Posted May 07, 2017
PookaMustard: However, restricting Win32 support to Pro would boil the hellstew for Microsoft the moment they do it. Home users like me are going to lose a feature that they paid for (dare I say it's the entire reason to purchase at least Windows Home), and that just means bad rep for them more than what they already have on hand. Windows 10 S makes sense on those really low end tablets, but not anything higher especially if you can switch to Pro.
While I doubt they would kill the Home edition if you own it already, not offering for sale is a possibility in the future as well as not offering it to for OEM. Just Windows 10 S and Pro/Enterprise. PookaMustard: I assume these are the kinds of people who would pay for a cheap device that caters to their casual web browsing and Word without all the advanced features, which the Windows 10 S really make great sense of but not with the pricetags being put on its primary runner.
Sure is, but those people will be more inclined to install things in the store and not install things that aren't (because they can't if on Windows 10 S). So not specifically talking about gaming, but apps in general... may end up needing to be in the store as a necessity down the road to which if paid MS gets a cut off. Yes but the games as far as I am aware aren't all UWP, I believe that will be standard on Scorpio...
PookaMustard: However, it's not as easy as you seem to think it is. The home users can be swayed with their amazing ability to be convinced if you do something against them over a long time rather than in the time it would take to complete a slap. Business users however are not easily swayed, and they're the lion's share of Windows customers. Games and applications from the Store don't really fill their needs well. Their complex systems that have a lot going for and requires sophisticated software are not something Microsoft can easily cover with their Store. In fact, it's more profitable to keep Win32 support especially for business users and offer them support for everything, Win32 applications included. After all, they're the main reason why Windows has a robust compatibility even after a two decades worth of messily coded programs that do not stand the test of time.
So even if Home users give in to this, Business users will refuse it. So the only way Microsoft can do anything about Win32 is by diverting attention to the Store as much as possible without changing the guts of the OS, or they'll lose more customers, and thus, more money than they actually seek.
I was referring to home users more than businesses, having to get the Enterprise or hell even Pro versions of Windows isn't something that is common for home users, and companies like Steam/GOG won't find much of a market there. So while sure you can get one of these versions to continue to play your win32 applications, finding future non-UWP applications, especially for non-business purposes may become impossible. So even if Home users give in to this, Business users will refuse it. So the only way Microsoft can do anything about Win32 is by diverting attention to the Store as much as possible without changing the guts of the OS, or they'll lose more customers, and thus, more money than they actually seek.
It won't be easy sure, but MS has shown they are more than willing to play the long game... they will even continue to restrict future API's to UWP that developers will have to use UWP in-order to get access too. See DirectX 12 and button rumbling on Xbox controllers which is exclusive to UWP. This will get worse, it's a given.
PookaMustard: Now in the case they finally phase out Win32 in a way that's acceptable, there will still be UWP alternatives that are not related to the store. You can already sideload .appx files without going through the store. Try it with Universal Emulator, an app that was removed from the Store. If such sites are to surface and gain popularity, it wouldn't be long before Microsoft's cuts get eaten into. In other words, there will be competitors. How will Microsoft act after that?
That doesn't work in Windows 10 S from my understanding, If it not signed by the windows store you can't use it. So even if someone created a non-Store version using UWP, you could not install it on Windows 10 S. Of course we will have to wait until it's actually released to confirm this, but that is what on was told when I posed the question on a Windows 10 sub.Post edited May 07, 2017 by BKGaming