微軟申請依使用付費專利

USPTO於2008.12.25.公布微軟在2007.6.21.所申請的「依使用付費」（pay-as-you-go）的專利申請案，讓使用者存可以依軟、硬體資源或服務的使用量來計價。

20080319910
Title:Metered Pay-As-You-Go Computing Experience
Abstract:
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. The scalable performance level components may include a processor, memory, graphics controller, etc. Software and services may include word processing, email, browsing, database access, etc. To support a pay-per-use business model, each selectable item may have a cost associated with it, allowing a user to pay for the services actually selected and that presumably correspond to the task or tasks being performed. An administrator may use a similar user interface to set performance levels for each computer in a network, allowing performance and cost to be set according to a user's requirements.

pay-as-you-go
指提供給使用者作業的電腦包含許多選項，每個選項皆擁有各自的價格，因此最終售價將視使用者選擇的項目而定。使用整台電腦的計價方式，則包括特定時段內的固定費率、上線費用或鐘點費等多種可能。

business model
此商業模式能提供比直接採購電腦設備及軟體更具彈性的方法，若僅有上網需求，則較低的效能即足夠使用，反之，線上互動遊戲就需要高規格的資源運作。針對不同的軟體及運算能力組合，微軟提供不同的收費機制，一般規格以US$1元/hr計價，遊戲需求的組合為US$1.25元/hr，網頁瀏覽的組合則為US$80美分/hr。