has a full blown Linux 3.4 kernel in the core of the Windows operating system, including full support for VFS, BSD Sockets, ptrace, Bash shell, and a bonafide ELF loader.

Don't just hate Microsoft of what it was.
They make a lot of good progress nowadays

Microsoft <3 Linux

1. Why linux as sub if you can have it as main?
2. Love as in embrace hard enough to kill?

btw: great wording. Every Windows fan feels appreciated, but others can see the sarcasm tags.

hahahahahahaha....
ah ..
love youse guyses...
You so funny.

I don't hate them for what they were..
actually...I do appreciate the fantastic work they did..
touch and penabled software , there are the arts and audio progs ...
but mainly that stuff is by 3rd parties..
still they really did a fab job on the structure and function for penabling.
I haven't stopped using the old art and audio progs for windows ..
doubt I ever will..
I just won't be fenced into their new paradigm ...whatever it is...
I will continue with my copies offline of xp and win 7 as I have for the last umpteen years now....

If one just stares at that one wall of windows greatness that everyone can find...whilst in the aquarium...
it isn't bad at all....
its actually pretty good..
(actually... I think that is the scenic stick-on aquarium panorama on the side of the tank I tend to look at..)

It's about the persistent anti-customer things they do. Their in-product adds, their dark UI patterns, their telemetry which is very hard to get rid of. And now they want even more control over your desktop by going DaaS.

About the Microsoft <3 open source: Undoubtedly I'm biased, but I believe the whole "<3 Open Source"-thing has more to do to establish a foothold than anything else. Like Google, Apple, Microsoft is large enough to keep absolute control over their open source projects. The risk of a fork of their OS projects gaining traction is zero. Meanwhile, their real moneymakers are kept closed.

In the end, for them, it's not about you, but over the control they have over you, so you won't or even can't jump ship.

At work we're MS-only (W10, O365, VS, SQL Server, etc), whereas at home I jumped to Kubuntu when Microsoft released Windows 8. So yeah, I can compare a bit. What's weird, I find the quality of Microsoft-products generally is not better or worse than FOSS alternatives. Then why pay for the privilege to be spied upon, and lose the control over your own systems?

so Azure will have a 'custom linux kernel' - if that doesn't say it all... Embrace!