Microsoft has launched Windows 10 S. Windows 10 S is a version of the OS targeted at students of all ages that promises higher performance, better battery life, and tighter security.... Microsoft Announces Windows 10 S To Take On Google Chromebook
No, it will not. No one prevents Google or others to publish their browsers on Windows Store. Chromebooks come with Chrome-only browser... no one is chasing them for this, right? Regardless, like those above, haters are still going to hate this Windows. I don't care, I think MS made the right move.
RT was only running ARM binaries and on ARM CPUs. This is x86 and ARM. You can even upgrade it to Pro in order to run win32 apps. Although I don't get why you would ever want to. No it won't. This is an EDU version, whoever gets this knows exactly what they're getting. Unlike Apple, Microsoft does allow direct competitor apps into their store, as well as sideloading.
Hands up for any Windows 10 user that has used the Windows Store to install/buy software. *chirp* *chirp* *chirp* This is an awful, closed, shutoff system. Like apple's iOS, just without the mindless, zombielike fellowship of users. It is going to fail, just like RT, just because of different reasons.
There's nothing wrong with being "stuck " with Edge. It's a fast and excellent browser that keeps getting better all the time. I think these new machines will sell well. Having said that, I'll stick with my 10" RCA tablet that runs full Windows 10, has a keyboard that turns it into a small laptop, and is surprisingly fast with it's Atom Bay Trail quad core CPU and only 2 GB of RAM. The best part is it only cost $99 brand new.
"Raises Hand". I have installed Forza APEX which was free and purchased Forza: Horizon 3 that cost $60 and is worth every penny. I have also tried out other apps (both desktop and mobile) and some were good, some not so much. The Windows Store is an evolving marketplace and will only get better with time.
That's because people actually WANT to use Chrome. The vast majority of people who use IE, Edge, and (for Mac users) Safari is because that's the web browser that came with their computer and they don't know any alternatives. Yes, there are exceptions, and there are also people who need to use a browser like IE for compatibility reasons, but Windows S is not likely to cater to such demographics. Also, you can in fact run other browsers on a Chromebook, with tools like Crouton, though personally I don't really understand why you'd want to. People hate on MS because they intentionally cripple things. Unlike Chrome OS, which is based on a specialized kernel, a custom graphical server, and is meant to be nothing more than a web browser, Windows S has a huge potential to threaten Chrome OS, but Edge is not a mature enough browser and although the Windows Store ought to be a sufficient ecosystem, many people are rightfully wary of it. I don't think Windows S is necessarily a bad OS, but I don't think MS actually understands why people buy Chromebooks.
People are used to Chrome because IT people like myself pushed it hard when the only serious IE alternative was an overbloated Firefox. Chrome was open source, light and simple, and that lead to the lead it currently holds. All of these characteristics with the crucial exception of being open source, are basically transferred to Edge. Microsoft should open source the whole browser, not only the ChakraCore, and deliver it to multiple platforms like they do with Office.
Chrome's popularity would've progressed without the influence of IT people, maybe just not as much as it has. I'm sure Edge will follow the path of Chrome, but will always remain closed source. Chrome is still a good browser. Maybe not light, but it is generally reliable and very capable. I do like the lightness of Edge (which is why I use it when I use Windows) but I do find its interface a little cumbersome at times, and it freezes often.
As a ChromeOS, Windows and Linux user.... Windows S doesn't interest me in the least. I've downloaded apps from the Windows Store myself, but would find it difficult to survive just on the Windows Store, if not nearly impossible. I also find the quality and functionality of a lot of the apps to be laughable. By my count, there's at least 6 competing browsers in the Windows Store right now. There's even apps to compete with Office and Outlook. Chrome OS is a heavily modified (gimped) Ubuntu just like SteamOS....but more capable (at least from what I've read). Chrome is not, and never was, open source. Chromium is open-source. Chrome is built off of Chromium and contains a lot of "proprietary code"...
That's probably a necessity to prevent accusations of anticompetition. I don't know if any popular web browsers or office alternatives exist though; MS likely assumes the less popular alternatives will largely go ignored. It, along with most other heavily customized OSes, is actually based on Gentoo, which predates Ubuntu and is often considered the most advanced Linux distro. SteamOS meanwhile is based on Debian (which Ubuntu is based on). I think Chrome in fact is open-source, but it isn't free (as in freedom) open source. Firefox is the same way. In other words, you're permitted to access and modify the source code but you're not allowed to redistribute it. Meanwhile, Chromium (and Iceweasel) do permit this. From what I recall, the lack of freedom is due to trademarks. Both of these programs are pretty much identical in usage but they have minor tweaks in the interest of things such as user privacy.
If ChromeOS is based on Gentoo now, that's a deviation from it's original development path. CloudReady, a ChromiumOS distro, actually contains portions of Ubuntu code. ChromiumOS is the Open-Source code that ChromeOS is built on. Yes, technically, anything that's "Ubuntu based" is Debian based. Ubuntu does license some of their "proprietary code" for use by 3rd parties though. The Chrome browser is not "open source". Chromium is. Chromium is the base, open-source code, used for the Chrome browser. The Chrome browser is Chromium + "proprietary code".... Anything carrying the "Chromium" name is Open-Source. The "Chrome" name implies "proprietary code" is used and thus, closed-source.
