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news.cnet.com - 12/29/2008

Microsoft outlines pay-per-use PC vision

— news.cnet.com — Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing. U.S. patent application number 20080319910 , published... on Christmas Day, details Microsoft's vision of a situation where a "standard model" of PC is given away or ... (more) Microsoft outlines pay-per-use PC vision

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Comments vote downundo vote up APH Networks found this 12/29/2008found this

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community.zdnet.co.uk - 1/2/2009

Microsoft was denied PAYG computing patent

— community.zdnet.co.uk — Those whose reaction to Microsoft's application for a patent on pay-as-you-go computing tended toward the apoplectic can... rest easy. The US Patent & Trademark Office said no. In... (more) Microsoft was denied PAYG computing patent

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Microsoft

Comments vote downundo vote up Engadget found this 1/2/2009found this

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Pay Per View PCing
Home — MS filed a patent application about 18 months ago detailing a means of pay-per-view PCing. You can see more details here and here , but it's really computer leasing with a couple new twists.  First, rather than pay by the time you have the computer, you pay by the time you use the computer, which means paying something like $1 an hour rather than something like $100 a month. Second, the amount you pay depends on the intensity of your use.  The computer you get would have multiple performance modes and software packages .  You would pay less if you were just ...

Microsoft Patent Reveals Metered Computing Vision
Maximum PC — We've heard of pay-as-you-go cell phones, but can the same concept be applied to PCs? Microsoft thinks it can, who filed a patent application in June 2007 detailing a new PC business model. U.S. patent application 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, outlines how end-users would be charged based on usage time and performance levels in exchange for a free or heavily subsidized PC, in addition to a "one-time charge." While not a rent-to-own scenario, Microsoft concedes that this business model could result in end users paying more for their PC in the long-run than buying it outright. But that's okay, the Redmond company says, because the result would be a PC with an extended "useful life." "A computer with scalable performance ...

Microsoft patent application hints at pay-as-you-go PCs
Engadget — Heavily subsidized computers are hardly a new idea, as evidenced by the number of carriers now offering "free" netbooks, but a recently revealed patent application indicates that Microsoft might be thinking about taking the idea a few steps further. Apparently, the company is at least toying around with the idea of offering a computer with "scalable performance level components" and selectable software, which sounds somewhat similar to the ...