5 ms·

What Is Windows Lite? It's Microsoft's Chrome OS Killer

marsrover 8y ago
Someone needs to give Microsoft some Ritalin.
auslander 8y ago
Microsoft should consider running on Apple A12X too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A12X https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A12X
- zapzupnz 8y ago
  Apple's A, S, T, and W processors represent a significant competitive advantage (performance per watt, energy efficiency) in the mobile space; there'll be chilled water in Hell before Apple cedes that to anybody else, least of all Microsoft.
  - auslander 8y ago
    I mean desktop, not mobile, Windows Mobile is dead. MS is not hardware company, so why not make money on good product? And stick it to both, Quallcomm and Intel, they got bit nasty with their 3G and LTE patents :)
    - zapzupnz 8y ago
      Again, Apple won't be sharing their silicon with anybody, there's absolutely nothing in it for them to share their chips with their competitors.
      - auslander 8y ago
        It is selling chips. No need to share anything. All IP stays at Apple. Big $$$ just flow in, ok, agree to disagree.
        zapzupnz 8y ago
        Apple's business isn't selling chips, it's selling devices. If they're putting competitors' software on their chips, what advantage does that offer their own devices? None, aside from the OS, and that's never been Apple's value proposition; rather, it's the integration of hardware and software only possible by doing as much of both as possible, not by licensing. Therefore, "Agree to disagree" doesn't apply. It simply doesn't follow. Apple isn't a chip vendor; it makes chips as a form of competitive advantage. This isn't a matter of opinion.
type0 8y ago
Just what we all need, another chorome os, another siloed system. Soon you won't be able to buy and use a simple laptop without having the MS account.
- WalterGR 8y ago
  Then buy a simple laptop that isn’t one of these?
sneakernets 8y ago
Oh look, it's Windows CE all over again.
- lostmsu 8y ago
  I'd say Windows RT
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- type0 8y ago
  (Azure) Sphere OS Lite #!/bin\:C\Windows\System32 ???
r00fus 8y ago
Microsoft's way of fighting Chrome is by providing a Windows that won't run (most) Windows apps...
amanzi 8y ago
Apart from the stupid clickbait title, this is an interesting article. Not sure what it's like in other countries but here in NZ Chromebooks have become the de-facto education laptop/platform. But the underlying OS is almost the unimportant bit - the key is the Google Apps Education platform and how well it works for both students and teachers. Even if (and that's a big if) this Windows Lite OS was successful and managed to replace Chrome OS, I can't see how Microsoft will get schools to stop using Google Apps?
- zapzupnz 8y ago
  Source: I'm a digital technology teacher in NZ. The Ministry of Education and Microsoft have an arrangement whereby all public schools have free access to Office 365 for Education, including online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Teams as a replacement for Classroom; Forms as a replacement for … well, forms; PowerApps and Flow as a replacement for App Maker; and five free licences per student for the desktop and mobile versions of Office. To sweeten the deal, the revised deal that started this year also grants all schools free licences for Minecraft: Education Edition. This is pretty huge at the moment, since the zeitgeist is calling for learning through play, and Minecraft: Education Edition also includes some programming tools, useful for implementing the new Digital Technologies curriculum introduced this year and mandatory by 2020. Microsoft also provides free professional development to schools, including staff members and IT administrators. Schools that have always used Active Directory to store staff and student user credentials are supported in moving to Azure Active Directory, providing easier integration between user credentials and Office 365. So full, free replacements for G Suite; free Minecraft: Education Edition; free professional development, and the online version of Office 365 is just as usable on existing Chromebooks as any other device. On top of that, a lot of schools are moving to iPads, and the Office apps for iOS beat the Google Docs apps. Microsoft has a few tricks up its sleeves, to say the least.
  - amanzi 8y ago
    Ah - interesting. I'm curious to know how well the core apps stack up from the kids' perspectives. I watch my kids collaborating on slide decks with other kids and am amazed at what they come up with. My understanding is that the Office apps aren't as good for online collaboration, but perhaps the Education ones are more optimised for that?
boredishBoi 8y ago
If this new OS is focusing on PWAs and UWPs, then it makes sense that MS would can Edge for a chromium based browser.
jabwork 8y ago
Drat,I had hoped for another edition of this https://www.litepc.com/ https://www.litepc.com/ For the uninitiated this basically cranked your ability to uninstall windows components up to 11, allowing you to strip out IE and and get windows humming along quite well on antiquated hardware.
tracker1 8y ago
I think MS should probably just abandon the "Windows" moniker for this OS... call it XBox Laptop, hell "Surface Lite" would be a better name. No windows name as part of it at all. People have expectations with Windows, that it will run all their stuff... different brand would make it easier.
- thunderbong 8y ago
  It says so in the article
jtnews 8y ago
This article is missing one of ChromeOS's main advantages. Ease of management (provisioning, updating, installing software, group policy like configuration, etc). If MS doesn't address that then this will flop as bad as RT and S. I've seen Windows shops with entire teams dedicated to managing the Windows environment (not including break/fix) and I've seen environments with thousands of Chromebooks that are managed by one person (and that's not even a full time job). MS is making some progress with Azue AD and InTune, but it's not there yet. Hopefully, by time this comes out they will have those other pieces better refined so it can all come together.
rasz 8y ago
a lot like Windows RT, UWP apps = dead in the water, hopefully
glenrivard 8y ago
MS is honestly going to try again? Some things you throw in the towel and just accept you lost.

Someone needs to give Microsoft some Ritalin.

Microsoft should consider running on Apple A12X too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A12X https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A12X

zapzupnz 8y ago
Apple's A, S, T, and W processors represent a significant competitive advantage (performance per watt, energy efficiency) in the mobile space; there'll be chilled water in Hell before Apple cedes that to anybody else, least of all Microsoft.
- auslander 8y ago
  I mean desktop, not mobile, Windows Mobile is dead. MS is not hardware company, so why not make money on good product? And stick it to both, Quallcomm and Intel, they got bit nasty with their 3G and LTE patents :)
  - zapzupnz 8y ago
    Again, Apple won't be sharing their silicon with anybody, there's absolutely nothing in it for them to share their chips with their competitors.
    - auslander 8y ago
      It is selling chips. No need to share anything. All IP stays at Apple. Big $$$ just flow in, ok, agree to disagree.
      - zapzupnz 8y ago
        Apple's business isn't selling chips, it's selling devices. If they're putting competitors' software on their chips, what advantage does that offer their own devices? None, aside from the OS, and that's never been Apple's value proposition; rather, it's the integration of hardware and software only possible by doing as much of both as possible, not by licensing. Therefore, "Agree to disagree" doesn't apply. It simply doesn't follow. Apple isn't a chip vendor; it makes chips as a form of competitive advantage. This isn't a matter of opinion.

type0 8y ago

Just what we all need, another chorome os, another siloed system. Soon you won't be able to buy and use a simple laptop without having the MS account.

WalterGR 8y ago
Then buy a simple laptop that isn’t one of these?

sneakernets 8y ago

Oh look, it's Windows CE all over again.

lostmsu 8y ago
I'd say Windows RT
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
type0 8y ago
(Azure) Sphere OS Lite #!/bin\:C\Windows\System32 ???

r00fus 8y ago

Microsoft's way of fighting Chrome is by providing a Windows that won't run (most) Windows apps...

amanzi 8y ago

Apart from the stupid clickbait title, this is an interesting article. Not sure what it's like in other countries but here in NZ Chromebooks have become the de-facto education laptop/platform. But the underlying OS is almost the unimportant bit - the key is the Google Apps Education platform and how well it works for both students and teachers. Even if (and that's a big if) this Windows Lite OS was successful and managed to replace Chrome OS, I can't see how Microsoft will get schools to stop using Google Apps?

zapzupnz 8y ago
Source: I'm a digital technology teacher in NZ. The Ministry of Education and Microsoft have an arrangement whereby all public schools have free access to Office 365 for Education, including online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Teams as a replacement for Classroom; Forms as a replacement for … well, forms; PowerApps and Flow as a replacement for App Maker; and five free licences per student for the desktop and mobile versions of Office. To sweeten the deal, the revised deal that started this year also grants all schools free licences for Minecraft: Education Edition. This is pretty huge at the moment, since the zeitgeist is calling for learning through play, and Minecraft: Education Edition also includes some programming tools, useful for implementing the new Digital Technologies curriculum introduced this year and mandatory by 2020. Microsoft also provides free professional development to schools, including staff members and IT administrators. Schools that have always used Active Directory to store staff and student user credentials are supported in moving to Azure Active Directory, providing easier integration between user credentials and Office 365. So full, free replacements for G Suite; free Minecraft: Education Edition; free professional development, and the online version of Office 365 is just as usable on existing Chromebooks as any other device. On top of that, a lot of schools are moving to iPads, and the Office apps for iOS beat the Google Docs apps. Microsoft has a few tricks up its sleeves, to say the least.
- amanzi 8y ago
  Ah - interesting. I'm curious to know how well the core apps stack up from the kids' perspectives. I watch my kids collaborating on slide decks with other kids and am amazed at what they come up with. My understanding is that the Office apps aren't as good for online collaboration, but perhaps the Education ones are more optimised for that?

boredishBoi 8y ago

If this new OS is focusing on PWAs and UWPs, then it makes sense that MS would can Edge for a chromium based browser.

jabwork 8y ago

Drat,I had hoped for another edition of this https://www.litepc.com/ https://www.litepc.com/ For the uninitiated this basically cranked your ability to uninstall windows components up to 11, allowing you to strip out IE and and get windows humming along quite well on antiquated hardware.

tracker1 8y ago

I think MS should probably just abandon the "Windows" moniker for this OS... call it XBox Laptop, hell "Surface Lite" would be a better name. No windows name as part of it at all. People have expectations with Windows, that it will run all their stuff... different brand would make it easier.

thunderbong 8y ago
It says so in the article

jtnews 8y ago

This article is missing one of ChromeOS's main advantages. Ease of management (provisioning, updating, installing software, group policy like configuration, etc). If MS doesn't address that then this will flop as bad as RT and S. I've seen Windows shops with entire teams dedicated to managing the Windows environment (not including break/fix) and I've seen environments with thousands of Chromebooks that are managed by one person (and that's not even a full time job). MS is making some progress with Azue AD and InTune, but it's not there yet. Hopefully, by time this comes out they will have those other pieces better refined so it can all come together.

rasz 8y ago

a lot like Windows RT, UWP apps = dead in the water, hopefully

glenrivard 8y ago

MS is honestly going to try again? Some things you throw in the towel and just accept you lost.