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: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!