I was wondering when this would happen

Copied from http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070722-2010-a-windows-7-odyssey.html.

Microsoft’s pie-in-the-sky, dream-come-true version of the future is one in which both businesses and consumers subscribe to Microsoft products rather than buy them. As I wrote way back in 2002, this is ultimately about annualizing software revenue for Microsoft (IT shops don’t mind it either, in theory). Obviously Microsoft’s big focus is on subscriptions for businesses, but the company is already testing “pay as you go” consumer subscriptions in developing countries