14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Cloud is all but confirmed, but even though Microsoft is yet to officially announce the new version, Epic CEO and co-founder Tim Sweeney has turned to Twitter to go public with his rant against the Redmond-based software giant.
In a series of tweets, Sweeney calls Windows 10 Cloud “ransomware,” a form of malware that compromises computers by locking down files and asking for a ransom to restore access.
“Windows Cloud is ransomware: It locks out Windows software you previously bought and makes you pay to unlock it by upgrading to Windows Pro,” he said in a tweet dated February 7. “Firefox blocked. Google Chrome blocked. Google search blocked as web browser search option. OpenGL, Vulcan, OpenVR, Oculus VR blocked,” he continued.
“Microsoft is making a huge move against the whole PC ecosystem: @Adobe, @Autodesk, #Valve, @EA, @Activision, @Google, @Mozilla. All blocked. Windows Cloud will steal your Steam PC game library and ransom it back to you...for a price.”
The Windows 10 Cloud story
So is this thing true? Not at all, and it all starts with the purpose of Windows 10 Cloud, which by the way, is not yet confirmed and we don’t even know if everything we heard about it is true.
First and foremost, Windows 10 Cloud appears to be a version of the Windows 10 operating system that exclusively focuses on Store apps, just like Windows RT did when it was launched in 2012 with the Surface RT.
There is a good chance that Windows 10 Cloud will be offered to OEMs completely free to install it on their devices, and this contributes to lower prices when these models hit the shelves. Microsoft is expected to offer a built-in upgrade option that would allow Windows 10 Cloud users to switch to Windows 10 Pro, and thus get Win32 app support, should they pay for a license.
This is pretty much what Sweeney is criticizing, claiming that once users pay for the upgrade, they get access to Win32 apps (this is also most likely the reason he calls Windows 10 Cloud “ransomware”).
And yet, this is by no means ransomware, but only a way to bring cheaper devices to the market and boost adoption of UWP apps. The Epic CEO, however, is also criticizing Microsoft’s aggressive push for universal apps, claiming that the company is actually trying to destroy the Win32 ecosystem by forcing users to switch to Store apps entirely.
Windows Cloud is ransomware: It locks out Windows software you previously bought and makes you pay to unlock it by upgrading to Windows Pro. — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) February 7, 2017