2013 saw Office go subscription, does 2014 hold the same for Windows 8.2?

Back in February, a time that now seems ages ago, Microsoft rolled out Office 2013. It wasn't a big surprise - we all knew it was on the way, some of us had even been using the beta version of the suite. What came as a bit of a surprise was that cheap Windows 10 Home arrived in two flavors - the traditional "buy-it" software and a subscription service, known as Office 365 Home Premium.

Don't get me wrong, the latter really isn't different from a software perspective. Where it varies is in the approach. Yes, you will get the full Office suite installed on your computer and it will work just like the 2010 version did. But there's a bonus - customers get five licenses. In addition, these are transferrable. Got rid of an old computer? No problem, just head to the site and cancel the license on it. You'll get it back to use on the new system. To sweeten the deal, the company throws in 20 GB of extra SkyDrive storage and 60 Skype minute per month.

Fast forward to 2014 and we may just see this same concept from buy visio 2013 professional flagship - the operating system. We've already heard that Windows "Threshold" will be arriving by 2015, with an update to Windows 8.1 arriving before that. We can only speculate on what it will bring with it.

The bottom line is this: Microsoft has wanted to make its software a subscription for some time - a continuous revenue stream, as opposed to a one-time windfall. It pads the bottom line. It also paves the way for other software to head in the same direction.

The news I am trying so gently to break to you is mdash; that office professional plus 2010 will probably be debiting your bank account on a monthly basis. Get used to it. Things are not returning to the old model.