14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has made some changes in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update that haven’t exactly been well received by the community, as they block IT admins from disabling certain features, such as Windows Store and the installed apps.
As part of this change, Microsoft is making policies disable these features exclusively available on the top Windows 10 versions, including Enterprise and Education, so those running Home or Pro can no longer block certain features.
In a petition that has recently been published, users are calling for Microsoft to stop removing features for current branch releases, as they consider this to be a cheap way to force them to upgrade to more expensive versions of Windows 10.
“Stop the bait”
The petition has a little bit over 150 signatures at the moment, but it’s very likely to gain increased support in the coming days, as it’s still a new effort, and not many have heard of it.
“Two times now you have release branch releases that have removed settings that allow administrators of systems to better control the operating system and now require us to purchase the Enterprise or Academic SKU in order to protect our systems,” the petition explains.
“Branch releases should not remove management control features that were shipped in an earlier release unless they are replaced with a mechanism of equivalent ease in a network.”
One of the changes that are part of this new approach makes it impossible for IT admins to block the installation of pre-installed apps and games, such as Candy Crush Saga. The policy called “Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences” is no longer available on Windows 10 Home, and Pro and IT admins are required to upgrade to Enterprise, Education, or Server in order to get such functionality.
Microsoft hasn’t yet commented on this changes, except for a TechNet article, so it’ll be interesting to see how the company reacts to this petition, given its new strategy more focused on transparency and user feedback.