The latest MS gig of software as a service strikes me as companies trying to hold onto their IP and dressing it up as good for the user….

Don't get me wrong I want developers to get an honest buck.

Seriously am I going to have to subscribe to every piece of software I need in my entire life through subscriptions?

Hopefully software houses and MS in particulare can figure out how to transition from products that require constant development to products that require less and less development which gives them an honest buck but doesn't ham string their users into dead end ghettos driven by selfish IP protection / marketing.

My guitar tab software has recently moved to software as a service. Luckily I have a desktop version but will that get cancelled at some point in the future?

Unfortunately software as a service is still the driving policy that I see at MS - maybe that's the underlying problem and not the structure? I think I'm saying what everyone else is. Concentrate on the users needs and less on protecting short term shareholder value. In the long term you'll achieve both. Anything else and you gradually sink the ship.