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Microsoft's only choice to move forward is to throw the Win32 baby out with the bathwater. And that brings us to the introduction of Windows 10 S.
Windows 10 S is just like the Windows 10 you use now, but the main difference is it can only run apps that have been whitelisted to run in the Windows Store. That means, by and large, existing Win32-based stuff cannot run in Windows 10 S for security reasons.
To bridge the app gap, Microsoft is allowing certain kinds of desktop apps to be "packaged" for use in the Windows Store through a tooling process known as Desktop Bridge or Project Centennial.
The good news is that with Project Centennial, many Desktop Win32 apps can be re-purposed and packaged to take advantage of Windows 10's improved security. However, there are apps that will inevitably be left behind because they violate the sandboxing rules that are needed to make the technology work in a secure fashion.
"A casualty of those sandboxing rules is Google's Chrome browser. For security reasons, Microsoft is not permitting desktop browsers to be ported to the Store."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Pino P on Thursday May 11 2017, @01:33PM (23 children)
When your laptop finally breaks, you'll need a new laptop. Because an OEM Windows license is tied* to an individual motherboard, if you want to run Windows on said new laptop, you'll need a new Windows license. The speculation is that Microsoft would discontinue Windows 10 Home in favor of Windows 10 S, yet keep the price of an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro less than the price difference between an entry-level major brand laptop that ships with Windows and an Apple, System76, or ZaReason laptop.
* At least legally even if not technically.
(Score: 2) by drussell on Thursday May 11 2017, @02:35PM (13 children)
No it is not...
You are fully entitled to replace your motherboard and keep the same Windows license.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Pino P on Thursday May 11 2017, @04:58PM (3 children)
You are fully entitled to replace your motherboard and keep the same Windows license.
Good luck finding a replacement motherboard for a laptop years after its discontinuation.
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Friday May 12 2017, @03:00AM
eBay?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday May 12 2017, @04:58AM (1 child)
Laptops are for casual users.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Friday May 12 2017, @12:22PM
Then what is for users who want to get work done during the commute to and from the office or during cross-country travel?
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:46PM (8 children)
Read the license sometime. An OEM license is bound to the motherboard hardware ID and ends when it does. In theory, but after looking at the rest of the theory it becomes obvious it ain't the whole story.
By the book if your motherboard dies the entire Windows install becomes trash, only fit to salvage your data from. Another OEM license is explicitly forbidden from being used to activate a copy already activated. If you let it to to "Not Genuine" status it is still a no go, that too is explicitly a forbidden use of an OEM license. The only thing that might save you is a full retail license and if you have Win7 it is a hard thing to find these days with eBay flooded with counterfeit copies from China that will fail activation. Btw, the "Get Genuine" program copies are gimped as hard as OEM but tend to cost as much as full retail, avoid. You can't even use an upgrade since you aren't currently in Genuine status. In reality we all know you can do the phone activation routine on the original code and it works. It just isn't by the book and Microsoft knows it in the bowels of their system and can bone you at will, especially if you are a small business. You would fail a BSA audit and would be liable to give them thousands of dollars if you don't just salvage the data and drop a fresh Dell on the desk.
Corporate accounts are exempt from this mess because of Corporate Edition, another subtle message to get with the program. Your Microsoft Rep is standing by to take your call!
WINE doesn't need a license and is by far the preferred upgrade path if your apps work with it. The number that do is growing.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:15PM (1 child)
The versions I have read say that you can tie it to the component of your choice. For desktops, I usually select the case.
Of course, I am now technically in violation of the licence because I moved an old XP installation into a new case (board, disk, video card and all).
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday May 11 2017, @08:06PM
Perhaps that was so with XP, but that is ancient history.
See Can I transfer my windows 7 to a new motherboard? [microsoft.com] for the authoritative answer, Because it doesn't really matter what your license text says, it only matters what Microsoft Policy says since they are bigger than you are, are a convicted predatory monopolist and have far more lawyers than you do. Which is why it is best to avoid dealing with them entirely, to the maximum extent you can manage.... predatory monopolist and all sometimes forces the issue. Good luck buying accounting software that doesn't tie you to them or the even more Evil Apple... or the ultimate horror of putting your entire existence at the mercy of a Cloud based system's continuing or being suddenly bought by greater Evil.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:02PM (2 children)
An important wrinkle:
If you are running wine and require the visual c++ redistributables for an application, OR directx, OR any other microsoft built application, module, or library, you are, by the click through license you accepted during install, required to have a valid microsoft windows license in order to operate that piece of software. As such, unless you are able to install with wine and NOT need any of those support modules (which is very rare nowadays, at least 1-2 apps will demand a visual c++ runtime that doesn't have emulation in wine.) then you are in violation of a microsoft license/copyright and in theory the BSA could come fuck with you just like with a bunch of undocumented copies of windows (notice I didn't say 'non-genuine'.)
A few million dollars to push full time development of wine would go a long way to remedying this licensing issue, but in the short term, wine installed windows apps need to be carefully audited to ensure they avoid running afoul of microsoft submarine licensing.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Friday May 12 2017, @12:21PM
you are, by the click through license you accepted during install, required to have a valid microsoft windows license in order to operate that piece of software
Where is the text of said license published on the web?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 03 2017, @06:30AM
Set it up as a virtualization and full disc encryption + firewall. Whenever there's a "visit". There's nothing to find.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday May 12 2017, @05:01AM (2 children)
You can still buy windows 7 at microcenter. I just got another one a couple weeks ago.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Friday May 12 2017, @12:19PM (1 child)
That might work until mid-2020.
But after then, Microsoft will cease security updates for Windows 7, and intruders will inevitably discover and use a forever-day vulnerability to turn remaining Windows 7 PCs into botnet zombies. How will everybody else defend their networks from DDOS attacks from this sort of botnet?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday June 03 2017, @06:33AM
Virtualisation and firewall. Whenever it's p0wned, reset.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Thursday May 11 2017, @02:44PM (8 children)
Don't think so. My laptop is a Mac. Which is running, among other things, VMWARE. My desktop, likewise. VMWARE on both in turn is hosting Windows XP, completely isolated from the network in both cases. I am fairly confident that because of this, all my win32 apps will continue to work into the indefinite, but far, future, regardless of how I upgrade my Macs. It'll continue to gain the benefits of faster and faster processors, as will all the win32 apps running within it. I've never had to upgrade past XP. The only real trick to keeping XP solid is to keep it away from the net, which I do. The XP image is fully backed up; it's completely recoverable, which I have verified as I have moved from older Macs to newer Macs.
There hasn't been anything actually new I needed to run under Windows since XP came out. Perhaps there will be something in the future. Can't imagine what at this point, but perhaps. It'd have to be both fabulously interesting and have no Mac equivalent. Seems.... unlikely.
That would be interesting to watch. From a safe distance. 🙅♂️
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @02:59PM (4 children)
you have a mac with vmware that's running windows? you couldn't have made a more disgusting pile of slaveware shit if you tried. congratulations, you are a gigantowhore!
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Thursday May 11 2017, @03:17PM (3 children)
Sure I could. Did, in fact: Running two different distributions of linux under VMWARE, too. Just didn't mention that as it wasn't to topic, but seeing as how you've brought how deep the pile is into play, I'll roll with it.
It all runs very smoothly. Even with all of the OS's running at the same time. Great fun, and a highly productive environment to work in, bouncing back and forth as needed, sharing files, etc.
But I am sorry you're not having nearly as much fun as I am. 😉
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:00PM (2 children)
"Even with all of the OS's running at the same time."
I've daydreamed about that. I work with some troglodytes, and they work on crap equipment. I'd like to bring my laptop in, prop it up, and boot to Linux. Anyone looking over my shoulder will recognize immediately that it isnt' Windows. So, I offer to run Windows for them. Five different versions of Windows, at the same time, all of them running faster and smoother than the Windows on their machines.
Of course, the trogs wouldn't even begin to appreciate that. Firing up a Mac clone at the same time might impress a couple of the more knowlagable, but I'm not even sure of that.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday May 12 2017, @05:03AM (1 child)
How's it handle OpenGL?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday May 12 2017, @02:20PM
Proprietary Nvidia driver, with the Nvidia GL rendering works fine for me. I know, if I were the complete Lunix nut, I'd refuse to install the blob. But, the blob works for me, and I've never yet found a real reason to distrust it. Given a few stories similar to Intel's history, I would learn to distrust Nvidia, but so far, I'm good with it.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:03PM (1 child)
an OEM Windows license is tied* to an individual motherboard
My laptop is a Mac. Which is running, among other things, VMWARE.
I imagine very few Macs ship with an OEM Windows license. Those that do would come from an obscure value-added reseller, not from Apple.
There hasn't been anything actually new I needed to run under Windows since XP came out. Perhaps there will be something in the future. Can't imagine what at this point, but perhaps. It'd have to be both fabulously interesting and have no Mac equivalent.
I guess it depends on what you consider "equivalent", particularly for things like video games. For example, would you consider Dr. Mario "equivalent" to Tetris? Or Overwatch "equivalent" to Team Fortress 2?
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Thursday May 11 2017, @09:35PM
Yeah, I have no idea. I purchased my XP licenses long, long ago, when XP was actually a thing for Microsoft. My Macs aren't new, either. Newest is a 2009 12/24 core, 64 GB 3 GHz desktop. I'm happy with it. Which is a good thing, because I wouldn't buy one of Apple's current Mac Pros, they don't suit me at all. Supposedly they're going to do something better, but I'm not holding my breath.
I don't play video games on desktops or laptops at all. I have a couple full size stand-up arcade machines – I used to design the gaming hardware, and I've written sound code and game code for them in various combos at various times. I've worked for Centuri, Bally-Midway, and a couple of boutique firms, one of which was really a Bally-Midway twig of sorts. Crazy place. I've also got most of the consoles, at least the recent ones. Basically, I prefer a dedicated platform.
My idea of "playing" on my computers is a long session – coding, listening, more coding, more listening – with my SDR application. [fyngyrz.com] Or fooling about with my macro language. [github.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:57PM
🙅♂️
I'm sorry, I don't understand. Does anybody here speak emoji?