Its rapidly becoming the case that the enterprise edition is the 'new' pro edition.
Whereas with XP through 8, I just wanted to have pro to be able to run my own IIS, accept incoming RDP, not have to deal with the idiot simplified user permissions etc, with win8 pro came hyperV... etc In each case, Home edition was awful, while Pro was a good OS.
With 7/8 Enterprise has some extra bitlocker stuff I think? And the VLA license management features that only an enterprise would need.
But with 10, "pro" is garbage too, and all the features I actually want are now in Enterprise edition. (Turn off telemetry, more control over windows update, Edge in a Virtual Machine...)
So im coming to the conclusion that us 'power users' that until now always wanted pro should now be looking for the enterprise edition.
Of course enterprise is currently a lot more expensive than pro, with recurring subscription fees.
But this is looking to be the carrot and stick approach; (and mostly for businesses -- us power users are just caught in the middle of it.) Home users are being corralled into Windows 10 Home (and Pro at this point is really just Home+) where their updates are managed and theyre expected to be all appy and cloudy and monitored with telemetry.
While businesses (and people) who need to get shit done, and don't want their windows computers scheduling an update before an important meeting, and don't want to send telemetry to redmond,etc, etc... (i.e. people like me) -- should be using enterprise.
Us power users should be looking to use enterprise. (Assuming as always that we wish to use windows at all, which in my case at least, while I love my linux -- I am not interested in the huge compromises necessary to make it my primary desktop.
Ah but Windows 10 Enterprise is nasty for individuals to get a hold of what with Microsoft VLAs and the byzantine and downright hostile Software Assuarance licensing crapola.
So when I read about something like this...
Windows 10 Enterprise E3 / 7$ seat / month. And it sounds like its being aimed to be run like office 365... suddenly things start to come into focus...
http://www.pcworld.com/article...
" It's worth highlighting, though, that a business of one employee can take advantage of it, however. "
Interesting right!? (I mean yeah, this is /. so the pitchforks are out in force... and I should switch to linux everything... but think about it rationally...)
There is going to be the non-recurring windows 10 home edition and the home+ (aka pro), the spyware adware versions. And there is going to be Windows 10 enterprise, the only one businesses and power users will want but at $7/seat/month.
So If one seat of Enterprise really is per user? and I can put it on my desktop, laptop, and a couple hyperv virtual desktops like i can Microsoft office... all for 84/year... and I can turn off automatic updates and do them when i want, and I can turn off telemetry...
On the one hand... ugh... rent seeking subscription -- the business model for companies who really can't compellingly improve there product but still want the same revenue they were getting when each release was a must-have. And yeah.. Windows has reached that point I guess. "XP does all I need" people are still all over the place.
On the other hand... $7/month for an actual good windows user experience with the kind of control I want over it, with continual support in the form of antivirus and security updates...ok... I'm listening.
