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Comment by wasd | Hacker News Reader

Have you tried Bash on Windows? Been using it lightly (still dual boot) but it's pretty good experience.

Yes, I've used WSL. Not bad. Even got a fairly complex work application running on it (~3 weeks ago).

Promising for sure.

Linux was brought up because grand-grandparent says it can only run stuff from the Windows Store, so I'm pretty sure that WSL is out of the question.

Sibling comments note that it says you can upgrade to to Windows 10 Pro for $50, or for free until 2018. The free upgrade seems to be possibly linked to this deal (it's referenced in the store page), but the details take you to the Windows S page which notes that upgrading from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro is a normal feature of Windows 10 S (although it notes "affordably", so there is usually a cost).

Microsoft has let you easily change Windows edition for some years now. It was called Windows Anytime Upgrade in 7, it dates back to Vista.

Unusual that the Windows RT-alike supports it, though, but perhaps that's because Windows 8 and Windows RT were mutually exclusive in their hardware support (x86 vs ARM), and this isn't.

For anyone considering running linux this type of nickle-and-diming is more likely to push them over the edge than to stay with windows.

If you stay with windows you get more of this kind of thing, if you jump ship then you never have to worry again.

The wonders of using software without paying for it.

Without having to pay for it. You can easily pay for most Linux distros.

I personally do pay for the FOSS tools I make use of, but I bet the majority that find outrageous to pay for OS X or Windows software aren't willing to pay for anything on UNIX FOSS clones.

WSL is in the windows store.

Windows 10 S has all the CLI stuff disabled, including WSL. The registry editor is also absent.

How aggravating. This is why I left Windows. No marginal cost to them, the functionality is inside but turned off. I really have a hard time with that idea. It seems...well...just plain mean.

The cost is all the users who find the "magical guide to speed up your computer" online that involves registry hacks and such, and end up breaking it instead (and blaming Windows for it).

It seems like the intent is to end up in a similar place to iOS, with the entire system "curated" end to end. Which is not a bad place to be for many (most?) users. The problem with iOS model is that there's no way to escape it for power users, but it looks like it's not the case here - you can run 10 S if you want iOS-like experience, or you can run 10 Pro otherwise.

Even their main windows OS has/had virtualization disabled IIRC without getting their business pro or whatever edition (it's been more than a few years). It was simply a matter of trying to get you to pay more for cool stuff.

Well, I didn't.

I ran into this too, "want to play with docker, buy the pro upgrade license". It was one of the final straws for me.

Suspect it is to do with the intended education market. But I know what you mean.

You can upgrade Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro for $50 or something like that.

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