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Microsoft Pulls Back on Windows 10 S

posted by martyb on Wednesday February 07 2018, @05:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the Operating-System-a-la-"Mode" dept.

takyon writes:

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?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @06:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 07 2018, @06:36PM (#634487)

    > 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.