References to subscription 'edition,' 'type,' and 'status' found in a test build of Windows.
[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a "Subscription Edition," "Subscription Type," and a "subscription status."
I am not convinced this will make people switch to Linux btw. That has been said about every new Windows edition. Especially in case of an ad supported free tier (as the article mentions as possibility). Then most consumers will just use that.
For people to do that they need a seamless way to transfer from Windows to Linux. Come all the files and programs and such, that doesn't happen. It won't happen
While I don't think this in particular would cause people or businesses to switch away from Windows, more and more applications work from browsers so they depend less and less on apps you can install. ( Where I work we already put many people on M365 basic because they do just fine with accessing their mail and spreadsheets from the browser. No point in paying extra for options they'll never need)
Yeah it's hard to say what form a subscription might take. I hope it's for a developer version and they leave home alone. Actually I hope it doesn't happen at all but who am I kidding? I expect to be paying a subscription for DLSS in 5 years. What I can easily imagine happening is that a base version of Windows will be free and they'll teir the available features and services through the subscription. They don't want to lose their dominance in the market.