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Microsoft actually makes the version of Windows that people want, but it’s called LTSC and they really don’t want you to have it. No bloat, no ads, no forced o
by transcriptase 3y ago
Microsoft actually makes the version of Windows that people want, but it’s called LTSC and they really don’t want you to have it.
No bloat, no ads, no forced or feature updates, optional security patches only, virtually nothing installed by default, and minimal telemetry.
- siva7 3y agoSounds like Windows 2000.
- tiffanyh 3y agoThis, plus - there use to be a program Microsoft had for PC manufacturers that certified the manufacturer (like Dell) hadn't install bloat on it either before selling it to you. I can't recall the name of that Windows version, but it was hugely appealing for the technical minded while it lasted - because it was basically like getting LTSC from Dell/HP/Lenovo (without you having to do the install yourself).
- nolongerthere 3y agoSignature edition
- jessriedel 3y agoIt's only $110. How do they discourage people from using it?
- DANmode 3y agoLink to where you can secure one of these licenses?
- malfist 3y agoBusiness only with a minimum of 5 licenses
- DANmode 3y agoI think I'm okay with that. Anyone looking to become a cofounder, with the first order of business being to go in on a pack of LTSC licenses?
- diggan 3y agoLast time I checked, you cannot purchase it as an individual, has to be as a business. And you cannot just purchase one license.
- jessriedel 3y agoAhh got it, thanks!
- toyg 3y agoThis is so stupid. Why leave money on the table? Do they really make more in ads per install than $110...? I doubt it.
- anticensor 3y agoCash can only be spent once. Information can be spent repeatedly.
- senectus1 3y agoit lacks a bunch of multimedia stuff. Works fine for a terminal or workstation with a simple handful of apps, but not much chop for the multimedia rich world we live in.
- logifail 3y ago> Microsoft actually makes the version of Windows that people want, but it’s called LTSC and they really don’t want you to have it. Of the devices that still run Windows in our home, all but one of them run some version of LTSC. > No bloat, no ads, no forced updates, virtually nothing installed by default, and minimal telemetry. No Store, no Cortana, no Edge. What's not to like? ;)
- voidfunc 3y agoWhy run Windows at that point? I'm a hybrid person. I run Linux for my work and dev OS and Windows for gaming and day to day shenanigans. If you're just going to strip Windows down to this weird broken minimal thing tho why not just use Linux full time and get a PS5/Xbox for the AAA games you can't run under Linux. I dont really get the point of the effort people go through trying to make Microsoft products something they're not.
- charlieyu1 3y agoThere are still many things that could only run on Windows. That people need to use for their job. Otherwise I can see a lot more people switching to Linux.
- logifail 3y ago> this weird broken minimal thing Windows LTSC isn't broken, or minimal... it's LTS! It's stable and more likely to remain so. > the point of the effort Installing LTSC takes exactly as long as installing any other version of Windows 10. Although maybe there are slightly fewer nag screens, and post-install it's much, much easier to support as there are no unnecessary feature upgrades. > I run Linux for my work For what it's worth, the Linux:Windows install ratio in the home is something like 2:1, although if we start counting VMs then it's more like 5:1
- mewpmewp2 3y agoI don't like playing on PS5 or Xbox, neither am I looking for specifically AAA games. Having both Linux and Windows messes with muscle memory unless you have found a way to get them to behave exactly the same.
- dijit 3y agoWith the risk of linking to 4chan; there is a /g/ guide to how to navigate Windows and it recommends exactly this.[0] However: I do not publicly endorse software piracy, and so do not recommend using this guide; legitimate LTSC licenses are only possible to come by for Businesses with a minimum spend of 5 licenses.[1] :( [0]: https://boards.4chan.org/g/thread/98121318 https://boards.4chan.org/g/thread/98121318 [1]: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do-i-purchase-windows-10-ltsc/2f4cd7ee-422e-4c40-b70b-18372c5518dd https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do...
- haunter 3y agoIt's literally on archive.org, just download the ISO and you can activate it with MAS MS doesn't care about piracy at all. They'd rather let you pirate it than losing you by switching to Linux or Mac
- tourmalinetaco 3y agoExactly. They don’t make (as much) money off of individuals buying licenses, the real dough is in bulk business licensing. And businesses want to do that in part because of the unparalleled software accessibility. The more people that use Windows, pirated or not, the more demand there is for Windows software, which locks enterprise customers in.
- squarefoot 3y agoTrue. Also, people using pirated Windows make anyway a critical mass where legit users can find someone to ask for help. Microsoft doesn't care about piracy as long as regular users know more people that would help them with Windows than for example with Linux. If tomorrow all users of pirated Windows OS and related software would magically migrate to Linux, the monetary loss for Microsoft would be zero, but more legit users might be incentivized to switch away from it because of the sudden raise in Linux knowledge around them. I'm sure Microsoft would be absolutely terrified by such scenario. And then there's user profiling and advertising, which works also on pirated copies, but that's another story.
- baz00 3y agoIt used to be the OS I want. They cut the 10 years LT support to 5 years.
- haunter 3y agoThe IoT version (which is virtually the same as the non-IoT version) is supported for 10 years, currently until 2032. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/iot/iot-enterprise/whats-new/windows-iot-enterprise-ltsc https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/iot/iot-enterprise...
- steve1977 3y agoSo it’s the NSLTSC now… the not-so-long-term servicing channel…
- Nextgrid 3y agoLTSC cuts down on the user-hostility but the quality of the OS is still terrible - it doesn't fix features that have intentionally been broken/removed/replaced by a half-assed knockoff. You still have the terrible/broken start menu search, useless mobile-themed control panel (which often doesn't have what you want so you end up falling back to the real control panel anyway), etc.
- AshamedCaptain 3y agoNot to mention that everything that depends on an MS account (like the Store) is broken, and these days even adding a second keyboard layout post-installation requires "downloading features from the store".
- wredue 3y agoI don’t think it’s a problem to need to download extra keyboard layouts tbh, especially in a smaller image.
- hakfoo 3y agoI think the point is more that "OS Components" - updates, drivers, optional components-- are an entirely different universe than "third-party and purchasable content", which is what you'd expect the "store" to focus on. They should not be using basic OS features as a wedge to make sure you open that precious Store icon and log in. Nobody wants that, and the only person who needs it is some mid-manager at Microsoft whose bonus is tied to store numbers.
- hadrien01 3y agoThe Store doesn't require an account for free apps or updates.
- AshamedCaptain 3y agoThere is no store whatsoever. Anything that requires the store simply freezes.
- pstuart 3y agoThis is great to know. I'm forced to do some development that's Windows specific but I just need core OS and none of the apps/bloat. In some ways MS still impresses me (WSL, VSCode) but in so many other ways I'm in awe of how bad the Windows experience is. Case in point: try to do some sort of OS config change and get an opaque hex error code. That's it. Google it and pray. Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/979/ https://xkcd.com/979/
- mike256 3y agoOk if I'd like to buy 5 licenses instead of the one I need or do you know any legal way to get just one single PC with Windows 10 LTSC?
- hyperman1 3y agoIn the EU it is legal to buy a second hand software license. I presume you can buy one from these. I did a quick search, but all of them seem to ask you to contact them for a quote. They claim 50-70% price reductions.
- wkat4242 3y agoIt's not as great as it used to be. Yes it doesn't randomly reboot for updates and it doesn't come with all the crap. But it still enforces the same telemetry choices (a lot or a bit less). It even tried to make me use a Microsoft account just like regular windows :( It's alright but not amazing like the old LTSB was in the days of Windows 7.
- janice1999 3y agoDo modern GPU drivers install okay on LTSC? Would it be suitable for CUDA/PyTorch etc with NVidia graphics?
- zamadatix 3y agoYeah you can install the same Nvidia driver and it runs the same. It's particularly non-problematic if you stay on the latest LTSC, in which case you're only ever about 2-3 years out from bleeding edge anyways. Beyond that it's usually non-problematic with the caveat the features your OS supports may not remain aligned with the latest features the driver supports. Nothing that should impact AI acceleration (that I've noticed) but just something to keep in mind.
- NikkiA 3y agoThe enterprise edition of 22H2 is probably a better bet compatibility wise atm.
- johann8384 3y agoI think you can remove most of the bloatware with autoattend.xml installation: reg delete HKU\default\software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v OneDriveSetup /f Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -AllUsers -Online Microsoft.Microsoft3DViewer Microsoft.WindowsCalculator Microsoft.WindowsCamera Clipchamp.Clipchamp Microsoft.WindowsAlarms Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub Microsoft.GetHelp Microsoft.WindowsMaps Microsoft.ZuneVideo Microsoft.BingNews Microsoft.WindowsNotepad Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub Microsoft.Office.OneNote Microsoft.Paint Microsoft.MSPaint Microsoft.People Microsoft.Windows.Photos Microsoft.PowerAutomateDesktop MicrosoftCorporationII.QuickAssist Microsoft.SkypeApp Microsoft.ScreenSketch Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes Microsoft.Getstarted Microsoft.Todos Microsoft.WindowsSoundRecorder Microsoft.BingWeather Microsoft.ZuneMusic Microsoft.WindowsTerminal Microsoft.Xbox.TCUI Microsoft.XboxApp Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider Microsoft.XboxSpeechToTextOverlay Microsoft.GamingApp Microsoft.YourPhone