Slashdot Mirror
Surface Laptop Can Be Switched To Windows 10 Pro For Free Until 2018 (cnet.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Don't let the new Windows 10 S operating system stop you from buying a Surface Laptop this year. The streamlined OS limits you to using applications that are in Microsoft's Windows Store. But, as noted in the tech specs for Microsoft's new ultraportable, if you'd rather run non-Store apps, you can switch to Windows 10 Pro for free until December 31, 2017. Once 2018 hits, the switch to Pro will cost $49. But be warned: Once you upgrade your license key, you can't go back.
Anything not on the Appdows 10 Store is LUDDITE software, so only LUDDITES want LUDDITE Windows 10 Pro. Modern app appers only app apps, which is why Appdows 10 S is the appiest apperating app!
Apps!
$1000 for 4 GB of non-upgradable RAM and a (probably) non-upgradable 128 GB SSD.
Shitty?
does it run Linux?
Only really relevant question here
Why are other peoples sig's always more witty ???
I don't understand why anyone would want to downgrade from windows 10 pro back to the S version. Can someone enlighten me?
"And yet somehow, Slashdot readers will find a way to bash Microsoft for giving their customers this choice"
Considering what they're doing right now reeks exactly of what got them into trouble with the law in the first place (the web browser) I see no reason why Microsoft shouldn't get slammed.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
And with the smallest app store in the industry on top? Many Chromebooks have a far greater selection of Android apps, plus you can sideload more and install competing Amazon appstore.
>Don't let the new Windows 10 S operating system stop you from buying a Surface Laptop this year.
It doesn'...t I have a shitload of other reasons not to buy it.
They hook you in with a "free" upgrade, then down the line when you get your next computer they extort you to get an uncrippled version of Windows, which is needed for real applications. They will use the paywall to lock out competitors and secure boot will stop you getting the unlocked version for free. Its time to take action against Microsoft before the "S" becomes the default for all new computers.
Maybe this new Surface laptop will be a big seller? Way too early to predict that. Regardless? I view this one as copying all of the wrong things Apple has done lately.
Basically, you've got Microsoft trying to compete on "thinnest, lightest!" (and for now, actually beating Apple at their own game in that department) - at the expense of functionality. You're always going to pay a premium price for hardware that's been crammed into as small a space as the manufacturer can possibly put it in ... hence the underwhelming specs; offering a model with only 4GB of non-expandable RAM and only 128GB of drive storage.
The gimped edition of Windows 10 (even IF you can upgrade to the normal version at no charge for a limited time) is more evidence that MS realizes this thing costs more to build than it's really worth to a lot of people. (They've already laid out a "roadmap" for it that ensures once the early adopters have all bought theirs, they'll get to extract another $50 from each person after that who buys one expecting it to run a full-fledged Windows 10 OS.) That amounts to a way to keep the initial purchase price down and let people pay later for the whole Windows experience on it.
(Even Apple hasn't stooped to that level. OS X is OS X on every Mac out there. There's no "Professional" edition, "Home" edition, or any kind of "Lite" version that only lets you run apps purchased in the App Store!)
So many times, what I see people *really* wanting is a good, all-around portable computer with cutting edge graphics/GPU capabilities to go along with a good CPU. And right now, the industry still seems to have tunnel vision that only gamers would ever want such a thing. Just yesterday, an employee in our office got frustrated with slow performance doing "warp transform" processes on images in Photoshop on her PC. The Intel 4000 integrated graphics just weren't up to the task of handling that very well, even though her PC had good hardware specs in other areas.
But if the main focus continues to be making all laptops as thin as possible, you're not going to have better graphics because they can't dissipate the heat OR put big enough batteries in them to power the higher end video chipsets.
"And yet somehow, Slashdot readers will find a way to bash Microsoft for giving their customers this choice"
Considering what they're doing right now reeks exactly of what got them into trouble with the law in the first place (the web browser) I see no reason why Microsoft shouldn't get slammed.
They have learned to play the anti-trust game better and all relevant politicians have been politically donated to. Government power working as intended.
Don't forget the EU pols in Brussels in addition to the national politicians! That was Google's goof a few yearz back.
Before downmodding me as : Too Cynical For My Tastes, go learn history.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Yesterday trolling of Apple, then shilling for M$ laptops. I guess we know who paid for the current /. campaign.
The Surface laptop fills a niche that has a very small userspace inside the Surface lineup and, more importantly, breaks almost zero new ground (save for the super-soft keyboard surface that is a pita to clean). It doesn't fold flat/back so inking isn't really as useful as on the other two Surface portables. You can't get it with a second, discrete GPU like you can with the Book. It's heavier and lower resolution than the Pro4. It's only real claim to fame is a very suspect 14.5 hour "video playback" benchmark which, I'm going to guess, is based on the CPU being in a near-sleep state while the playback is completely decoded in the new Kaby Lake HEVC circuit. There are no specs on the battery because if we know the Wh, we could back out the high power profile time (Wh/15W GPU for most serious work, about double that for light web surfing, maybe 2.5x with Edge).
Similarly equipped, the SL costs within $100 of the SP4 and SB. That seems like a small differential to give up the ability to go tablet mode.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Don't believe the hype: the Surface is an abject failure. They AREN'T SELLING. Have you ever seen one in public? Nope. But cue the people who will claim "I have one" or "we all use them at work". Sure you do.
The legal fiction being that you must use the accessibility tools - so upgrade and use the screen magnifier. There, you've satisfied the requirements.
I remember saying, when they set a time limit on the "free upgrade" that it would be unenforceable...Microsoft doubled down on this when all their new Win10 releases accepted Windows 7 and 8.x Product keys. In theory, they could enforce it through activation, but they simply do not, and trying to enforce it on activation introduces a lot more (costly and operational) headaches for Microsoft.
I can see them, however, expanding this idea that some hardware gets an extended period of upgrades, but the reality is that it's just a thought exercise.
The autism-hating, custom EpiPen-hating, Musk-hating Slashdot troll!
Only question I have is when is Microsoft going to a annual Subscription Fee? That's the direction they seem to be headed they just haven't said when.
windows home vs pro was about domains in the past for the most part.
OSX did have server ver's in the past.
they do have annual fees for some Enterprise Agreements
So you get a free upgrade from bullshit to slightly more full featured bullshit.
Until they start making Enterprise readily available, this is all just handwaving.
It's so frustrating... Apple has been pissing me off to no end with their hardware decisions, and yet Microsoft has *still* managed to piss me off so much more that I would rather pay the Apple Dongle/Dingleberry Tax than go back to Windows..
a clusterfuck of DontWant. From the locked-down hardware, the Microsoft appstore, the reboot-when-Microsoft-says, ads in the taskbar (and elsewhere), locked-down browser and search... it is indeed a big pile of shit.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Yes OS X still has a server version but so does Windows. But the point was/is that OS X only has one version for most consumers. Some businesses and consumers may need the server version but Apple doesn't split their consumer version into multiple flavors.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
After WindowsRT for the Surface tablet, you'd think MS learns its lesson. Now they are doing the same stupid mistake again.. all the while having to spend money and time to create windows 10S.... that's just begging for trouble!
"And yet somehow, Slashdot readers will find a way to bash Microsoft for giving their customers this choice"
Considering what they're doing right now reeks exactly of what got them into trouble with the law in the first place (the web browser) I see no reason why Microsoft shouldn't get slammed.
How is it different than an iPhone, a Chromebook, or another walled-garden device?
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
the browser thing was and still is completely stupid.
Why shouldn't we bash Microsoft for "giving customers this choice"? "We're going to install a locked down operating system whose choices are of questionable, if any, benefit to ordinary consumers, by default on our premium laptops, but you'll be able to choose to switch away!"
So, in order to make the laptop useful, you have to make a choice: default, or useful? And after you've made that choice, you then wait an hour for your laptop to be set up. At least, I hope it's only an hour.
What about, instead of giving users the choice, you just give them Windows 10 Pro? I mean, there's no reason to offer the choice: the market for Windows S is for a minority of users, mostly enterprises with no legacy requirements, and schools. And TBH, the fact the OS requires users to use Edge means it's almost certainly a no-go in either of those environments.
Choices aren't always good. Choosing has a cost, all by itself. If offering a choice means most users will then have to wait an hour before their laptop is usable, then your offering of a choice is a bad thing - you should have just given them what they wanted to begin with.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
You answered that backwards. "Does it run Linux?" is not the same question as "Does it run on Linux?" And this is hardware, not software - so it's a bit of a nonsense statement anyway.
And yet somehow, Slashdot readers will find a way to bash Microsoft for giving their customers this choice.
It's not very difficult... I'll give it a go.
What "choice" were they given? Between Windows 10S or Windows 10 Pro? Really? That's supposed to be compelling? Think of any other choice that's that narrow, and it seems stupid: hot fudge sunday, or warm fudge sunday? Blue Ford F-150, or Black Ford F-150?
It's clear that Microsoft is trying to do a good thing
Saying it doesn't make it so. This isn't a "good" thing. FWIW, I don't think this is "bad", as in worse than not offering it, but it's not "good" in a moral way, which is how you phrased it. They're even charging for it, so it is by no means altruistic. The $49 wouldn't feel as much like a rip off if "Pro" still meant something, but even if it was a choice of the enterprise version, it's still not "good".
I was hoping (but not holding my breath) to see the headline read:
Don't let the new Windows 10 S operating system stop you from buying a Surface Laptop this year. If you'd rather run a non-Microsoft OS, you can easily do so via Microsofts answer to bootcamp, __________!
If that bootcamp like solution only supported MacOS X, then I still wouldn't consider it much of a choice (like republican/democrat).
If they also refund the OS license fee if you switch out the OS, then they would be trying to do a good thing (or just the right thing).
But be warned: Once you upgrade your license key, you can't go back.
See, how is this "trying to do a good thing"? I'm not sure why someone would want to go back, but why the hell wouldn't they allow it? Seems like that should be baked in and always possible (ie. let the user screw things up however they like, but flash to recovery and it restores the original Windows 10S), not locked out because you spent $49 to reclassify an identifier (the license key) from 10S to 10Pro.
I'm sure this is welcome news to some folks who want ("need") to run certain programs that don't run on 10S, but it's far from a karma gaining action. They locked things down and took away choices first. They're now easing off slightly. One step forward and two steps back doesn't put them on the positive side of the equation. None of what I said above even begins to touch on any of the other big negatives (frequent defaults resets (ex. browser), telemetry, forced updates, cortana hard to disable, ads integrated into menus, ruined start menu, multiple places to configure settings, removal of dvd playback and other features on upgrade, unable to uninstall builtin programs, let alone all the FOSS complaints).
That's because you don't understand the law. How can someone be anti-competitive by locking down their device when they first enter a market? The differences between this and the IE/Netscape saga are night and day in the eyes of the law and also in the eyes of the effect on consumers and competition.
Because this is not about choice. This is about conditioning the market to the removal of choice.
If it was about choice, they would offer you the ability to select between S and Home. But instead S is the default, and the only path away is buying the upgrade to Pro. That means a lot of people who are locked in to the phone-like app store experience.
If Microsoft is concerned about programs slowing the computer down by getting their own updates, they could have standardized an update system into the OS.
OK, I won't let Win 10S specifically stop me from buying a Surface. I'll let the presence of any form of Windows 10 stop me from buying it.
AC more that the hardware can run Linux as a new install that removes Windows as an OS.
Or is the new MS hardware locked down and will only work with Windows for now.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Free as in herpes right?
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?
How's life in the hypocrite lane?