4 ms·

LTSC, surprised the post doesn't mention that. No forced feature updates, no unnecessary preinstalled apps. I'm using them for years without any problems. There

• Melatonic 4mo ago
  There's even Win 11 LTSC although I have yet to test it
• nairboon 4mo ago
  > Yes you can't get it legally as a regular end user That's why it's not mentioned, it's not a product for "normal users", the audience described in the post.
  • Melatonic 4mo ago
    You can get it legally. Just gotta find a smaller VAR and convince them to sell you a single seat for testing purposes
    • jasomill 4mo ago
      It's not cheap, but getting it legally is easy, and you don't need a VAR. Specifically, you can buy a single-seat Microsoft 365 E3 subscription directly from Microsoft for $432/year, which includes a license for a single user to use Windows Enterprise, including LTSC, on up to 5 PCs (along with other stuff, mainly Office). https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/e3 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/e3 (click "try for free")
  • haunter 4mo ago
    But that's also kind of the point too: Windows Lite exists but MSFT is "gatkeeping" it to enterprise users only. Probably because they are paying for it.
    • CamperBob2 4mo ago
      Not even enterprise customers are allowed to use LTSC. Only hardware OEMs. It's asinine. They could charge $1000+ for LTSC licenses, but my data and digital sovereignty is apparently worth even more to them.
      • wjnc 4mo ago
        Economically, you would probably be the only customer (stated willingness to pay can differ from market outcome ;) paying that amount. Your stated willingness to pay has little relation to the true value of our data and digital sovereignty to Microsoft. A funny estimate is possible though. MSFT 2750 G$ market cap and 550 M business users. That’s 5 k$ per user. Grossly misrepresenting everything (AI bubble, other cashflows, …) but it is a ‘directionally right’.
        • aaronsung 4mo ago
          Indeed there are much more customers than you could imagine in the non-profit/ government sectors paying for that. There are a lot of compliance regulations regarding to data governance that force them to use a clean and lite LTSC version of Windows.
          • CamperBob2 4mo ago
            Complete BS. No one is using LTSC outside of embedded applications.
      • VitalKoshalew 4mo ago
        That's incorrect. Windows LTSC rights are included into Windows Enterprise E3 subscription as well as a VL (EA, MPSA etc.) perpetual license. [1] 1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/windows-licensing https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/windows-...
• pdntspa 4mo ago
  Yeah but who gets that legally
  • okanat 4mo ago
    Businesses with volume licensing agreements and Kiosk manufacturers can get the licenses pretty easy. Then can even negotiate a lower cost per device.
  • deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
• martin_a 4mo ago
  Do these versions get regular updates or are they expected to run on air-gapped machines so nobody really has to take care of them?
  • haunter 4mo ago
    Yes but no feature updates, so for example LTSC 2021 is "stuck" on 21H2 from 2021. But it gets the regular security and bugfix updates, last one was June 9th See here (Enterprise and IoT Enterprise LTSB/LTSC editions): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/release-information https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/rel...
    • jeffrallen 4mo ago
      No feature updates sounds like a feature these days. It's why I use a crappy old Debian install too.
    • pipes 4mo ago
      Genuine question , what does that mean, stuck on what from 2021? Compared to? Thanks :)
      • haunter 4mo ago
        Will never get the final feature update (22H2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history#Version_22H2_(2022_Update) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history#Ver... Technically it can break some apps if they are hard coded to only work with 22H2. Probably happens with some video games and anti cheat software ("always needs the latest update") There is a Windows 11 LTSC version which works the same.
        • pipes 4mo ago
          Thanks. Did some googling too and it makes sense just one thing, what does "There is a Windows 11 LTSC version which works the same." Mean?
• pipes 4mo ago
  I'm using ltsc windows 11 and yes it is much better than one of my other pcs which has pro on it. However I did use windows 10 ltsc for quite a few years until I hit a dll issue with an old game that turned out to be unresolvable as far as I could tell at the time. So much so I switched to pro (I have a work visual studio subscription so I have access to all versions of windows for free). I can't for the life of me remember what dll or what game it was. But I tend to play older games so probably not something many will hit the same problem.
  • Tarsul 4mo ago
    Star Wars Episode 1 Racer stopped working once I updated my Win10 to Win10 LTSC. (have enough games that do work, so I will not change again until 2032 or rather until Steam discontinues Win10 support)
  • MarkSweep 4mo ago
    I wonder if they don’t include all the application compatibility stuff in LTSC. It would be a good way to make the version work for its intended purpose (as part of a larger appliance or industrial tool with purpose built software), while making it much less useful for ordinary purposes.
• hyperman1 4mo ago
  In the EU, anyone can legally get a second hand LTSC license. See e.g. https://en.windowsnoticias.com/Where-to-get-cheap-and-official-Windows-11-licenses/ https://en.windowsnoticias.com/Where-to-get-cheap-and-offici...