Which is just-about an admission Win 10 is a mess
Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 S will be a « mode » available in all versions of Windows, and added a prediction it’ll be used by a « majority » of users.
Windows 10 S was created to simplify administration for school sysadmins by running only apps from the Windows Store and designed to run on low-cost hardware. Microsoft also offered 10 S on the Surface laptop. It’s, basically, a slimmed down and restricted flavor of Windows 10 that drives people to Edge and Bing and Redmond’s Windows software souk.
On March 7, the corporate veep of Microsoft’s operating systems group, Joe Belfiore, tweeted the product would disappear and become a « mode » in Windows. Now he’s revealed more detail in a blog post that said customers like 10 S but « the naming was a bit confusing for both customers and partners. »
Microsoft’s therefore decided that « starting with the next update to Windows 10, coming soon, customers can choose to buy a new Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro PC with S mode enabled, and commercial customers will be able to deploy Windows 10 Enterprise with S mode enabled. »
« We expect the majority of customers to enjoy the benefits of Windows 10 in S mode, » Belfiore wrote. Which is hardly a ringing endorsement of Windows 10 in its dominant configuration!
The good news is that S mode won’t be forever. You can flip back to Windows 10 Pro, Home or Enterprise, depending on your setup, if you wish. Belfiore wrote that « if a customer does want to switch out of S mode, they will be able to do so at no charge, regardless of edition. »
It’s also worth considering the timing of the next Windows 10 update, which probably means northern Autumn 2018. Either that or Micrososft has kept 10 S mode out of the many previews ahead of the semi-annual Windows update due in March 2018. ®
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