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posted by on Sunday February 05 2017, @04:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the RT-redux dept.

Martin Brinkmann reports via gHacks

Microsoft is working on a new Windows 10 SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) that the company named Windows 10 Cloud internally.

First signs of Windows 10 Cloud appeared a week or so ago on the Internet, but it was not clear back then what this new edition of Windows 10 would offer. Suggestions ranged from a cloud-based operating system to a subscription-based system similar to Office 365, and a successor of Windows RT.

[...] Windows 10 Cloud [is] a revival of the Windows RT version of Windows.

[...] Windows 10 Cloud [will] only run Windows Store applications and apps that Microsoft made to work with the operating system. Any legacy Windows 32 program [will] not work on systems running Windows 10 Cloud.

[...] Windows 10 Cloud is a work in progress. Things may change along the way before it is released.

Windows 10 Cloud behaves as you would expect it to behave. Cortana walks you through the first steps of setup on first start, and you may notice that quite a few apps are listed in Start after [OS] installation.

Some of these apps are first-party applications or games, while others [are] third-party applications. The selection includes Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, and on the games side, Age of Empires Castle Siege, Asphalt 8, and Royal Revolt, among others.

Most don't appear to be installed though, but merely links to the application's Windows Store entry.

[...] You are stuck with Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer as the browser, and with Windows Defender as the security solution.

Several comments there mention how this will be competing with Android, iOS, and Chromebooks. Do you see a viable niche for what Redmond is offering? ... or is 420 correct when he says, "a company [...] determined to put themselves out of business"?

Also at Ars Technica.


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  • (Score: 2) by r1348 on Sunday February 05 2017, @05:18PM

    by r1348 (5988) on Sunday February 05 2017, @05:18PM (#463140)

    If they manage to get enough OEMs to ship it, it won't matter much.

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by zocalo on Sunday February 05 2017, @05:52PM

    by zocalo (302) on Sunday February 05 2017, @05:52PM (#463146)
    Several major OEMs released models based around Windows RT and that didn't do very well, Windows Vista also struggled in the OEM market (for different reasons), and some OEMs clung onto Windows 7 as long as possible to allow their customers opt for that over Windows 10. The days of "if Microsoft ships it, they will come" are not so certain any more, and having a large number of OEMs sign up isn't the sure fire mark of success it used to be.

    If Windows was doing OK on mobiles and lightweight tablets that are mostly media consumption devices rather than stripped down PCs, then Microsoft might, just, be able to swing an iOS/Android type version of Windows 10 tied to an App Store instead of the full-fat version for the entry level/budget hardware market. However, since it isn't and some big names got particularly burnt by the very similiar setup of Windows RT, I really can't see this receiving a very enthusiastic welcome unless Microsoft is really sweetening the pot.
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  • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Sunday February 05 2017, @07:43PM

    by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Sunday February 05 2017, @07:43PM (#463166) Homepage Journal

    Indeed. I was shopping for a new tablet to replace the Samsung whose CPU died of heat failure. Best Buy had a hundred or more Samsung tablets, all sorts of different models conspicuously placed. A sales guy showed me where "the rest of the tablets" were, sort of hidden. Other brands only had one model each, very unlike the selection of Samsungs.

    Trickery sells. I walked out with a new Acer.

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