Windows to Scrap 10S OS Less Than One Year After Launch - Can upgrade to regular Windows 10 via pay-wall

http://bgr.com/2018/03/07/windows-10-s-mode-microsoft-confirms/amp/

BGR said:
Microsoft confirms it’s already cancelling its newest version of Windows
Less than one year ago, Microsoft unveiled a new version of its Windows platform called Windows 10 S. It was a curious endeavor right from the get-go. Intended as a rival for Google’s Chrome OS, which continues to gain substantial ground in important markets like education, Windows 10 S is something of a “Windows 10 Lite” solution. It is only capable of running apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and Microsoft claimed that the “S” stood for “Simplicity.”

Now, for the strange part. While Windows 10 S was launched to be a lite version of the Windows platform that could power lower-cost laptops to compete with Chromebooks, it actually hides the full version of Windows 10 inside. For a $50 fee, any Windows 10 S machine can be transformed into a full-fledged Windows 10 computer.

It was an interesting idea, but industry watchers were skeptical from the start. Now, it turns out that their skepticism was warranted because Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s scrapping Windows 10 S and replacing it with a new Windows 10 S “Mode.”

Microsoft managed to reel in a number of manufacturer partners ahead of its Windows 10 S announcement. Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Samsung, and Toshiba all signed on to release lower-cost laptops powered by Windows 10 S and starting at just $189. The move was a clear shot at Google, which has managed to steal the lion’s share of the education market in key regions thanks to ultra-affordable Chromebook laptops offered by Google’s partners.

Some recent estimates suggest Chrome OS now owns about 60% of the US education market in grades K-12. This is hugely significant, of course, because students who grow up using Chrome instead of Windows are more likely to continue using it as adults. And now, even users who want high-end laptops that offer impressive performance can stick with Chrome thanks to devices like the latest Google Pixelbook.

But it appears as though Windows 10 S hasn’t been received as well as Microsoft had hoped. Just 10 months after announcing the new operating system, Microsoft on Tuesday evening confirmed that it is being scrapped next year. In its place, Microsoft will build a new “S Mode” into Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Pro. Administrators in settings like schools will likely be able to lock devices in S Mode, though details are scarce for the time being.

“We use Win10S as an option for schools or businesses that want the ‘low-hassle’/ guaranteed performance version,” Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore wrote in a post on Twitter. “Next year 10S will be a ‘mode’ of existing versions, not a distinct version.” Belfiore’s tweet was posted in response to a user asking why Windows S 10 market share data wasn’t being separated from overall Windows 10 market share figures.

Recent rumors had suggested that Microsoft was planning to scrap its paid upgrade scheme for some Windows 10 S device owners who want to upgrade to Windows 10. According to those reports, users with Windows 10 S machines would be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Home for free, while upgrades to Windows 10 Pro would still cost $50. Microsoft hasn’t yet offered any additional details, so it remains to be seen if this will indeed be the case.
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:optimistic:Nth times the charm?:optimistic:
 
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This was to be expected.
Chrome OS was kinda shit but it relied on browser apps (supplied by anyone).
The only reason Windows still exists is because people want to run their existing applications, so limiting them to the windows store (that has very few of them and requires existing users to re-purchase software that they already won) was pretty daft.
 
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January Cyst said:
This was to be expected.
Chrome OS was kinda shit but it relied on browser apps (supplied by anyone).
The only reason Windows still exists is because people want to run their existing applications, so limiting them to the windows store (that has very few of them and requires existing users to re-purchase software that they already won) was pretty daft.
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I know if I was restricted to only downloading shit from an app store on my PC, I'd want someone dead
 
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Restricting downloaded apps to the Windows Store should have just been an Active Directory option or something in the first place, not an entirely separate operating system. No matter how hard Microsoft tries to push it, almost no one who uses Windows uses it for its shitty app store.
 
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Is Microsoft even trying to come up with a satisfactory successor to Windows 7 at this point?
They can't even convince their old users to switch over to 10 from 7, and they gave that upgrade away for free. They seem to be so obsessed with the tablet and mobile markets that they're neglecting to properly serve the original desktop/laptop market that the OS was initially developed for. Is Microsoft just resigned to losing professional users to Linux platforms?
 
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Audit_The_Autist said:
Is Microsoft even trying to come up with a satisfactory successor to Windows 7 at this point?
They can't even convince their old users to switch over to 10 from 7, and they gave that upgrade away for free. They seem to be so obsessed with the tablet and mobile markets that they're neglecting to properly serve the original desktop/laptop market that the OS was initially developed for. Is Microsoft just resigned to losing professional users to Linux platforms?
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Why would anyone update from 7? 10 is just 7 with spyware and built-in ads.

The less said about 8, the better.
 
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frozenrunner said:
Why would anyone update from 7? 10 is just 7 with spyware and built-in ads.

The less said about 8, the better.
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I use 10 at work. It has a cool feature where you can use the Windows and arrow keys where it will automatically make your windows take up half to a quarter of the screen which is handy when you need many windows open for your job but that's really the only new feature I've noticed or cared about. That alone isn't enough to convince me to update.
 
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Didn't they try a lousy lite version just a couple of years ago? Windows RT or something like that.
 
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vertexwindi said:
I use 10 at work. It has a cool feature where you can use the Windows and arrow keys where it will automatically make your windows take up half to a quarter of the screen which is handy when you need many windows open for your job but that's really the only new feature I've noticed or cared about. That alone isn't enough to convince me to update.
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Windows 7 does this hot key too.
 
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Why even charge for consumer versions of Windows anymore? Microsoft is the world's largest software publisher. The OS gets used to shill apps. They never made a dent in the mobile market, their enterprise share is shrinking due to Linux, and the only thing they have left is the PC master race. Better preserve it by any means necessary.
 
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January Cyst said:
Yes, that was an ARM version of Windows that ran none of the standard X86 Windows apps.
No one bought it.
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They're trying to do another ARM version of Windows too. This one will supposedly be able to run both ARM and x86 (but not x64) desktop applications through emulation.

Update: I guess Windows 10 S isn't going to be gone for good. It's being turned into "S Mode", which MS apparently thinks users are actually going to use.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/03/09/windows_10_s_mode_confirmed/

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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