Microsoft announces Windows 365, letting businesses stream a version of Windows 10 or 11 in a web browser or through its Remote Desktop app, launching August 2
The longer product arc is toward making a cloud desktop behave like a standard Windows session: Microsoft later added options to boot Windows 11 PCs directly into a Cloud PC and switch between cloud and local desktops.
First-order effects
Businesses gain a Microsoft-managed Cloud PC option for delivering Windows 10 or 11 without tying the user experience solely to a local PC.
Microsoft adds a subscription-delivered Windows offering alongside locally installed Windows, with browsers and Remote Desktop serving as the immediate access layer.
Second-order effects
Microsoft's later per-user Cloud PC tiers shift customer evaluation toward recurring desktop-service costs and the configured compute, memory, and storage behind each user session.
Remote Desktop becomes more central to Windows 365 customers because it is one of the service's named access paths, while local Windows devices become potential companions rather than the only desktop environment.
Third-order effects
The subsequent boot-to-cloud and cloud-to-local switching features point to a Windows model in which the desktop session can move between endpoint and cloud rather than being permanently bound to either.
Microsoft's later Windows 365 Link hardware indicates that cloud desktops can still create demand for dedicated endpoints, reshaping rather than eliminating the role of PC hardware.
The trend: Windows is moving toward a hybrid desktop model in which cloud-hosted sessions and local devices are designed to work as one work surface.
With Windows 365, we're bringing the operating system to the cloud and creating a new category: the cloud PC, providing organizations with greater flexibility and a secure way to empower their workforce, regardless of location. https://www.microsoft.com/...
Microsoft puts PCs in the cloud with Windows 365 https://www.theverge.com/... // Great to see this—its been a long time in coming and for the right customers this is exactly what they want. Some have been a bit confused or even worried about it. Don't be :-) 1/
Wait I just realized you can open up a browser to launch Windows 365 as a web app, then inside that open up a browser to launch Windows 365 as a web app, then inside that open up a browser to launch Windows 365 as a web app, then inside that open up a brow https://www.theverge.co…
Please, just let me give you $200 for your software, turn off the print spooler service, and then we don't deal with each other for a good five to seven years. https://twitter.com/...
At the #MSInspire keynote “With Windows 365, we're creating a new category: the Cloud PC. Just like applications were brought to the cloud with SaaS, we are now bringing the operating system to the cloud” - @SatyaNadella, CEO Microsoft — https://news.microsoft.com/... https://twi…
We always make fun of the sci-fi trope where they take out the mothership or main bad guy and all the other invading ships/drones/henchmen instantly go dead, but every technological advance of the past 10 years is pushing towards that https://twitter.com/...
One of the bigger news items from #MSInspire. @Microsoft is doubling down on putting PC's in the cloud. Not entirely new with Azure Desktop and of course @Citrix being big in this space. But, the management utility is compelling and has a future. $MSFT https://www.theverge.com/..…
Windows 365? What happened to Windows 12 and Windows 13 and Windows 14 and Windows 15 and Windows 16 and Windows 17 and Windows 18 and Windows 19 and Windows 20 and Windows 21 and Windows 22 and Windows 23 and Windows 24 and Windows 25 and Windows 26 and Windows 27 and https://tw…
I'm going to step around the “this is the end of personal computing” aspect of this to just highlight this: “creating a new category: the cloud PC” Onlive had “cloud PC"'s in 2012 with Windows 7/Server 2008. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...