The "new" Microsoft was a change in business model, not a sudden thawing of the heart.

Windows used to be the product, now Windows users are. This is similar to Google and Facebook's offerings. Very few companies still strictly sell software anymore.

The open sourcing of tools is marketing and a consequence of prioritizing adoption over exclusivity. Like Android, Windows isn't going to be the bare foundation you build on, but the cushy, fully furnished condominium... complete with cameras and microphones.

The business model hasn't changed. Windows is an always has been a paid product (with some minor variations) and Microsoft is not a significant player in the advertising business. (AOL does sell Bing ads, I think.)

Of course, if you have any factual evidence that Windows users are a product, then I'd be interested to hear it.

Why does Windows 10 now phone home to domains like ad.doubleclick.net and adnexus.net?

Metro applets do it. You can remove these from Start menu.

I've been watching like a hawk for the past couple of weeks and not found anything that does it, so I assumed it was just made up. However, the only app I use is Microsoft Health.

Satya Nadella recently said "We want to move from people needing Windows, to choosing Windows, to loving Windows"

He sure is going a strange way about it

Must have watched too much anime, as right now this feels like the "yandere" kind of love...

The "new Microsoft" thing only seems to apply to how developers are treated as they are the bread and butter that provide the apps to keep the platform afloat, not home users who are just cattle.

That should have been no surprise at all.

http://www.catb.org/esr/halloween/

Leopards don't (generally) change their spots.

The new Microsoft picked up a lot of habits from Google and other newer companies.

1. Open sourcing crud.

2. Taking away your rights and violating your privacy.

We need to communicate clearly to Microsoft what types of new behavior are good, and what types of new behavior are bad. It's just like raising a child. :)

It's probably no coincidence that they pulled out of the EU investigations of Google after starting it. They probably see the financial upside in becoming more like Google.

Realistically, it was practical to get the goodwill of saying they were stepping out, because all the cases were far enough along. The EU's going to pursue it with or without Microsoft's present interest. So they get better PR by saying "oh, yeah, we're no longer doing this".

Basically, Mission Accomplished for Microsoft.

THIS is the new "new" Microsoft.

Nope, there have been multiple Microsoft's that have been in conflict with each other for years.

That's probably true on some level, but from the outside, M$ now is M$ then.

I think DevDiv (Developer Division) is much more in line with Open-Source as a movement, with the business eye towards making Azure the prefered PaaS/IaaS option with their tools.

Windows, and a lot of other bits are more consumer space, and moving closer to Google/Facebook model of customers being the product. I don't necessarily think it's entirely a bad proposition. From a web application developer standpoint, old windows versions, tied to old IE versions have held things back over and over again. Even given some of the privacy concerns, I'd rather most people were on a frequently updated operating system with a frequently updated browser.

That's not to say I think it needs to be windows. Also, if privacy is a concern, one can upgrade to the pro version, or use enterprise skus in offices to disable those bits.

All of that said, I upgraded pretty early (tech preview) and use Pro, so didn't see a lot of the restrictions, or very sleazy upgrade push. My parents/grandparents are mostly on Chromebook devices, and one Grandmother has an Ubuntu desktop. My sister and her family have all bought into the Apple ecosystem... so I'm the most heavy windows user in the bunch and I spend more time on my macbook, ubuntu htpc or in a Linux ssh shell from windows than using windows exclusive software.

I think people retaining control of their machines, in spirit as well as in practice, is more important long-term than security (and more conducive to it). Techno-dystopia scares me more than the odd bit of fraud.

Privacy without security is like a hut in the wilderness. Security without privacy is like prison. Where would you rather live?

They are large, they contain multitudes.

They are large. They contain monopolies.