They won’t. Windows isn’t even the best way to play Windows games, anymore. x86 itself might become a suggestion - a legacy bytecode for LLVM to consume.
I do agree with you. The current state of things is pretty great.
I have a phone, laptop, desktop, and steam deck. I control the software that runs on all of them, at least down to the bootloader/kernel. If I want to patch a kernel, I can do it. And aside from the phone, I can probably run the majority of the games that have ever been released (on any platform), on any of them.
I worry about two things in the future:
Will be able to buy modern hardware without the software it runs being restricted?
Will online services used by software be accessible without hardware based attestation?
I have similar worries. I think there will always be some kind of free hardware, but it might be limited to slower arm or risc-v chips. But I doubt there will even be a situation where you can’t have control.
Your second point is not something I’ve considered, but now I’m worried about it and can totally see that being a thing.
Forward the death of platforms.
It’s all just computers, now.
…computers that are locked down like game consoles, if they have their way.
They won’t. Windows isn’t even the best way to play Windows games, anymore. x86 itself might become a suggestion - a legacy bytecode for LLVM to consume.
I do agree with you. The current state of things is pretty great.
I have a phone, laptop, desktop, and steam deck. I control the software that runs on all of them, at least down to the bootloader/kernel. If I want to patch a kernel, I can do it. And aside from the phone, I can probably run the majority of the games that have ever been released (on any platform), on any of them.
I worry about two things in the future:
Will be able to buy modern hardware without the software it runs being restricted?
Will online services used by software be accessible without hardware based attestation?
I have similar worries. I think there will always be some kind of free hardware, but it might be limited to slower arm or risc-v chips. But I doubt there will even be a situation where you can’t have control.
Your second point is not something I’ve considered, but now I’m worried about it and can totally see that being a thing.
More services I don’t give a shit about would not be surprising.
But a lot of these problems have an obvious answer in legislation.
Microsoft themselves couldn’t will that into existence with the Windows Store.