Windows 365

Microsoft announced Windows 365, a cloud virtual Windows desktop. A variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets, can access cloud virtual Windows desktop anytime anywhere. Windows 365 attempts to place Windows in the hands of a even wider audience that some speculates that the future of Windows isn't Windows 11, but Windows 365.

Will cloud virtual Windows desktop replace PC desktop?

The majority of PCs already run Windows. Windows on Windows really seems like a very Microsoft idea. But what are the uses? While there are use cases like training AI for research, aerodynamic simulation, 3D animation rendering that cloud virtual machines excel, it's difficult to find common office tasks more conveniently executed on the cloud rather than locally.

The ambition to replace PC desktop with cloud virtual machines likely will end up like Linux. Linux aimed to provide a free and open alternative to Windows on desktop, but became largely a enterprise server/cloud component. Windows 365 might not be the future of Windows, but a Windows application that allows lengthy computation to be carried out conveniently.

For Mac/Linux users, the main way to run Windows as local virtual machines likely won't change much for common tasks, but there is a lesson that making lengthy computation easily accessible via the cloud may have its uses and make business sense.

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