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-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

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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