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Microsoft's Coming Windows 10 Cloud Release May Have Nothing To Do With the Cloud (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the clearing-the-cloud dept.

Last week, several users spotted a mention of "Windows Cloud" in Windows 10 inside builds, speculating if it is a new version of Windows 10 which will stream from Azure. That's not the case, according to long-time Microsoft journalist Mary Jo Foley. From a report: Windows 10 Cloud is a simplifed version of Windows 10 that will be able to run only Unified Windows Platform (UWP) apps installed from the Windows Store, my contacts say. Think of it as being similar to the version of Windows 10 formerly known as Windows RT or the Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU. Windows 10 Cloud is meant to help Microsoft in its ongoing campaign to attempt to thwart Chromebooks with a simpler, safer, cheaper version of Windows 10, my contacts say, though Microsoft is unlikely to position it that way (publicly). Windows 10 Cloud seemingly has little or nothing to do with the cloud.

115 comments

  1. AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Still as unwanted and unnecessary as ever.

    1. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At this rate Windows phone might finally be as popular as palm OS one day! That would be an immense achievement!

    2. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I seriously doubt Windows Phone will ever come close to the huge popularity that Palm OS had.

      However it might one day be as popular as Windows CE.

    3. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

      But with a hint of luck it may one day be as popular as Palm OS is.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if you don't speak english well, don't try to correct or disagree with people. that's called spamming the site, and honestly, i prefer the gnaa spam - it's at least interesting.

    5. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've used this strategy before with MSN Search -> Windows Live Search -> Live Search -> Bing.

      Now they're going Windows Mobile -> Windows Phone -> Windows Cloud.

      Microsoft know that making a decent product isn't important, it's all about picking the right name. If you keep changing the name the product will eventually take off.

    6. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by farrellj · · Score: 2

      Remember, "Cloud" simply means "Someone else's computers" that you have very little or no control over...much like Windows. :-)

      --
      CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
    7. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by mmell · · Score: 1

      Been a member of GNAA long?

    8. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have spoken English long enough to know the difference between present and past tense. For example: "your nerd loser ass gets laid about as much as an 80 year old black gay man." When someone replies "I don't get laid nearly as much as the 80 year old gay man - that guy used to get laid a lot 50 year ago." That tells me the guy has issues with English.

    9. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      I think it would be closer to the mark to say that this is more like Windows 10 IoT which is a slimmed down version of Windows 10 which runs on ARM and only runs UWP apps.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    10. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anon-Admin · · Score: 1

      I have a PAAS and a storage cloud that are computers sitting on my desk at home. Both of them are accessible via the internet.

      So when I put stuff in my "Cloud", it is on my equipment and not someone else's!

      I don't think you can do that on windows so I guess it is not relevant to "Windows Cloud" lol

    11. Re: AKA Windows 10 Phone by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      I seriously doubt Windows Phone will ever come close to the huge popularity that Palm OS had...

      Not in terms of market share, perhaps in terms of number of units sold - simply because Microsoft can keep dragging the product along for decades whereas PalmOS flared out in just a few years.

    12. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      Remember, "Cloud" simply means "Someone else's computers" that you have very little or no control over...much like Windows. :-)

      Isn't Windows 10 more like a creeping fog?

    13. Re:AKA Windows 10 Phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the way of the future.. iOS lock in on PC...

  2. I can see customers lining up now . . . by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Funny

    So Windows 10 Cloud is a merely a more crippled version of Windows 10 that only runs Windows Stores Apps (formerly known as Metro apps). Thankfully there are lots of useful apps from Windows Store . . . not. [sarcasm] How people must be camping out to get Windows 10 Cloud.[/sarcasm]

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      While it is as bad as you make it sound, I think there is actually a big market for it and it could easily catch on.

      From an IT standpoint, a device that is super-locked down like a mobile phone is a fantastic thing and saves a load of time trying to lock them down with policy rules and with rolling out updates. Android and IOS have very few viruses compared to a desktop OS, and even when an infection vector shows up, it can be quickly a) patched on the OS with forced updates and b) scanned for and removed from the central app repository.

      There's really no reason 98% of office workers need anything capable of more than basic office software. An office full of glorified tablets barely even needs an IT staff to take care of them.

    2. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by admin7087 · · Score: 1

      Well, look at the bright side. It has nothing to do with the cloud.

    3. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Agreed, Windows RT was such a smashing success that they're now releasing version 2? Who wants this again? This has been tried once and failed miserably. Windows dominates the desktop because it has about a billion Win32 apps that people actually find useful or essential to their work. And I'd argue Windows is successful in spite of Modern/Store Apps, certainly not because of it.

      It's hard to believe Microsoft doesn't know this, so I don't know what they're thinking. Then again, this is the company that released Windows 8. Sometimes common sense gets thrown out of the Windows.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    4. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      So Windows 10 Cloud is a merely a more crippled version of Windows 10 that only runs Windows Stores Apps (formerly known as Metro apps).

      With Windows 10 Cloud Release all software formerly referred to as "Windows Store Apps" will now be known as Cloud Release Apps (or CRApps for short).

    5. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by WarJolt · · Score: 1

      I applauds it. The desktop is dying. Windows 10 can be running on non general purpose devices like iOS, Android and chrome book. If they don't do something fast they will be dead. I won't count on their success, but it's a step in the right direction. Most high end Internet connected media devices are either running some proprietary locked down systems running on a linux kernel. Microsoft has to either join them or die.

    6. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The desktop is dying.

      No, they're not. Their market share is declining, certainly, but I'd argue they're just settling into their new niche roles, which is a home or business workstation and/or high-end entertainment device. Not everything can be done with an app. You still need workstations for advanced content creators.

      To use an automotive analogy, PCs are like pickup trucks. The vast majority of people only need cars, but no one claims pickups are "dying". They're just a specialized niche of vehicles that are optimal for certain types of jobs.

    7. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      So Windows 10 Cloud is a merely a more crippled version of Windows 10 that only runs Windows Stores Apps (formerly known as Metro apps). Thankfully there are lots of useful apps from Windows Store . . . not. [sarcasm] How people must be camping out to get Windows 10 Cloud.[/sarcasm]

      Your comment would be more funny if you didn't just describe several well selling systems by other companies.

    8. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if people are having Windows 10 Cloud installation parties.

    9. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If THIS is what Windows RT (back in the Windows 8 days) had been, and the tablets had been VASTLY cheaper, then this might have worked.

      I still think a metro-only tablet so could have been fast, responsive and modern. But it would have had to have been cheaper and better developer support. (And they were idiots to not add windows-phone-7-compatablity emulation at the time, so that Windows Phone 7 'silverlight' apps could run on W8, same as Apple allowed iPhone apps to run on the iPad. Sure, not the greatest experience but better than a store without any apps in it.)

      Hell, even if they added WIndows Phone Silverlight emulation NOW, I suspect it'd double or triple the number of apps in the app store.

      Now? Well, it might work. I hope it does. But I'm not counting on it.

    10. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      PCs are like pickup trucks. The vast majority of people only need cars, but no one claims pickups are "dying".

      No, PCs are like cars. Hand-helds are like Auto-Rickshaws. An Auto-Rickshaw is enough for anybody.

    11. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the problem with analogies, isn't it? There's always someone ready to pick them apart if they're not perfect, which, being analogies, they never are.

    12. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > There's really no reason 98% of office workers need anything capable of more than basic office software.

      And yet when LibreOffice is suggested there is all sorts of hand waving because it doesn't have all the features of the full Microsoft Office.

      Also note that with Windows RT the copy of Office Home and Student Edition did not include a commercial use licence which required an additional licence fee if used for _any_ business or commercial purpose (even, allegedly, running a yard sale).

    13. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > If they don't do something fast they will be dead.

      They already did Windows RT. This is just RT based on Windows 10 and UWPs rather than Windows 8 and 'Modern' apps. It is already a couple of years late to be "fast". The only selling point for Windows is the 'tens of thousands of programs'. Take that away with RT or this and there is no selling point.

      But of course, just like WoA/RT and Netbooks, this is not about selling cheap cut-down Windows computers, it is about stopping OEMs making cheap cut-down Netbooks, Chromebooks or tablets running a non-Microsoft OS, by waving 'loyalty discounts' on _all_ products.

    14. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      This is more straightforward than RT. RT had a full desktop which you could not use for anything. Like hanging a delicious well made cake in front of your face, then taking it away when you try to reach for it. This was divine retribution not consumer product.

      I won't try predicting how much it will fail or success - if it even gets released at all.
      I find it more appealing than Chromebook and I would certainly choose it over Android for a toy non-smartphone computer, although a locked down computer still is offending.
      If it's free as in beer and can run in a VM, that won't be the worst platform out there. It might allow side loading so you can install open source programs, warez and malware? The computer it's sold with also doesn't HAVE to be locked down with Secure Boot you can't disable (conjecturing most could be x86). If there are locked down x86 PC sold with it, the lawsuits will be interesting.

      Lastly, the Windows Vista/7 win32 desktop is a bloated pig anyway so it might be interesting to see if Metro-only Windows runs really fast and efficient on low end or old hardware. Even though one of the first thing I'd look for is "lol can we install and run Wine in this"

    15. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Given that there are actually useful apps on Google Play and iTunes, I would beg to differ. Also there is no MacOS Cloud which does the same thing as this.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    16. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      From an IT standpoint, a device that is super-locked down like a mobile phone is a fantastic thing and saves a load of time trying to lock them down with policy rules and with rolling out updates. Android and IOS have very few viruses compared to a desktop OS, and even when an infection vector shows up, it can be quickly a) patched on the OS with forced updates and b) scanned for and removed from the central app repository.

      Except that Windows RT couldn't do Group Policy which meant locking down said devices useless. Did MS learn from that lesson? It appears not. Windows 10 Cloud is competing with Chromebooks. It does not appear to have any admin type features that would be useful in a corporate network.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    17. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It might allow side loading so you can install open source programs, warez and malware?

      It quite clearly stated: """able to run only Unified Windows Platform (UWP) apps installed from the Windows Store"""

      > The computer it's sold with also doesn't HAVE to be locked down with Secure Boot you can't disable

      Whether is does HAVE to be is whatever Microsoft says it has to be, the precedent is RT.

      > If there are locked down x86 PC sold with it, the lawsuits will be interesting.

      The lawsuits over iOS, XBox, many others, are where ?

    18. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Well to counter your point, what kind of applications would a worker need?

      Office: there is no Windows Store version of Office. There is Office 365 but it is heavily crippled. So anyone who needs full Office is out.

      Visual Studio: Also not viable as Windows Apps are sandboxes and VS cannot function that way. So no developers.

      VPN: As far as I'm aware there are no corporate VPNs that have apps. ie Cisco, Pulse. So no laptops or remote workers.

      Who's left: only workers that don't need full Office, remote access, or development software. That leaves the Receptionist and maybe Administrative Assistants.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    19. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      I mean with an x86, depending on country, you might argue of an illegal bundled sale since it is so very much obvious the computer can run pretty much any other OS (such as Red Hat, Suse, Ubuntu ) ; more so since Intel stopped doing the Atoms for smartphone that weren't 100% PC compatible.

      So, I guess you indirectly mean it's for ARM pieces of crap? although there, the SoC is virtually guaranteed to support Android.

    20. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > you might argue of an illegal bundled sale since it is so very much obvious the computer can run pretty much any other OS

      I certainly wouldn't argue that at all and I doubt that others would bother. XBox is petty much a PC yet no one calls it illegal because it can't boot Linux.

      > I guess you indirectly mean it's for ARM pieces of crap? although there, the SoC is virtually guaranteed to support Android.

      Your guess is wrong, I mean no such thing. Windows Phone SoCs may or may not be supported by Android, but it still can't be loaded.

    21. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Interesting how you didn't talk about the system this most closely matches which also is the market that MS is after.

    22. Re:I can see customers lining up now . . . by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      What do you mean? You can sideload onto Chromebooks which involves changing settings. It took me like 2 secs to google this.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    23. Re: I can see customers lining up now . . . by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Sure, and I don't want / didn't want to put words in your mouth.

      I'm on flimsy ground there, but Xbox is sold and marketed as a console rather than a general purpose computer.
      If Microsoft does bring out netbooks fully locked down, i.e. ostensibly general purpose computers but locked down like so-called phone and tablets etc. there might be quite some outrage, by that I mean reaching at least in a limited way the courts, media and politics.
      Google did allow free use of their Chrome netbooks under the guise of "developer mode" (with a caveat) and spared themselves some negative press I think.

      Lock down the Windows version sure, but the whole hardware : I wish this won't fly so to speak.
      At the same time, if only a couple percent or less use the machine in unlocked mode, as with Chromebooks, they hardly lose anything by allowing it.

  3. Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU by Palmateer · · Score: 2

    I have a tablet with "Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU". It runs legacy Win32 programs just fine. This does not appear to be anything like that except for being free/cheap to bundle.

    1. Re:Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      I have a tablet with "Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU". It runs legacy Win32 programs just fine.

      I'm curious if you can get HexChat to run on yours. I tried installing it on my own tablet (same setup) and while HexChat itself installs, there is some Microsoft redistributable it needs that would fail to install, so the program would not be able to run. Tried full uninstall, reboots of the tablet, etc. No disc, no reason given.

      I ended up getting an IRC client from the Windows Store instead and am happy with it. But it still buts me that a program I am already familiar with on my desktop could not be used here as well.

    2. Re:Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > This does not appear to be anything like that except for being free/cheap to bundle.

      It probably will be free/cheap for the OEMs, It could require the 'Secure Boot' permanently set to prevent other OSes being booted.

      Microsoft will use 'loyalty discounts' on _all_ products to stop OEMs making devices with other OSes (such as Chromebooks) just as they did with Netbooks and resurrected XP and Windows on ARM/RT to kill HP WebOS.

    3. Re: Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Bing SKU is exactly the same as the normal home version except that it is free for small tablets and the OEM is not allowed to change the default search engine in Internet Explorer, it must be Bing. The user is allowed to change it after first boot/OOBE of course.

    4. Re:Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's stretching things out.. but you might likely be able to install Cygwin and an X server, and run Hexchat from there.

  4. Service Client by Somebody+Is+Using+My · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Microsoft has long been interested in becoming a service provider. Initially the idea was to get paid monthly or annually for the use of their software (Windows, Office, etc.) but recently it seems that they are more interested in becoming a distributor of other publisher's software, where they offer a standardized platform (Windows OS, UWP apps, Azure) for developers to target and they get a cut of the proceeds. To ensure that they could provide the largest market, the platform the end-users use would be offered free (hence, Windows10). Windows 10 Cloud just seems to be a furtherment of this objective, albeit stripped down to lessen the cost to Microsoft (and possibly to ensure that end-users would /have/ to use the app-store if they want to get anything done by not providing any built-in applications).

    1. Re:Service Client by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jealous of Steam

  5. Marketing Term by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Cloud" is an arbitrary marketing term, and as such, can mean whatever they want it to mean. Just pretend that it means "the greatest". Sounds like a winning recipe to me.

    1. Re:Marketing Term by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

      Just like .NET back in the day. Took a few years for that one to go away.

    2. Re:Marketing Term by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then why not just name it Windows Trump and pretend it means "the greatest".

    3. Re:Marketing Term by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Because Windows XP will always outnumber Windows Trump.

    4. Re:Marketing Term by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just like .NET back in the day. Took a few years for that one to go away.

      The slapping of ".NET" at the end of every product name, yeah - that actually went away pretty quick. Not sure what you mean by "a few years".

      The .NET runtime however never went away, and is alive and well and thriving and now exists for MacOS and Linux. I'm *really* hoping you're not so misinformed as to think it "went away".

    5. Re:Marketing Term by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Not sure what you mean by "a few years".

      I went back to school to learn computer programming after the dot com bust. The computer labs in the CIS department had Visual Studio 6 installed. I had Visual Studio .NET 2002 or .NET 2003 installed at home. The school eventually upgraded to Visual Studio 2005.

      I'm *really* hoping you're not so misinformed as to think it "went away".

      I work in IT support. A month doesn't go by without a .NET patch failing to install properly on multiple systems.

    6. Re:Marketing Term by w42w42 · · Score: 1

      So this. I remember listening to two Microsoft guys a long time ago, and one of them asked the other, "what is .net to you?". Neither one knew what it really was. Not as prevalent, but I also remember Microsoft muddying the waters with XML vs Java, and speaking of XML as if it were a programming language that would supersede java at the time. They should be banned from using the english language.

  6. Cloud is popular right now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Management: "Cloud is popular right now, call all our projects cloud".

    1. Re:Cloud is popular right now by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      Not good enough. I want an iCloud.NET system, installed personally by a Gates hologram. On second thoughts forget the last bit.

  7. Why? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Want to compete with Chromebooks? Offer something with a key differentiator. Provide the server part of the software as well as the client. A Chromebook is fine if you completely trust Google with all of your data, making something where you have to completely trust Microsoft with your data isn't really a selling point. A lot of companies would love to have something like a Chromebook (centrally managed updates, remote self destruct, network storage working out of the box) but where they kept the server part in house. Microsoft could easily offer this (and even Azure hosting for the server part if you decided you did trust Microsoft, but wanted a bit more control than a fully managed solution), but instead they keep trying to compete with Google on Google's own terms. I don't really miss the predatory monopolistic Microsoft, but it's a bit sad that the company now seems to be run by people who don't understand basic business.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    1. Re:Why? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Other than user management (with Chrome's usual bookmark/history/password manager syncing), what aspects of Chromebooks require you trust Google with all of your data? It's just a web browser with an operating system that launches it, there's no email client tied to GMail, Office suite tied to Google Docs, or anything like that.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, it's just a web browser with remote user management that syncs all of your bookmarks, history, and passwords... and you're argument is that it doesn't require you to trust Google with all of your data? It sounds like you're saying that anything that you can do on the device is sent to Google.

    3. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Want to compete with Chromebooks?

      Microsoft do not want to compete with Chromebooks. They didn't want to compete with Linux Netbooks or HP's WebOS, or Dell's Android tablets, so they set out to _destroy_ them. And that is the purpose of this product. It is to get the OEMs back in line and stop them making Chromebooks by threatening to remove the 'loyalty discounts' because they are not loyal enough.

      > I don't really miss the predatory monopolistic Microsoft, but it's a bit sad that the company now seems to be run by people who don't understand basic business.

      To Microsoft this is basic business: kill those that compete. In this case it is to kill HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ASUS, ... or at least stop them making Chromebooks.

      Oh, and secure boot will not be disabled on the device made with this version of Windows, just like RT.

    4. Re:Why? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      If the only data you create is bookmarks, history, and passwords, then sort-of yeah, but in practice you can turn that off too.

      But... in the real world, people who spend all day creating bookmarks, history, and passwords and nothing else usually have problems getting employment.

      Chromebooks don't require Google to store documents, emails, or any other content you create and share with them.

      So no, you're not trusting Google with all your data. You're not even trusting Google with a significant amount of data. You're optionally trusting Google with some metadata, and that's it, and that's only if you want to take advantage of being able to sync bookmarks, history, and passwords between devices.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  8. local cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It runs on your local cloud. Just like Adobe's apps.

    1. Re:local cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's hybrid cloud with outsourced user logs.

    2. Re:local cloud by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      My local cloud is a FreeNAS file server. Stores my data just fine. It even works with the Adobe apps I paid for ten years ago.

    3. Re:local cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Local cloud" finds buy-in with Gov IT monkey. No surprise here.

      Hay dood, if I dump a shit in the street, do you know the guy who cleans it up? Oh and I don't pay taxes either. Shit's crowning, it'll be a fucking big one. Thanks!

    4. Re:local cloud by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      "Local cloud" finds buy-in with Gov IT monkey. No surprise here.

      I'm not an H1B contractor.

      Hay dood, if I dump a shit in the street, do you know the guy who cleans it up? Oh and I don't pay taxes either. Shit's crowning, it'll be a fucking big one. Thanks!

      Is that you, Mr. Trump?

  9. Forecast: cloudy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft's Coming Windows 10 Cloud Release May Have Nothing To Do With the Cloud

    Windows 10 Cloud is a simplifed version of Windows 10 that will be able to run only Unified Windows Platform (UWP) apps installed from the Windows Store

    So... it has nothing to do with cloud... except that it is ENTIRELY dependent on the cloud to be able to work?

    The store? On the cloud.

    UWP apps? Can't install them from physical media and, ostensibly, can't even run them without the store binary (or a network connection). Binary and software assets come from the network somewhere. So, cloud again.

    And given that this is supposed to compete with chromebooks, I'm guessing that it will be stuffed into devices with minuscule storage. So, what's that word again? Oh, right. Cloud.

    Nothing to do with the cloud. Right.

    1. Re:Forecast: cloudy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      have you heard about the Linux Cloud OS? it's cloud because it uses apt-get. moron. Android isn't a cloud OS, neither is IOS (the apple one).

      a Cloud OS would partially run on the cloud. forcing an app store is not the same as running everything in chrome. moron.

  10. "thwart Chromebooks with a simpler safer cheaper" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SOUNDS GREAT! Unfortunately it will do NONE of those things nor is it actually intended to.

  11. eCloud by blogagog · · Score: 1

    I don't understand you. The possible uses of this new OS are... cloudy. How much more could you have to do with clouds than that?

    1. Re:eCloud by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Meatballs?

  12. Think of it as "Windows Phone" by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2

    >> Windows 10 that will be able to run only ...apps installed from the Windows Store. Think of it as being similar to the version of Windows 10 formerly known as Windows RT or the Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU.

    No, think of it as Windows Phone...without the phone.

    1. Re:Think of it as "Windows Phone" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You could also called it another version of Windows that can't do the only thing Windows does well: run Windows programs.

    2. Re:Think of it as "Windows Phone" by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      ...which is yet another reason why Windows phone failed. For example:

      MICROSOFT> Here's your Windows phone.
      USER> Cool! Now I just need to install MAME and Steam and...
      MICROSOFT> No, you can't do that.
      USER> Er...well...here's your phone back then.

    3. Re:Think of it as "Windows Phone" by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I doubt that Windows Phone failed due to an inability to run Steam. After all, Microsoft did make Xbox games available, but that didn't help it. Windows Phone failed b'cos there were too many apps that people use on their smartphones that are not there on Windows Phones.

      Like if you are a Uber Driver and need to use Uber Partner, that's not there in Windows Phone. Lyft neither. Until recently (w/ WhatsApp), there wasn't a good video calling app. This phone could have been a great workphone and substitute for Blackberry, except that professional VOIP apps, such as 8x8 or Vonage, are not there on this platform. Those were the big things that I, for one, missed. It does have Yelp, Fandango, Shazam and quite a few nice apps: in fact, OneNote is just awesome. But the fact that some of the major mobile apps were missing did not do it any good.

  13. Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Windows 10 cloud will badly suck ass. Abusing users by further locking them into their shitty, useless, underpowered, user-unfriendly ecosystem will make Windows 10 cloud as successful/popular a product as Windows phone was, but you can bet it still won't stop Microsoft from trying to force it down everyones throats.

    Its truly amazing how Microsoft can keep crippling/removing more and more functionality in ever more blatant drive to lock customers in tighter and tighter, yet most people just keep buying Windows anyway. I will be VERY surprised if Microsoft forcing this dick move on people isn't the straw that breaks the camels back. Of course Microsoft will just blame/interpret poor sales on the general decline of the PC rather than their supremely shitty OS.

    1. Re:Wow.... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

      If you want to avoid being locked into a particular platform, store your data in transferrable formats. When my 2006 MacBook (black, of course) died in 2014, I was able to use my data on Windows because the format wasn't tied to a particular OS. If I ever get a new MacBook that's a worthy successor to my vintage MacBook, I'll be able to switch over in a heartbeat.

    2. Re:Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 0

      There are far more issues than just data transferability with the Microsoft ecosystem.
      Consider the increasingly crappy user experience that is Windows, combined with the chances that Microsoft are almost certainly violating your privacy in every way they can think of.

    3. Re:Wow.... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Consider the increasingly crappy user experience that is Windows, combined with the chances that Microsoft are almost certainly violating your privacy in every way they can think of.

      Don't use Metro, turn off Cortana.

    4. Re:Wow.... by SB5407 · · Score: 2

      Yup. Windows 10 home users aren't Microsoft's customers. OEMs and organizations with volume licensing agreements are. And unless that changes, MS will continue to treat home users badly by taking away features while also shoveling in advertisements on the Start menu, the taskbar, the notification panel, the lock/login screen, file/program associations, and home page and search page settings. With all that, MS should pay the manufacturer to install Windows instead of the other way around.

    5. Re:Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      In Windows 10, you can't actually turn off cortana (it just pretends to be off but its still actually running). And you can't uninstall it or Metro. Even if you identify the binaries, Windows won't let you delete them. It says you dont have permissions, even if you are admin.
      There's also some data reporting service running that you can;t fully disable either.

      My solution was to dual-boot into linux and rm all those binaries. Widows 10 certainly feels like it runs noticeably faster now, so even though cortana was already off, it must have still been chewing up lots of resources (doing what exactly?) in the background.

      Go fuck yourself Microsoft.

    6. Re:Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      I totally agree. I'm just frustrated that home users especially refuse to see the light and just keep right on buying Windows.

    7. Re:Wow.... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Don't type anything into Cortana.

    8. Re:Wow.... by amxcoder · · Score: 1

      There are 2 reasons people still buy windows after windows 8, 8.1, and now 10. First they are fimiliar with it and they don't know any better. These are your casual users who have ran windows most of their lives, and aren't techie types. Second, is the power users, who DO know better, and know that Windows is going DOWN HILL in more than 1 way, however, are tied to it due to other software they they need to use. Whether it's proprietary business software, or niche software that ONLY runs on windows, or they develop windows software and want to test their apps on windows natively.

      The casual user can leave in most cases, and some did years ago to Mac when Mac got "trendy". The rest of that group just don't realize where things are going and what is in store. These are the types of users that will buy Windows Cloud, and not realize that it can't run actual windows software. Just like RT fooled a lot of naive users into it until they couldn't run any normal windows programs.

      The rest of us, that are power users, who are locked into windows due to other factors, are stuck for the moment. Wish I could give Linux a try, but I run too many applications created by hardware manufacturers in my industry that it would be a compatibility nightmare, or I would have to do as the Mac guys do, and run windows in a VM anyway.

      Microsoft has completely lost my respect since Satya Nadella took over. Nadella needs to be fired before he ruins all the divisions of Microsoft and it's too late to turn back to what Microsoft was good at. Never thought I would miss Balmer...

    9. Re:Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      I'd be VERY surprised if its not spying on you FAR more than just what you directly type into cortana.

    10. Re:Wow.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      >> These are the types of users that will buy Windows Cloud, and not realize that it can't run actual windows software. ..and at the moment they sudednly realise that, there will be an EPIC backlash because they will ALL have multple old programs, games etc that they still want/need to run.

      People can be gently led by the nose to eventually end up in all sorts of shit, but if you take something that obvious away from them in one big hit, they're gonna get REALLY pissed.

    11. Re:Wow.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because stuff like TurboTax, Quicken, AutoCAD, and SolidWorks don't run on Linux...

      People don't care about the OS, but if it can't run their applications, they will not bother with it.

    12. Re:Wow.... by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      The problem is that the industry as a whole is stagnating. Apple has been neglecting macOS and Mac hardware to the point where even dedicated Mac people are jumping ship. Microsoft can't really get much more cash from home users, so is viewing them as a product, not the customer, and is milking the home user market for everything they can, throwing ads, and adding telemetry data. Linux is going strong, but until end users can go to Office Depot and buy a copy of Turbotax and slap it on the machine, it will trail behind as a consumer OS.

      It would be nice if Apple got on the ball and focused on Macs and macOS, or spin it off to another company (think FileMaker/Claris) that can hire independent engineers and teams that can focus on that product line to keep it ahead of the competition. It also would be nice for companies like Intuit to offer their products for Linux, making it a viable third option.

  14. Needs a better name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surely someone has already trademarked the word "Cloud". Microsoft should rename this to something like Windows CL Home Edition 10.2 to avoid any confusion.

    1. Re:Needs a better name by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Windows Command Line Home Edition 10.2 now featuring CMD, PowerShell and BASH for all your kiddie scripting needs!

  15. As useful as Windows RT by ITRambo · · Score: 1

    This is the new Windows RT. No one asked for it. Few will want it. Microsoft comes up with another loser offset to Chromebooks. Schools by me will stick with Chromebook as Windows left a bad taste, due to the time and effort it takes to manage it. Chromebooks are very easy to manage.

    1. Re:As useful as Windows RT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Microsoft comes up with another loser offset to Chromebooks. Schools by me will stick with Chromebook

      It is not to 'offset' Chromebooks, it is to stop OEMs (HP, Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, ..) building Chromebooks because they will have to pay retail for all copies of Windows 10 that they want to sell if they don't 'loyally' build these instead.

  16. MS Windows for MAC???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the heck, might as well create a version that has NOTHING to do with a MAC but put it in the name just to confuse people.

  17. Nothing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What else is a thin client for other than the cloud?

  18. Re:We still don't care by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    Seriously, how many articles about that CrapOS can you bring per month?!?!

    Indeed. I think it is high time to have a browser add-on to filter out articles about that trash.

  19. Only apps can app apps! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is the appiest version of Appdows 10! Only LUDDITES would want the LUDDITE version of LUDDITE Windows 10!

    Apps!

    1. Re:Only apps can app apps! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the appiest version of Appdows 10! Only APPIES would want the APPIE version of APPITASY Windows 10!

      ftfy

  20. Its about getting money for "Windows as a Service" by nateman1352 · · Score: 1

    Sounds like MSFT has realized that only putting the DRM/lockdown features on the ARM Windows RT tablets only had the effect of making those tablets not sell. By making it universal, now it doesn't matter if you have X86 or ARM, everyone gets locked down the same way. My guess is the primary reason for this move is so Microsoft can charge manufactures $10 per Windows license instead of $60, and then if you want to unlock your device and actually make it useful you have to go login to the Windows store and shell out the $50 to make all the software you actually care about work. Now that they have the X86->ARM emulator, they can treat all devices the same way from a licensing standpoint and turn this is to a pure profit generator.

    I also suspect that we will now see the subscription charges for Windows 10 materialize. Everyone who upgraded from Windows 7 has either the Home or Pro edition right now. But once Jan. 14, 2020 comes (end of Win7 support) anyone who upgraded to Win10 gets downgraded to Cloud edition. On Jan. 10, 2023 everyone who upgraded from Windows 8 (end of Win8 support) will have the same thing happen. At that point, you can expect to pay $50 to the Windows store get another 10 years on the Home edition or $100 for the Pro edition. Or you can just go buy a new computer which comes with 10 years of either Home or Pro from the time of initial activation.

    Also, you can expect on Jan. 10, 2023 (end of Win8 support) that MSFT will completely drop support for booting on non-UEFI computers.

  21. Well, well, well,... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now they're chasing unicorns in the clouds.

  22. I've read this over and over... What is it? by gosand · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read the summary 3 times... it makes no sense. I read the article... still no help.
    What is this? Is this supposed to be one of those announcements that creates buzz? If I, as a tech person, don't get it then how will anyone else?

    Several months ago I was in the Microsoft Store in a mall. I didn't even know they HAD Microsoft stores, and I hadn't been in a Mall for 10 years. So it was like a "things I despise" turducken. But my son's scout troop was in there doing a thing where they did game design. It was very lame, and he didn't have any fun. But while he was doing it, I sat and marveled at the Microsoft Store. They were really trying. Glitz and shiny things. Big screens, a VR! There were actual customers in there, which surprised me.

    But I overheard a young, hip salesperson trying to sell an Office subscription to a middle-aged man, and she was really trying to get him to understand how it worked. There was a physical package on the shelf, and he could buy the 3 month subscription, take it home and then go to the website and register. He wanted to know how he installed it, and she explained he didn't. He wasn't getting it (and quite honestly, I wasn't either) She kept steering him towards a 12 month subscription - to something he didn't understand how to use. It was comical. He eventually gave up and left.

    Good ol' Microsoft. They understand business - get in, sign the deals, make sure they are locked in. They understand oems - become the only thing they use, and make sure there are no other options. They understand acquisitions - buy things that are successful. They sure don't understand how to be relevant beyond those three things. And actually, I am not sure they really need to, but they keep trying.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    1. Re:I've read this over and over... What is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      posting anon to maintain moderation but goddamn "So it was like a "things I despise" turducken." made my whole day.

      Thank you.

  23. Is this Slashdot or The Onion? by mmell · · Score: 1

    In related news: Man, 32, discovers his life had been meaningless. Minnesota woman finds remote her husband lost last week.

  24. Two versions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Windows 10 for home users - free for personal use

    Windows 10 for enterprise users - costs money

    There does not need to be anything else.

    1. Re:Two versions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Windows 10 for home users - free for personal use

      Windows 10 was never free. If you had already paid for 7 or 8.1 then you could change to using 10, but you had still paid Microsoft.

      Or do you think that Windows on a new computer is free because there is no separate invoice line for it, and you won't get your money back ?

      (Actually, as far as I know, 'Windows for Bing' was free to the OEMs)

  25. So it's like regular Win 10 by iampiti · · Score: 1

    ...in that it has more to do with malware than to an actual OS.

  26. Co-opting cloud name as they did with xp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will have as much to do with the cloud as windows XP had to do with extreme programing.

    1. Re:Co-opting cloud name as they did with xp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      XP is Chi-Rho.

      X as in the Greek letter 'chi'.

      P as in the Greek letter 'rho'.

      Upper case: , lower case: (these are probably messed up due to lack of extended character support by slashdot)

      XP was a descendant of the internal project called Cairo at Microsoft was the working name of the OS release. Get it? Cairo = Chi-Rho? Clever little hamsters in Redmond.

  27. Apologists will justify everything. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apologists will justify everything.

  28. Deprecating Win32 by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

    MS wants to deprecate Win32.

    --
    Twinstiq, game news
  29. Microsoft missed an opportunity. by Anon-Admin · · Score: 1

    They should have called it "Windows 10 No Spyware edition!" Then maybe someone would buy it. lol

  30. Microsoft will never let UWP app store fantasy go by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    If anyone is looking for a paired down version of Windows without paying for it Hyper-V 2012 server is apparently free. Doesn't come with management tools but you can connect from a workstation and install and run normal win32 software.

  31. When did time start going fast-forwarded x10? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I seriously haven't even come close to getting around the idea of ONE major update to Windows 10 yet. My installation (bought legally, Pro version -- I've no idea why people kept claiming that Windows 10 is "free", because it never was at all for anyone who cared the slightest bit about security/clean systems) has not yet even updated to the "Anniversary Edition". Possibly somehow related to TrueCrypt blocking it? Who knows? I don't want updates. Fuck off. Do it right the first time and stop changing stuff around all the time.

  32. It has EVERYTHING to do with the cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I guarantee it won't work properly without a regular connection to the cloud.