Sounds like everyone is going to have to upgrade to Notepad++, but honestly, why are people even using Windows anymore? Who even uses Notepad? I want to see those numbers—like, what… 5,000 active users of Notepad, and they’re probably just grandparents whose grandkids couldn’t be bothered to install anything else.
Seriously though, Android, macOS, Steam OS, Android TV, Chrome OS, Debian, heck, Ubuntu, Linux Mint—so why are people making excuses to use Windows, other than because it’s on a work computer? Microsoft is lost in the sauce, like, “Hey guys, let’s make the operating system free and have people pay for Notepad.” You know what that sounds like? A car manufacturer giving away cars and charging to use the radio. When Windows became free, the quality became identical to the price.
So, let me ask you a question: How long do you think Microsoft will wait before they start charging for essential services? Would you be willing to pay for something like Notepad? Or, for example, pay to connect to the internet through their wireless interface? This seems like just the beginning, with more features eventually locked behind paywalls. They’re testing the waters to see how much they can charge. Think about it—Microsoft gave you the house, but now they want to charge you for the doors. Meanwhile, Google is watching, waiting to see what they can charge for. And like you said, Mac will surely follow suit. I was simply listing operating systems across different ecosystems, because Windows hasn’t successfully broken out of the Personal Computer space.