With the release of the much-awaited Anniversary Update just around the corner, Microsoft has announced the addition of two new Windows 10 variants to its already populated line-up. The new Windows 10 variants — Education and Pro Education, are designed keeping in mind the unique needs of rapidly evolving K-12 institutions.
The two new variants join the already available Windows 10 SKUs(stock keeping units or versions) that will be updated and released alongside the Anniversary Update on 2nd August. These editions are available to education customers(or institution) in a couple different ways.
Windows 10 Pro Education edition is built upon the commercial Pro version, while the simple plain Education edition is built upon the Enterprise version of the OS. Microsoft believes that institutions need some control over the OS, hence it provides some particular management controls and education-specific default settings.
These default settings are put in place to disable tips, tricks, suggestions and help center in the operating system. In addition to this, Redmond is not keen on offering the services of its coveted voice assistant ‘Cortana’ to user of these variants of Windows 10. The Store has also been declared out of bounds for students, and Microsoft will also not display any app suggestions in the Start Menu.
On being asked about the removal of Cortana from Windows 10 Education variants, a spokesperson sent ZdNet the following reply:
“While we have no timing to share, we are very committed to Cortana and are exploring how to bring the feature back that makes sense in an educational setting.
Microsoft hasn’t taken full control of the system away from you, but a few configuration steps can be undertaken to change a few of them. To know more about the features that are manageable by you in this variant — click here.
Windows 10 Education variant is superior in comparison to the Pro Education variant because it offers additional features such as Device Guard, Credential Guard, and the new Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service. But, the important question is how do you get one of these variants for yourself(if you’re a student) or your institution. There are couple ways Microsoft is currently dispensing these variants, and you would probably need to pay for the same as the Free Upgrade Offer is ending tomorrow.
Firstly, you can acquire the new Windows 10 education variants, when you purchase a new device that has Windows pre-installed on it. You would, however, have to make the purchase along with discounted K-12 academic licenses. And if you have a device purchased using the discounted K-12 academic license, running any activated variant of Windows 10, then you’re system will automatically be upgraded to the designated variant as part of the Anniversary Update.
Also, if you still sitting about slacking off your time and haven’t updated your system to Windows 10, then today is the last day for you to receive the update for free. Microsoft is putting an end to the ‘Free Upgrade’ offer tomorrow.
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