Saturday, July 30, 2016

Microsoft angers some by removing ability to disable Store from Windows 10 Pro AU

store

One of Microsoft's priorities with Windows 10 is promoting engagement with the Windows Store and Universal Windows Apps, but there are some situations where the Store is less than welcome.

One example would be in the work setting, where companies may prefer not to pay their employees to play Candy Crush Saga and any number of apps and games which can be downloaded from the Windows Store.

Until now IT professionals could use Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Pro to disable access to the Store and  variety of Windows 10 features designed to promote Universal Windows Apps, such as the included games such as Candy Crush Saga.

Now gHacks.net reports that Microsoft has removed this feature from gpedit for Windows 10 Pro users, reserving it for Enterprise, Education, and Server SKUs.

The change is confirmed by a page on Technet, with the table below:

policies

Of course it could be argued that if you are managing your own PC there is really no need to disable the Store from yourself, and if you are managing the PCs of other users you should be buying an enterprise license (minimum 5 seats).

It is nevertheless a change to the features of a version of the software which would often have cost more than $200 before the "free" update, and with the recent removal of the ability to easily disable Cortana does give the impression that Microsoft wants to move users to their new money-making ecosystem (Bing ad revenue and 30% cut from apps) with little consideration for the wishes of users who want things to remain much the same as they were before.

What do our readers think of this latest move? Could our readers imagine a time in the future where Microsoft disables the desktop except from Enterprise users? Let us know below.



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