Microsoft teams with Russian firm to offer subscription-based PCs

It's not the first time it's dabbled in subscription-based PCs, but Microsoft looks to be taking things up another notch, with it now making a fairly big push into Russia. To that end, the company's teamed up with Russian cellphone operator Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, which will be offering the subscription-based PCs to all 85 million of its customers as part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential program, although there's no word on exactly what the PC's will cost just yet. Details on the PCs themselves are also expectedly light, although they'll not surprisingly run Windows Vista, and will reportedly pack built-in mobile broadband access, which certainly makes sense given that it's a cellphone company offering them. According to The New York Times, the two companies are also working on some unspecified "mobile communications services" that'll be able to be accessed using the PCs, but it seems we'll have to wait for the June launch date before we know much more about that as well.

[Via The Open Road]

[JAmerican @ Feb 15th 2008 5:38PM]

Wow. What's next subscription-based water and air.

[Ellianth @ Feb 16th 2008 10:13AM]

lol. You obviously don't pay your bills. Water is already subscription based. And when I get my patent on the process of 'breathing' it'll be just as if air was subscription based too. Just you wait!

[heavenlysword @ Feb 15th 2008 5:38PM]

hooray for the stupidness..

[nxtiak @ Feb 15th 2008 5:58PM]

Only good thing about Subscription Based PC is ONLY if it's kept up to date with the latest specs.
If a new vid card comes out, u get it, new faster CPU, u get it. If it's the same ol' crappy PC. Then it's stupid.

[ET @ Feb 15th 2008 6:03PM]

I bet you that it'll be the same crappy PC

[phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 6:02PM]

how about giving away donated PCs and laptops instead of landfilling them. just add in a "mobile broadband" expansion card. install linux. oops.. can't make a buck off that.

[ssuk @ Feb 15th 2008 7:02PM]

If by 'landfill' you mean, '3rd world country' then yeah.

[majortom @ Feb 15th 2008 11:54PM]

because Russian hackers need nice machines too.

[ammi @ Feb 15th 2008 6:33PM]

Not to be a bitch, but...

>>the first time it's

its- referring to a noun. Notice the lack of an apostrophe.

it's- contraction. Short for "it is".



This drives me up the wall. It's like the constant intarwebs mutilation of "there" "their" and "they're".

[phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 6:42PM]

ammeh! are you related to timmeh!?

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Feb 15th 2008 8:03PM]

"It's" can also be a contraction of "it has", so the news article is correct.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/it's

[Cryonaka @ Feb 16th 2008 9:34AM]

OHHHHHHH BURNNNNNNN!!!1 some1 got bummed out! ouchie!

[aurispector @ Feb 15th 2008 7:11PM]

What a stupid idea! Ballmer had a wet dream about everyone having to pay him forever to use their computers. What they don't seem to understand is that people are smart and don't *want* to pay Ballmer forever to use their computers. I hope M$ dumps a billion or before the idea fails. Anything to speed their demise.

[holycow @ Feb 15th 2008 7:38PM]

MTC is not only in Russia, it is in Ukraine as well.

[Student Driver @ Feb 15th 2008 8:27PM]

Heh, from my RSS reader the title was clipped, and I thought it read "Microsoft teams with Russian firm to offer subscription-based MP3s." That would be awesome!

[YouKnow @ Feb 15th 2008 8:53PM]

Actually the population in Russia may find this valuable, given their levels of income and computer proficiency. Pretty good effort in my opinion

[Mateo2 @ Feb 15th 2008 9:13PM]

This is the rumored services where computers come in tiers, like a playstation or a tivo. If you pay for tier 1, you get the primo system. But if you pay for tier 3, your video card doesn't run as fast (even though it's the same card as tier 1).

[Ed @ Feb 15th 2008 10:42PM]

LOL!

I know this might be trolling here...... but....

I just can't help laughing my ass off with the slogan, "Unlimited Potential".

I mean no Shit Sherlock. Every M$ OS has fallen so far short of it's hype and potential, it's not even funny. For a software company with that many resources, to have so many security flaws.....

I think with the amount of resources that company has, the COMPANIES potential is UNLIMITED. You would think they could hire the geniuses required just to fix what they have. They don't do it though.

So Unlimited Potential, could be interpreted so many ways here, but I cannot think of any to their favor at the moment.

[hresult @ Feb 16th 2008 7:07PM]

Looks to me you work in G@@G stupid

[Ed @ Feb 16th 2008 8:12PM]

@hresult:

Ummm no I don't.... asshole.

If you are trying, and being an asshole doing it, to point out that I might not be objective...

I have been using M$ Shitty Products since Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. I am well qualified to make any remarks I want to about M$ products. Since I am a MCSE, and I fixed their crap for years and years and years and years and had to constantly try to make up for their failures.

So just because you might want to point out the flaws and failures of M$ does not instantly mean that you have a financial motive to do so, since you might work for Google (which is what I assumed you meant).

[Fenrir @ Feb 16th 2008 1:54AM]

Despite all the naysaying, it's a perfectly good idea from a marketing point. Russia and a large part of Eastern Europe are quite notorious for their software piracy. If Microsoft pays for part of their hardware in exchange for them using a legitimate copy, it'll be a gain for Microsoft (licensing fees) and a gain for the consumers (discounted hardware) in Russia.

If you just want to bash Microsoft however, that's another story entirely.

[j.d.ripper @ Feb 16th 2008 5:54AM]

SFR ( vodafone France) offers the Asus EEE PC for 200EUR and unlimited data over 3G for 30EUR a month (via 3G modem on USB).
If it's something like that, then that's great.
Of course, in France you only subscribe to the data contract. You own the EEE PC.

[Alex @ Feb 16th 2008 2:56PM]

Neuf Telecom (french ISP & phone operator, TV provider and recently MVNO) does a subscription PC deal, it runs a custom distro of Linux IIRC and you pay something like 10€ extra per month for it. Of course its BYO everything else.

[YouKnow @ Feb 18th 2008 4:28PM]

Actually the population in Russia may find this valuable, given their levels of income and computer proficiency. Pretty good effort in my opinion