Windows 12 could be another costly upgrade for supporters of Microsoft operating systems. A new report reveals that the AI-dominated OS will require AMD and Intel CPUs with a dedicated NPU. Possibly surfacing in late 2026, the follow-up to Windows 11 may also rely on subscriptions.
I still have clients refusing to buy Office 365 subscriptions and insist on sticking with their old copies of Office 2016. I’d love to see how Microsoft is gonna convince those cheap fucks that this is the correct path forward. This OS is dead.
It may not even be them being cheap, just that most people/organisations not directly tech-focused simply aren’t inclined to update software. Like wearing clothing until it starts to fall apart. That trend is another nail in the coffin
To be honest offline Office 2016 is a solid product and the desktop software is still more snappy and capable than the online counterparts. If you don’t need collaboration and online integration there’s little reason to go subscription based. I can understand that small companies make that decision. After all it is just a tool and not a goal in itself.
2016 is like the last good version of office imo
IIRC, it had already started taking too much RAM.
I had to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB just to be able to open more than 4 documents at once,
You can still buy Office 2024 outright. I guess they got rid of professional, but who really wants to use Access?
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products
There’s also the github scripts which you can use to activate office
I suspect we’re going to see some kind of sweeping compatibility issues in the next few years. Possibly a really ugly virus rips through the business community to scare people into switching.
Those folks get left behind. That’s how it works
I hope one OEM finally buckles and starts selling laptops preconfigured to install and run older versions of Office and such in Wine.
OEMs are in a tough spot. crossing Microsoft risks serious blowback or even being cut out of the ecosystem entirely
Absolutely, but this whole Windows 365 thing puts their place in the ecosystem in complete jeopardy. Why would MS need them anymore, they have Azure, the OS, and the AI bullshit. I truly do hope one of the more desperate OEMs takes a chance and tries, though I know it is unlikely.