Microsoft No Longer Allows Admins To Block Windows Store Access In Windows 10 Pro (zdnet.com)

If you're an administrator, you will no longer be able to block Windows 10 Pro users on your watch from accessing the Windows Store. Mary Jo Foley reports for ZDNet: Up until a month ago, admins could use Group Policy to shut off employees' access to Windows Store if they were running Windows 10 Pro. Controlling this access is a requirement for some businesses. But last month, Microsoft changed that option, claiming that Store access was required for all versions of Windows 10 except Enterprise and Education "by design." Admins still can use AppLocker or Group Policy to block access to the Windows Store if their employees (or students) are running Enterprise or Education.

Comments

I really liked Windows 7

[flopsquad]

Why are they continuing to aggressively push invasive, paternalistic, and generally super-assholey "features" that make me never want to go back to a Microsoft OS?

Re:I really liked Windows 7

[mhkohne]

Because renting you stuff and getting a steady revenue stream is a WAY better business model than trying to get you to buy a new version every few years.

The truth is that selling the OS & Office the way they have been is a sucky way to make money - you have to put out a bunch of cash making the new version, then hope you can con enough suckers into buying it to make your money back at the end. Much better to sell monthly subscriptions to Office 365 through your controlled App store. Plus, you can charge a fee to let other people sell through your app store.

I'm waiting for the day that they try to block non-app store installs.

I really can't beleive it at this point,.......

[AbRASiON]

I'm not your normal /. "#$%! Microsoft" kinda guy. I've been an MS guy my whole life, only dabbling in other OSs briefly.

Often you see people (here) chanting about #@$%^ Microsoft or "are you surprised" or any other snarky remark, I traditionally dismiss these as the extreme tinfoil people who would hate whatever they do, regardless.

That being said, Microsofts moves with Windows 10 have gone from "hmm ok that's questionable, but I can see past it" and "this looks desperate, it's kinda shitty, but oh well" and "well that's definitely dumb, but I'm sure some great nerd will hack up an awesome all-in-one little 'fixit' tool for Windows 10 to take out all the crap"

It's now at a point where it's outright sounding BAD. Like proper, bad. The things they keep doing are worse and worse, more and more intrusive. I thought the pushy installer was rough but ok, once it's on, they aren't going to abuse it too much, they are getting their data, from most people who aren't clever enough to turn stuff off.
Nope! It's getting SO bad, I'm really thinking of sticking with 7 as long as humanly possible. Maybe I really will end up a Mac guy after all, or something?

Super unimpressed at this point.

Re:Par for the course

[inode_buddha]

" If this story is accurate, this is more of Microsoft trying to control what should be under your sole command and ownership, and that's not acceptable."

I switched to linux full-time in 1997 (same year I started hanging out here) and this is the EXACT reason why. Their whole business model and philosophy just pissed me off no end when it shows in their products and marketplace behavior. Still going strong with slackware on the desktop, every day.

Re:This is the year of the Linux Desktop

[KlomDark]

That did used to be the case. That's one thing that made Linux suck back in the day.

But these days, I've got no problems getting any of my stuff to work. Including a couple things that don't work on Windows anymore. I've got an old legal-paper size HP scanner, there haven't been Windows drivers for it since (!!!) Windows 2000. Works just fine on Linux Mint, I was amazed. Also an old thing that lets you use an SD card as an external drive via a USB cable, hasn't worked since around Windows Vista, also works just fine on Mint. An older 8-core 64 bit Xeon box (Dell Precision 690) that I had no driver issues with.

It's really gotten better. I'm sure the Mac guys will vehemently disagree, but I'd say the latest version of Linux Mint is better than anything from Apple or Microsoft.

Try it again!

Re:Par for the course

[Anonymous Coward]

Windows 10 is a bug improvement.

That's how I read it. I should finally go to bed. Or maybe not...

No, you're quite right, but only a bug improvment over Win8.x...
I had the misfortune to have to look at someone's Win10 laptop a couple of days ago, eventually, out of frustration with the damn thing switching to its sub-tellytubby touchy-feely interface at the drop of a hat, had to install classic shell for my own convenience. So, fixed the main 'why is the laptop so slow' problem (two AV scanners having a bit of a 'contention' issue, yet machine infested with a trojan and fck.tons of adware/spyware), give the machine back to it's keepers. A couple of days later (they only use the laptop offline for keeping a sports club's non-financial 'accounts') I get a phone call from them thanking me for fixing the start menu problem as well.. (Their other laptop is a Win7 system).

Owning a Win10 device is like owning a cat who is playing the 'second home game',you might think you're the 'primary' owner, you get to feed it, talk to it, play with it, etc., but its wee heart and soul truly belongs to Microsoft...
My opinion, anyway.

Company is good

[Anonymous Coward]

This company SUCKS.

The company is good. For its target market. Which is now enterprise. Microsoft doesn't care much about the home user except as a branding tool. This is a step beyond that, symptoms that they care less about the small business market as they focus more and more on enterprise and fortune 500 type partners. At this rate, in fifteen years, they're going to be another IBM.

Re:Company is good

[Grishnakh]

Yep, and too bad. That's what they get for making themselves reliant on Microsoft. Hopefully MS will make life even more miserable for these SMBs soon with more policies like this. I really enjoy seeing MS screw over their customers, and their customers continue to bend over for them. It's amusing, in a dark way.

Re:This is the year of the Linux Desktop

[jandersen]

...HP scanner, there haven't been Windows drivers for it since (!!!) Windows 2000.

Yeah, there are loads of examples like that - I have a small Lexmark USB laser printer that stopped working under windows for that very reason. I set it up under Linux on my RaspberryPi (took me about 5 min to set up in CUPS), then shared it on the network. Now I have a networked laser printer, and I can even use it from Windows. In fact, you can take just about any old printer, and turn it into a networked Postscript printer via Gutenprint or similar.

I did the same with a scanner - which I can now use over the network as well. Not sure if that is even an option from Windows.