Opinion: Even if You Hate the Idea, Windows Users Should Want Windows 10 S To Succeed (arstechnica.com)

Last week, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S, a new variant of its desktop operating system aimed largely at the education space. While time will tell how this new edition of Windows fares, if early reactions from enthusiasts are anything to go by, Windows 10 S is in for a tough ride ahead. For one, Windows 10 S only permits installation of applications from the Windows Store. If that wasn't a deal-breaker, several popular applications including Google's Chrome are missing from the Store. Amid all of this, reporter and columnist Peter Bright has an op-ed up on ArsTechnica in which he argues that despite the walled-garden offering, people should want Windows 10 S to succeed as it could make Windows better for everyone else. From his article: This [forbidding execution of any program that wasn't downloaded from the Windows Store] positions Microsoft as a gatekeeper -- although its criteria for entry within the store is for the most part not stringent, it does reserve the right to remove software that it deems undesirable -- and means that the vast majority of extant Windows software can't be used. This means that PC mainstays, from Adobe Photoshop to Valve's Steam, can't be used on Windows 10 S. [...] Some of the arguments against this are bizarre. Notably, the complaint that Microsoft has now erected a paywall -- "you have to pay $50 to run Steam!" -- is very peculiar when one considers that, in general, Windows licenses have never been free. [...] The Windows Store makes bad parts of Windows better: I'd argue, however, that Windows users should want Windows 10 S to succeed. Windows 10 S isn't for everybody, and Windows 10 S may not be for you, but if Windows 10 S succeeds, it will make Windows 10 better for everyone. The Store in Windows RT required developers to write their apps from scratch. With negligible numbers of users, developers were uninterested in doing this work. The Store in Windows 10 has Centennial. In principle, Centennial should make it easy to package existing Win32 apps and sell them through the Store, and if developers of Windows apps adopt Centennial en masse then the Store restriction shouldn't be particularly restrictive. Widespread adoption will be good for Windows users of all stripes.

Comments

Re:M$ not eating dogfood until VS is on Store

[MightyYar]

Exactly - for me the acid test is how well they do with the Office port. In theory it is due in June.

Peter Bright

[Anonymous Coward]

A well-known Microsoft's shill. Just read some of his articles on Ars Technica, they sound like vulgar TV commercials.

Very limited perspective on Windows 10

[mykepredko]

The author seems to want Win 10S to succeed because it will result in better Windows Store apps, with a simple install process, which can be used by all Windows users.

Right off the bat, doesn't this place an unreasonable amount of confidence that anything coming from the app store will not be evil?

Secondly, all my problems with Windows 10 have been outside the Windows Store experience that I don't see endearing the product to the education market. I have a couple of Win10 machines with 32GBytes of eMMC; doing an update is hell as it requires an external USB thumb drive and takes multiple hours - something that can't be tolerated in a classroom environment where there are dozens of PCs. I've bitched about my problems with the Win10 Bluetooth stack and I don't see anybody in Microsoft fixing that, even as the need for BT is growing with different external devices.

Next, I feel like Microsoft is going to continually look for opportunities to monetize the platform. Office 365 revenues flat lining? Say, let's start charging all those kids using Win 10S machines, the schools are just wasting money on hot lunch programs that should be going to Microsoft.

Finally, there is the privacy issue. Win 10 seems to be designed around collecting user data and exploiting it. Is this something parents want to have happen to their children? You can say that Google and Chrome do the same thing but it doesn't seem to be a core part of their business model. I wouldn't be surprised coming home to a kid that is demanding an Windows OS'd phone because the computer at school told them how much better it is than their stupid Android or iOS phone.

I know I'll get replies from numerous AC's who feel that I'm being unreasonably harsh towards Microsoft and what they're doing with the Windows 10 S platform, which is much better than ChromeOS even though nobody's seen it before but I just don't see Microsoft having the right stuff or approach to take on the education market in way that is positive for students and not completely exploitative.

As usual Microsoft misses the point

[zerofoo]

Clearly Microsoft is chasing Google again in a half-assed way.

The draw of Chromebooks was not simply cheap laptops. Schools (like us) are drawn to the fact that the supporting cloud infrastructure is stupidly easy to manage.

Local apps don't matter. The few people in our school that need local apps get by on Mac OS or Windows. Everyone else gets a chromebook - their data and apps live in the cloud.

Even if Microsoft built a robust App Store - it wouldn't matter as that's not what draws schools to Chromebooks in the first place.

Windows already locked down

[fermion]

Education is unique because you want it locked down as corporate, but teachers are not going to be as tolerant with stupidity as corporate. For instance, if a corporate employee can't get work done efficiently because she does not have access to the right software, she can make a complaint to her boss, and either the software will be upgraded or there will be a realization that more time has to be allocated. I see this all the time.

What does not happen, usually, is the expectation that the employee go off clock and do the work themselves, or buy a computer to do the work. This is what happens in education. If a teacher can't get work done on paid time, they are expected to work for free. Free work is usually a result of incompetent management. There is no overtime.

This extends to the classroom. While we all understand that the computer must be locked down, and both Windows and Mac allows administrators limit software that can installed. However limiting software that can be run is going to impose a limitation that many will find too restrictive. For instance, there are some open source programs that are used in science and computer science that can be run from USB. These do not need to be installed. They allow some flexibility so students can learn.

Re:Walled Garden

[dgaller]

It'll wind up exactly like the Google Play Store where malware is bundled with the app.

Very limited perspective on Windows 10 - Part Two

[mykepredko]

Sorry, as soon as I walked away, I realized there were more issues in regards to the perspective on Windows that are a problem:

Edge. Sorry, I don't think it's reasonable to have to maintain a web page for Edge and IE because Microsoft won't use Webkit/be compatible with everything else out there. Companies need to provide responsive pages for tablets and smartphones - they shouldn't need to do the same amount of work for Microsoft browsers (that aren't even fully compatible with each other).

All that crap information on Windows 10 (and 8). If ANYBODY involved with Windows 10 S has ever seen how kids work in a classroom, then they should be clearing off the time/news updates/sports updates/weather/etc. that is in the Win10 scrawl at the bottom. This is just a distractor for kids which takes their attention away from the class material - unfortunately getting rid of it will get rid of potential Microsoft revenue streams so it's not going.

So, why do we want Windows 10 S to succeed?

Re:I don't buy it

[gfxguy]

It's not a good thing, but I think it really just shifts things around. They will succeed because some people who don't know any better will live with it. Others will pay the premium (was it $50 to start?) for the unrestricted version. They win on both sides - first by locking in those who don't switch, and second by eliminating the middle man from OEM licensing they do now in order to charge consumers directly (and more than OEMs were paying, probably). I don't know where all the hate is coming from - MS never pretended to be our friends, they are a business and we have choices.

Again, though, I think they will succeed despite themselves. They continue to make consumer unfriendly decisions and yet still succeed by the leverage of their marketshare... but now people who understand the "walled garden" of 10 S might be inclined to go ChromeOS, and perhaps Fuscia might even work better for some people. But I somehow doubt any significant number of consumers will flock to alternatives over this. As usual, it depends on what software you want or need to use. If 10 S gives it to you, so be it, otherwise you pay the premium or find an alternative.

Re:Uh, I saw this yesterday,who is pushing this?

[evolutionary]

Easy Peasy in several ways: 1. See if it will run with Wine 2. As more people dump MS Windows games will migrate to MacOS and Linux. Already several console games, even From EA(##!% horrid infectious DRM) have appeared on gog.com(100% DRM free, saw Mirror's Edge there yesterday). 3. If you STILL insist on using M$, you can use VirtualBox or KVM (less user friendly) to run Windows 7 or even Windows 10. This will sandbox your data so at least the OS can't steal your hardware, personal/business/family information and send that to MS data collection central. 4. If you like Steam, they have a TON of games on the Linux native platform I've been using Linux in several flavors for years and have been VERY happy. There have been odd things with UEFI but in the vast majority of cases I can disable it. Also some flavors have been made compatible with UEFI. Suspend is occasionally a nuisance in a few cases. The developers try to catch up. But, as the market shifts so will motherboard manufacturers in any case. One thing I need to warn people of. The next major of Debian will not support UEFI. (Debian is my personal favorite). they've decided to focus on more core improvements. Perhaps they have heard something we haven't. I've helped kids and adults alike go to LIinux (usually Mint) and 100% of them have been happy with it. So I think you can be too. Anyway, give it a try. and see. If there are problems, report, ask for help. The communities are amazing quick to help. (unlike MS tech support who charges $200/call)