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from the Operating-System-a-la-"Mode" dept.
Windows 10 S is going to become a "mode" rather than a separate "version" of Windows. And it should be able to be disabled for free:
With the next big update to Windows 10, version 1803, Microsoft is making some big changes to how it sells the software to OEMs. The biggest casualty? Windows 10 S—the restricted version of Windows that can only run apps from the Store—is going away.
Currently, Windows 10 S is a unique edition of Windows 10. It's based on Windows 10 Pro; Windows 10 Pro has various facilities that enable system administrators to restrict which software can be run, and Windows 10 S is essentially a preconfigured version of those facilities. In addition to locking out arbitrary downloaded programs, it also prevents the use of certain built-in Windows features such as the command-line, PowerShell, and Windows Subsystem for Linux.
For those who can't abide by the constraints that S imposes, you can upgrade 10 S to the full 10 Pro. This upgrade is a one-shot deal: there's no way of re-enabling the S limitations after upgrading to Pro. It's also a paid upgrade: while Microsoft offered it as a free upgrade for a limited time for its Surface Laptop, the regular price is $49.
[...] Brad Sams of Thurrott.com writes that, for Windows 10 version 1803 (codenamed "Redstone 4"), this is changing. According to leaked documents provided to Microsoft's partners, with version 1803, Windows 10 S will be a mode of Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Education, and Windows 10 Pro, rather than a distinct version. Switching Windows 10 Home S and Windows 10 Education S to regular Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Education will be free; switching from Pro S to Pro will continue to cost $49.
Can Windows 10 Pro S be downgraded/upgraded to Windows 10 Home?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday February 07 2018, @06:17AM (7 children)
What the hell is wrong with Microsoft? They need to stick to their guns and roll out Windows 10S everywhere, without allowing it to be upgraded to 10Pro at all (or maybe for a much higher price). What's wrong with these idiots? What do they think, that people are going to stop using Windows?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @08:37AM
Y'mean there are still folks who aren't using Linux Ultimate Edition??
(Still gratis and libre.)
FTFS: a free upgrade
Wait a minute.
You're telling me that there are software upgrades[1] that aren't free??
[1] Since it's Redmond's wares, maybe that word should be in quotes.
the regular price is $49
That sounds like $49 too much.
So, having gotten the price right and gotten rid of the crippleware thing, next, they need to work on the vendor-installed-spyware thing and the malware-magnet thing.
Hey, who knows? Pretty soon they may have something that's as good as the competition.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @11:39AM (5 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @02:09PM (2 children)
That and the fact that Apple computers are far too expensive. If Apple halfed their prices, they would crush Microsoft.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @02:25PM (1 child)
Sorry to burst your bubble but some big names aside, the software situation of legacy windows programs vs. OSX equivalents is just as bleak as Linux.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @03:57PM
Yes it's true, but once Apple's marketshare increased past a tipping point (which I think could happen if their prices were reduced), the major applications would hopefully follow.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday February 07 2018, @03:37PM (1 child)
If they stick to their guns and try to ram a backwards-incompatible Windows on the world, people are really going to stop using Windows as quickly as they can get replacements for their software that will run somewhere else.
No, they won't. People are stupid, and will simply switch to alternative programs in the Windows Store, or the software vendors will move their software there to make sure they don't lose customers. It doesn't matter if WINE worked so well that people could run their favorite Win32 programs on Linux with just a few clicks, people just won't do it. Between the lack of marketing for Linux, the lack of a huge corporation like Apple or Microsoft pushing it (RH doesn't count, they're not that big and they don't push Linux on the desktop at all), and the fact the MS and Apple just have to make up some BS about "security" and how insecure Linux must be because it's open-source, people simply will not adopt it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @06:36PM
> Between the lack of marketing for Linux, the lack of a huge corporation like Apple or Microsoft pushing it
ChromeOS seems to be quite successful. What do you think would happen if MS heavily pushes Windows S and then Google decides to include crossover with every chromebook? Or what if Apple decides to include crossover with Mac OS?
Also, the huge number of people that stuck out with windows 7 (or even windows XP) shows that people in general are even more stubborn than stupid.