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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.
"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.
4GB on a $1000 device? What is Microsoft thinking? That they too can sell overpriced underspecd gear now?
They will be sued as Apple surely has this patented!
Where is all the crying about it not being user upgradable? Gamer dweebs won't be able to rice it out!
Also educational institutions that normally keep such devices for a long time won't find such a machine suitable for student use, as they won't be as readily able to repair or upgrade as needs change.
Modularity is fairly important in devices assigned to kids. Devices are expected to suffer drops, harsh transportation, kids failing to remove USB components, etc. Ideally the external ports are on their own circuit boards connected via cables to the mainboard so that when the unit gets dropped with the AC adapter plugged in or with the USB flash memory plugged it, the inexpensive circuit board for that subcomponent can be replaced instead of having to replace the whole mainboard.
With this mindset already in play, K12 also likes it when storage is modular. It means K12 can buy the storage that they see themselves need for the next few years, and if it turns out they need more storage it's a lot cheaper to spend $50/device to ugprade than it is to spend $500/device to replace them outright. With things like folder redirection and local caching that becomes an issue, as most users, be they students or staff, want the same access to their stuff whether on the organization's LAN or not.
I get that as devices miniaturize it's increasingly harder to continue to be modular, but sometimes the need for modularity outweighs the desire for small form factor.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
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?
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.