Microsoft Gets Pay-As-You-Go Computing Underway

By: John Lester
Staff Writer
Published: Dec 31, 2008

Microsoft plans to offer a pay-as-you-go computer service on hardware and usage. The company recently patented the computer model hoping to work with manufactures.

Microsoft Corp is getting a new pay-as-you-go consumer model underway that could meter usage on hardware and software. The software giant recently received a patent for the new business model but some skeptics say users would pay a lot more than owning a computer system.

"Offering unprecedented flexibility of PC ownership will bring high-quality personal computers within the reach of hundreds of millions of families and small businesses in emerging markets so they too can enjoy the many benefits PCs bring in education, entertainment, communication and productivity," Will Poole, senior vice president of the Market Expansion Group at Microsoft, said in a statement.

The idea is to market a new computer by working with manufacturers where users pay for usage. The hardware components would offer a number of options that are scalable including the processor, memory, hard drives, and even the size of the monitor display.

"The metering agents and specific elements of the security module...allow an underwriter in the supply chain to confidently supply a computer at little or no upfront cost to a user or business, aware that their investment is protected and that the scalable performance capabilities generate revenue commensurate with actual performance level settings and usage," Microsoft said in a statement.

For software, a number of scalable applications would include email, access to professional databases, work processing, and even metered Internet browser usage. The pay-as-you-go program seems to be a computer model far in the distance.

"A computer with scalable performance level components and selectable software and service options has a user interface that allows individual performance levels to be selected," Microsoft said in the patent application.

Mobile cell phones are popular using the pay-as-you-go model because the user owns the hardware and only pays for time used. Some skeptics find it difficult to use the same business model for computers when hardware is scalable but could have hidden costs.

On the other hand, a Microsoft pay-as-you-go plan could benefit if all hardware is recent and provides the latest in computer technology. The plan could help the problem with hardware becoming obsolete too soon.

Microsoft believes the new model will increase hardware and software sales while providing users with better services. It is still too soon to find out exactly how Microsoft will deliver this new model for Windows users, but right now we can only guess.