I think they're headed in the right direction by unifying everything 'under the hood' and working to isolate/sandbox Win32 applications.
They are falling into the trap of offering far too many different versions of Windows again though.
It's good that they are killing off Windows 10S and making it "S Mode" that can be activated on any edition of Windows, but I don't like that they split up Pro into two SKUs with the "Pro for Workstations" edition.
I can't say that I've had any issues with updates, but I don't have any Home editions of Windows 10, and my understanding is that it gives you very few options to manage them.
That is a good thing overall, since people are terrible about updating if given the choice, as they don't properly understand the risks of not updating until it's too late.
Microsoft need to be better about not forcing systems to restart while people are doing work or have left something processing overnight. If that happens even once, those people start trying to do whatever they can to permanently disable updates altogether.
I really like the idea of Windows 10 S Mode. From what I've seen, it's an edition of Windows that I would actually be comfortable letting family members use.
Until now, I've told them all that they need to buy Macs and iOS devices if they expect to get any support from me because I don't want to be dealing with someone else's Windows or Android devices.
That said, I'd probably still recommend Apple devices from a hardware point of view - they're generally very reliable and parts are widely available (if expensive) for many years. You could maybe still get Thinkpad parts for a decade-old system like you can with Apple hardware, but I wouldn't expect that for anything else like a cheap Acer device etc.
I don't know if it would be possible, but I would suggest looking into offering a version of Media Center and/or a remote on the Microsoft Store. Something like Panel as a PWA could be interesting.
For desktop to be dead (and Windows with it) there must be suitable replacement ... and frankly what we have now doesn’t ... you still need keyboard and mouse to do lots of stuff as other mentioned it.
It's dead for home users outside of gamers and other enthusiasts/hobbyists.
Everyone users their phone now, and
maybe a tablet, but tablets are dying too.
FYI : "Windows 10 Pro for Workstations" is an "upgrade" option in the Windows Store and it just unlocks some features like ReFS, Persistent Memory, SMB Direct, and support for up to 4 CPUs and 6TB of RAM. When I did the "upgrade" nothing was downloaded, just features enabled. Reminds me of the old IBM Golden Screwdriver approach.
It's also an OEM license for one machine. It does not give you a license tied to your account that you can use for all of your machines, like everything else sold in the store.
We are also seeing the rise of embedded systems for media consumption in TVs, STB that I see will rival the role of the HTPC. Why have a HTPC and all the hassle it involves when the TV has Netflix, YouTube, Spotify etc built in? Most users don't care that the quality is crap VS a HTPC.... It just works.
I was having a conversation about UHD BD using a HTPC (MC) or HW Player vs Netflix 4K on the TV. It was utterly lost on the other party that the UHD rips are some 10x+ the bitrate. They just don't care. Netflix is "4K!" and easy. MC (and HTPC) will continue to be an enthusiasts market.
This is why I think it's important for Media Center to become more focused on search and making it easy to launch media rather than file browsing, and why mobile apps/streaming are more important than ever.
It's not comparable to a UHD disc, but 4K streaming keeps getting better. I hear very good things about Apple's 4K HDR offerings even from people that would typically buy discs.
I know a lot of people with huge Blu-ray libraries that don't own or plan to buy a UHD player.
Everyone I know streams music instead of buying it now, and wouldn't even think of having a music library to manage. They're all very content that they don't have to deal with iTunes/Winamp any more.
And don't get me started on the countless privacy issues Windows 10 has with its telemetry and how incredibly difficult it is to disable it.
Trying to disable it is often the source of many problems, and 1803 has to be GDPR compliant, which should in theory mean that you won't have to be concerned as long as the telemetry is on 'basic'. Their use of telemetry/cloud data is how Windows Defender has improved so drastically since Windows 10 launched.
