I must admit, this is pretty shitty. However, as a former Microsoftie, it makes a sense to me.
Allow me to explain: YOU ARE NOT MICROSOFT'S CUSTOMER. OEMs are. Enterprises are. This is a serious financial advantage for Microsoft.
That said... YOU ARE APPLE'S CUSTOMER. And this is a serious competitive disadvantage for Microsoft.
That said... MICROSOFT WANTS TO BE IN THE CONSUMER MARKET. They have to be to compete with Apple long term.
So the way I see this is that Microsoft is opening their own retail stores and they are going to essentially be yet another OEM. They are going to compete with the likes of Dell on merit of quality. This "signature team" is the team responsible for setting that quality bar.
In true Microsoft fashion, "Windows Signature" is an internal name that is leaking externally. In this case, it appears to be intentionally. It seems like an odd choice because no one talks about "Windows Dell", why should Microsoft have a name for this? It's just plain silly, but I digress.
Since Microsoft doesn't need to pay for Windows licenses, they will have higher margins and will be able to muscle around the OEMs who depend on crapware for profits. If Microsoft simply started forcing rules down the throats of OEMs, the OEMs would retaliate by distributing Linux more widely, so it is wise for Microsoft to push a caliber of desktop experience that Linux can't quite deliver yet for the average user.
tldr: This is Microsoft changing OEM behavior passive aggressively.
> It seems like an odd choice because no one talks about "Windows Dell", why should Microsoft have a name for this?
I think that's the point—they're making the market think about a point of differentiation that they weren't before, and so they want to give it a name. "If you buy your PC at [random shop], will you still be getting the Windows Signature Experience?"
I can see that reasoning, but I probably frame it as "If you buy directly from us, we're give you the Microsoft Bonus Stuff Pack which is much better than the Dell Crapware Pack".
Well last time Microsoft tried to improve consumer experience (by including one of those new-fangled web browsers out of the box) they DID get sued by the US Government.
Allow me to explain: YOU ARE NOT MICROSOFT'S CUSTOMER. OEMs are. Enterprises are. This is a serious financial advantage for Microsoft.
That said... YOU ARE APPLE'S CUSTOMER. And this is a serious competitive disadvantage for Microsoft.
That said... MICROSOFT WANTS TO BE IN THE CONSUMER MARKET. They have to be to compete with Apple long term.
So the way I see this is that Microsoft is opening their own retail stores and they are going to essentially be yet another OEM. They are going to compete with the likes of Dell on merit of quality. This "signature team" is the team responsible for setting that quality bar.
In true Microsoft fashion, "Windows Signature" is an internal name that is leaking externally. In this case, it appears to be intentionally. It seems like an odd choice because no one talks about "Windows Dell", why should Microsoft have a name for this? It's just plain silly, but I digress.
Since Microsoft doesn't need to pay for Windows licenses, they will have higher margins and will be able to muscle around the OEMs who depend on crapware for profits. If Microsoft simply started forcing rules down the throats of OEMs, the OEMs would retaliate by distributing Linux more widely, so it is wise for Microsoft to push a caliber of desktop experience that Linux can't quite deliver yet for the average user.
tldr: This is Microsoft changing OEM behavior passive aggressively.