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posted by on Wednesday May 03 2017, @06:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the no-one-saw-that-coming dept.

Microsoft has announced a new version of Windows called Windows 10 S. It only runs apps from the Windows Store, and is positioned between Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro, both of which can run third party applications. Microsoft also announced a new line of Surface laptops running the OS. The laptops have been described as competing with either Google's Chromebooks or Apple's MacBook Air, and aimed at students:

Windows 10 S is Windows 10 with its wings slightly clipped: it can only run apps from the Windows Store, disabling compatibility with the enormous breadth of Windows programs out there, which in the educational context translates to better security, consistent performance, focus for students, and improved battery life. It's cheaper and less versatile than Windows 10 Pro, which is exactly what schools are looking for (and the thing that's had them gravitating toward Google's Chrome OS in recent times).

[...] Immediately upon its introduction, Windows 10 S spans a price range from $189 to $2,199 (for the top Surface Laptop spec). So is this a straightforward and affordable solution for mass educational deployment? Or is it a super streamlined operating system for powering extremely desirable and long-lasting laptops? Yes. Microsoft's answer to both of those things is yes. It's not impossible to achieve both goals with the same software, of course, but it is difficult to position the OS in people's minds.

[...] The Windows on ARM effort is going to be rekindled by the end of this year, and Windows 10 S is the likeliest candidate to be the OS of choice for those new computers, in which case the significance of the S label will once again be complicated. Come the holidays, buying a Windows 10 S PC could mean getting either an Intel or an ARM machine, it could mean cheap and cheerful or it could be a premium portable.

Also at the Washington Post, Engadget, Laptop Mag, and Business Insider.

As well as BGR, Mashable, The Independent, PC World, Tech Radar, ZDNet, Ars Technica, Fossbytes, TechCrunch #1, TechCrunch #2, Venture Beat, and The Street.

What do you think the 'S' stands for?

Previously: Ask Soylent: Ramifications of Removing Windows Store from Enterprise Installs?
Microsoft Adds Store App-Only Restriction as Option in Windows 10


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday May 03 2017, @06:34PM (2 children)

    by shortscreen (2252) on Wednesday May 03 2017, @06:34PM (#503820) Journal

    While I have zero interest in ever using this, I am curious as to how they went about killing compatibility with 99% of Windows software. Is it purely a locked-down variant of Win10? Or did they go through and cut out a bunch of legacy crap that would no longer be needed, and actually save some GB of disk space?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 03 2017, @06:44PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 03 2017, @06:44PM (#503834)

    There's probably some special cert or bit of code added via the store.

    • (Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday May 03 2017, @07:10PM

      by butthurt (6141) on Wednesday May 03 2017, @07:10PM (#503865) Journal

      I think you have it. In my story submission I wrote that it "will only run software from the Windows Store" because I read in the The Verge article:

      "Windows 10 S will run any browser in the Windows Store," says Myerson, hinting that if Google is willing to list Chrome in the Store then it will be available on devices that run Windows 10 S.