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Does anyone have any info on Microsoft Windows 10 Pro for Workstations


mapman1071

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Does anyone have any info on Microsoft Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, I got a News Story from The Windows Club in my inbox that this NEW edition would be available With the FALL Creators Update Last Month 10/2017. How could this be a update if this a NEW Product or is this edition a replacement fro PRO? http://news.thewindowsclub.com/windows-10-pro-for-workstations-90418/

Edited by mapman1071
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It is an additional product to try to get end users to be buying the correct edition. Microsoft likes to be able to control how computers are purchased, or their configurations. In the market there are go-between systems called workstations. Not to be funny! :D

ODMs make Desktop, Workstation and Server boards. Usually these Workstation boards get tested and supported for the Desktop OS and the Server OS, at least for storage and network drivers. But there was no Windows Edition aimed at these products. I think that this is what that is meant for. Microsoft also would like to stop people from purchasing mis-matched configuration, which is common. Desktop boards (and sometimes even notebooks) with Server OS, or a Server board with a desktop OS. This OS is being sold with the idea that it will be installed onto system with a Xeon or Opteron CPU.

I don't know about any other channels, everything I read says that it is available as a pre-installed OS with new computer purchase from an OEM.

There appears to be a method to get Windows 10 Pro for Workstations through Windows Update, but I am unsure of how you can tell if your PC is elligible for such a thing. Besides having the required CPU, there is also a mention of possibly getting it from the Microsoft Store (the one in Windows, not the brick and mortar, wtg MS having 2 different things with the same name)... there seems to be very specific situations where this would work. I'd have to say the details of this are not for the public, so you'll have to wait and see if MS or some other website publishes this info. It really looks like this could only work on a PC purchased from an OEM (royalty, not System Builder) fairly recently, so that the PC shipped with 1709 installed and has a Xeon or Opteron CPU.

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Well, historically the good MS guys failed at it (after the re-unification with XP), but you seem like more in a conspiracy theory than anything else, there is an official announcement (in late August):

https://blogs.windows.com/business/2017/08/10/microsoft-announces-windows-10-pro-workstations/

(which BTW also explains why they are ripping away ReFS from "normal" Windows ;))

Basically new machines with the "right" kind of processor will be sold with the new "higher end OS", those with same level hardware can buy an upgrade, see:

https://www.uk.insight.com/en-gb/shop/microsoft/software/microsoft-windows/microsoft-windows-10-pro

In a nutshell it is IMHO not about "Microsoft also would like to stop people from purchasing mis-matched configuration, which is common." but more "How can we extract a few more bucks from either the OEM or the final user in exchange of next to nothing".

jaclaz

 

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Yes of course! But there is some bonus, from the pricing info I've seen, the price of the lower end version is cheaper than "Desktop Pro" if you have 4 cores or less... Or is it 3 cores or less. It is written in a way where 4 cores is not accounted for, only as <4 and >4 with no use of the ≥ or ≤ characters. :crazy:

There is also the ability to use this with 4 physical CPUs, so that's a thing.

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23 minutes ago, Tripredacus said:

Yes of course! But there is some bonus, from the pricing info I've seen, the price of the lower end version is cheaper than "Desktop Pro" if you have 4 cores or less... Or is it 3 cores or less. It is written in a way where 4 cores is not accounted for, only as <4 and >4 with no use of the ≥ or ≤ characters. :crazy:

There is also the ability to use this with 4 physical CPUs, so that's a thing.

Still, it is the same, usual bull§hit from MS marketing department, that contributes only to confuse users/customers and allow the existence of (highly paid) third party consultants.

Four main cases

1) Do you have a server? Go for a Server OS.

2) Do you have a desktop or "full size" laptop? Go for a desktop OS.

3) Do you have a tablet or touch netbook? Go for a tablet OS.

4) Do you have a smartphone? Go for a smartphone OS.

The good MS guys tried initially to convey the idea that one single OS was good for #2, #3 and #4, then they removed #4 altogether (and all the related bull§hit, including the "Continuum" experience) and now, while all the rest of the world easily understood that #2 and #3 are NOT the same thing, they insist that #2 and #3 are the same thing, BUT that #2 should be divided in #2a, #2b and #2c ....

jaclaz

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48 minutes ago, jaclaz said:

The good MS guys tried initially to convey the idea that one single OS was good for #2, #3 and #4, then they removed #4 altogether (and all the related bull§hit, including the "Continuum" experience) and now, while all the rest of the world easily understood that #2 and #3 are NOT the same thing, they insist that #2 and #3 are the same thing, BUT that #2 should be divided in #2a, #2b and #2c ....

This whole thing with the processors we can think perhaps started with even earlier OSes like NT where they have 1 cpu and 2 cpu versions... But this model is more closely following a different trend. Whereas in NT the their different editions were actual different software, in this it is not different software. It is only "licensing" differences. They have been doing this for some time with the Embedded (IoT) products. In that there are 3 different branches, similar to that of Enterprise with LTSB, CBB and CB, where LTSB and CBB are the same software but CB is different. And then on top of that, for each they have 3 additional licenses that are based on processor. A low end for Atoms and Celerons, a mid range for i3-i5 and a high end for i7-i9 (and their AMD equivalents)... Yet even with all those licensing options, there is only 2 different software packages per "build", 2015 or 2016 which cross to say 1511 and 1607 on the desktop side.

So I think they were piloting this licensing model in the Embedded channel for some time and now this is the first instance of it showing up in the Retail channel.

But, as far as I can tell at this time, the software itself doesn't care about the CPU... Because the point right now is all of these different options can only be purchased through an OEM or Embedded Partner, and are not available to end users or enterprise clients. So for now, it is quite transparent to end users but I wonder if some day MS is going to actually enforce locking the license to specific CPUs. We know they have already tested that type of technology with Windows 10 not being able to update on older CPUs.

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4 hours ago, Tripredacus said:

Whereas in NT the their different editions were actual different software, in this it is not different software. It is only "licensing" differences.

Oww, come on :) , they were so much different that a few hex edits changed the one into the other, you talk like you never knew that NTtune, NTSwitch or TweakNT existed.

Don't worry, all links to the tools are invalid now:

http://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-upgrade-server.html

And differences from XP Home and XP Professional? (I mean the missing security tab/SCM which could be enabled by using a NT 4.x freely downloadable from ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/ :dubbio:)

Now from XP to Server 2003 they actually made some differences, but then how much different is XP64 from Server 2003 64 bit?

And don't forget all the stupid memory accessible artificially limited in Vista and later ....

jaclaz

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5 hours ago, jaclaz said:

Still, it is the same, usual bull§hit from MS marketing department, that contributes only to confuse users/customers and allow the existence of (highly paid) third party consultants.

Four main cases

1) Do you have a server? Go for a Server OS.

2) Do you have a desktop or "full size" laptop? Go for a desktop OS.

3) Do you have a tablet or touch netbook? Go for a tablet OS.

4) Do you have a smartphone? Go for a smartphone OS.

The good MS guys tried initially to convey the idea that one single OS was good for #2, #3 and #4, then they removed #4 altogether (and all the related bull§hit, including the "Continuum" experience) and now, while all the rest of the world easily understood that #2 and #3 are NOT the same thing, they insist that #2 and #3 are the same thing, BUT that #2 should be divided in #2a, #2b and #2c ....

jaclaz

What About #5? Have you forgotten cross-design of UWP apps for Xbox One. :>

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23 hours ago, jaclaz said:
On 15. 11. 2017 at 5:24 PM, Tripredacus said:

Whereas in NT the their different editions were actual different software, in this it is not different software. It is only "licensing" differences.

Oww, come on :) , they were so much different that a few hex edits changed the one into the other, you talk like you never knew that NTtune, NTSwitch or TweakNT existed.

Previous versions feature that was "dropped" from Windows 7 -> 8 comes to mind. It checks to see if you're running the Server OS and if you don't, the Previous Versions tab is absent. That's how some of the differences are implemented under the hood. Interestingly, you get Previous Versions tab on the client OS if you access the drive via administrative shares.

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