You are in need of a computer for your office, for your kids, for your mom—fill in the blank. You head into Best Buy, Walmart, or the closest shop with at least a couple computer options. Prices seem reasonable and guess what? There’s a new operating system—one that hasn’t been advertised much.
When you’re at the store talking to a rep, you really don’t notice anything. You ask about Windows 10, they tell you it’s included!
So, as most would, you pull out your credit card or check book and make a purchase, assured that this is your computer and that, if needed, you can customize it with whatever software you want.
Come to find…
Your brand new computer now has Windows 10 S.
What is Windows 10 S?
Microsoft has innovated a new consumer-based operating system known as Windows 10 S. It claims to be a safer version of Windows 10 that keeps malicious code from being downloaded.
What does that really mean?
Windows 10 S only supports applications approved by Windows.
Used to using a Chrome browser? Not supported.
What about specialized software not in the Windows Store? Not supported.
After spending a week or two trying to experience the real deal Windows 10 S experience, I can assure you, it’s a struggle to get much done.
Unless you are comfortable with Microsoft’s software solutions—and only those solutions—you may be hard pressed to convert your Windows 10 S into something else.
Just to give you one example, it took a little sleuthing to figure out how to even access Google Docs (on Microsoft Edge). It seems like Microsoft has blacklisted any platform that is not Microsoft-based.
BUT, there is a secret ninja way of accessing your Google Drive files, but it takes a little work.
- Open your Edge browser.
- In the top right, click on the three dots, and then select Incognito Mode from the dropdown choices.
- Go to your Google Drive (log into Google and go to the Drive application).
- Work away on your Google Docs, Sheets, or whatever need to be done.
If you were to simply access Google Drive without Incognito mode, you can access your Drive, BUT you will not be able to access, create or initiate any new files.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 S’s control is a little too much control.
It might seem like a lawsuit is coming (they likely will pile up from other tech companies frustrated that their secure applications are not included on Windows 10 S’s secure list), but whatever happens, as of today you are very limited with Windows 10 S.
That means, if you are buying this computer for work and need custom software added to the machine or need a specific browser to access your CRM, you will not be a happy camper getting that out-of-the box computer off the Best Buy shelf.
Since Microsoft has the ability to approve only apps in its store, you are kind of limited to what you will do. That is good for those of you concerned that your teams might download questionable documents or applications, but overall, your blacklist strategy can be tailored other ways than simply through Windows curations.
Are there any benefits to Windows 10 S?
Putting ALL of the limitations aside, streamlining what can be used on your computer does streamline performance—in fact the startup in Window 10 S is three to four-times faster than that in Windows 10 Pro.
You also get to easily limit your kids or other users that need a little more guidance and discipline in their computer access to only what they need to get their jobs done. That might not be entirely a bad thing in many cases, but if you need specific configurations, Windows 10 S and the headaches to reconfigure your machine over after struggling with the operating system for a week and realizing you cannot live this way is not a good solution for you.
I bought a returned laptop last week. The reason for the return? They hated this new operating system and had no idea how to upgrade to simple Windows 10 (the less secure version).
There are ways to switch out of the S-mode.
Windows DOES give you the ability to upgrade to plain Windows 10 if the security is too much to stomach. BUT, if you commit to leaving Windows 10 S, there is NO WAY BACK!
You can switch to get out of Windows 10 S with no added fees, but once you’re out of the operating system, there’s no going back. It’s either commit to restricting your software or allowing anything on the machine (there is no operating system in between at this point).
What if you want to upgrade your Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 S?
This is also entirely possible—if you have teams that only use bare bones software, you may find Windows 10 S to be a better solution, but I’ve found in most cases, everyone uses applications that fall outside of Microsoft’s approved list of applications. (There are other ways to lock down your computer).
Trust in Microsoft’s new way?
Right now, it’s hard to hand over the keys to both your organization’s operations and security to one group. By adding more Microsoft process into your organization by doing it the Microsoft way, you may be constraining and limiting your abilities.
Security should still allow for usability and accessibility. If you are thinking about Windows 10 S, consider that thought before committing.
We know that a lot of people still have questions regarding the practicality of Windows 10 S mode. Hopefully, we have answered a few of your questions, and helped you decide whether or not it’s the right operating system for you.
