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Linux Distros Won't Run On Microsoft's Education-Focused Windows 10 S OS (betanews.com)
Reader BrianFagioli writes: I was sort of hopeful for Windows 10 S when Microsoft made a shocking announcement at Build 2017 that it is bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store. This gave the impression that students using the S variant of the OS would be able to tinker with Linux. Unfortunately, this is not the case as Microsoft will be blocking Linux on the new OS. In other words, not all apps in the store will be available for Windows 10 S. "Windows 10 S does not run command-line applications, nor the Windows Console, Cmd / PowerShell, or Linux/Bash/WSL instances since command-line apps run outside the safe environment that protects Windows 10 S from malicious / misbehaving software," says Rich Turner, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft. Tuner further explains, "Linux distro store packages are an exotic type of app package that are published to the Windows Store by known partners. Users find and install distros , safely, quickly, and reliably via the Windows Store app. Once installed, however, distros should be treated as command-line tools that run outside the UWP sandbox and secure runtime infrastructure. They run with the capabilities granted to the local user -- in the same way as Cmd and PowerShell do. This is why Linux distros don't run on Windows 10 S: Even though they're delivered via the Windows Store, and installed as standard UWP APPX's, they run as non-UWP command-line tools and this can access more of a system than a UWP can."
to this unfortunate problem...you can also just install linux. Believe it or not, you dont need Windows to run it.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Based on the description, this sounds like the sort of Windows you would give to a lot of non-technical users. None of my relatives would miss the missing functionality. The fact that it is also coming as a particular flavor of Windows that Microsoft is treating as a special build is actually encouraging because it means Microsoft is not making the same mistake Apple did of acting like they have to choose between pleasing technical users and non-technical users (and in the end, as we see with their hardware choices, the former lost out).
Another thing to consider is that this build will almost certainly reduce the support costs that schools pay without crippling what they can do for most students.
If you want actual Linux with all of its freedoms, you have to install an actual distro.
It took you a month 10 years ago, today it would only take a minute, I can't believe the improvements to Linux since I switched completely back around 2000
Linux is far easier to use than Windows, and it "just works", no fiddling with drivers, no searching for codecs, you just use it. Every time I have to sit down in front of a Windows machine for any reason I cringe, they're slow, unintuitive, and incredibly difficult to configure to do what you need. I don't want to spend hours trying to figure out how to do the simplest tasks, I just want it to work.
Everyone who claims Linux isn't the alternative either:
- has never tried Linux
- last tried Linux in the mid '90s
- is a paid shill for MS
- is part of an extremely tiny minority of users who uses one of the very few applications that refuse to run on Linux and have no practical alternative (and even most people who think they belong to this group don't as their app has a replacement in Linux that they haven't been willing to consider, or runs just fine in wine)
Just wait. Soon running Linux will be as convenient as running rooted Android, sure, you CAN do it, but you'll have to give up the ability to watch any (legal) media, or do any online financial transactions, etc.
Computers are going the way of smartphones, completely locked down, and even if you break the lock, you'll lose the ability to do half the things you want to do on a daily basis.
Everyone who claims Linux isn't the alternative either:
Everyone who claims Linux is an alternative doesn't use their PC for gaming. Or, is part of the extremely tiny minority of gamers that is happy with the limited subset of games run on Linux.
See what I did there?
This isn't Windows being difficult to use compared to Linux, this is *you* being accustomed to one particular system.
I stopped using Linux on my personal computers around 2006 after a decade because I got so fed up with it. For the last seven years I've been Mac only at work and home, but developing cross platform software I use Windows and Linux frequently in VMs. Don't get me wrong, Windows really irritates me too, but nothing like the way the different Linux desktop environments do with their clunky, unintuitive nightmare UX and poor organisation. The only redeeming feature of Linux for me is the command line, which is basically what I use in tandem with the GUI all day long on macOS.
But like I said, it's what you're accustomed too.
Makes me think of Linux Mint (at least Mate, Xfce). Technically you can add many themes but there's very little, almost nothing installed by default.
This is because GTK3 themes break constantly every time Gnome does a little update to GTK3, so when you upgrade your OS to a new version hell might break loose.
Also, Mate sends you to a website (gnome-look) that lists GTK3 and GTK2 themes. Wtf? I obviously want a theme that works on both. Do GTK3 themes bundle a GTK2 theme? I don't know. I don't feel like experimenting let alone do a survey of my apps to know which use GTK2 and which use GTK3.
Cinnamon does have a new website up (Cinnamon Spices) which looks greats : useful themes and applets, good site design. I would only run Cinnamon on powerful hardware w/ advanced and properly working graphics driver though.
Windows 10 has a built-in Ubuntu Linux subsystem. It is a bit hidden and a bit experimental but it's there.
It has a rather expensive hardware dongle.