I am the author of this article. The moderators on Hacker News don't let me post here anymore, and they de-emphasize my articles that anyone else posts to prevent them from being viewed by many people. If I recall correctly, they even shadow banned worldofmatthew for a while for posting too many of my articles? So, I am surprised that so many people found this post. Since the moderators still allow me to comment here... As I said in my article, "And, please don't insult my intelligence by comparing this device to a thin client. I have installed OPNSense on a thin client to make it into a very nice home router. Something useful like that will very likely be impossible with this device." So, apparently some commenters here didn't read enough of the article to get that far. I like thin-clients, because they are general-purpose computers. I haven't tried every one, obviously, so some might not be, but I love the one I have. The problem with the Windows 365 Link, as I see it, is that it is as far as it can be from a general-purpose computer--although it isn't out yet, so we can't really know for sure what its capabilities are. My main objection to the Windows 365 Link is that I see it not as merely another locked-down corporate device but as a harbinger of things to come for us all. I am sorry that so few people here seem capable of understanding the long-term corporate goals that this device highlights, and that is the source of my frustration that leads to my hostility in this article. I see all of the freedoms that we once looked forward to from what we once called "the computer revolution" being taken away one by one. And the attitudes of most of the people here on Hacker News are one reason this is happening. Many of you think you are so smart, but either you aren't smart enough see what is coming, or you simply don't care. Either way, I feel sorry for you.
Windows 365 Link: The New Device That Imprisons Users in Microsofts Cloud
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Re: Windows 365 Link: The New Device That Imprisons Users in Microsofts Cloud
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
I actually think I agree overall, but... > This is functionally no different than Chromebooks and Google ”imprisoning” hundreds of school districts. Chromebooks make it trivial to switch to developer mode and get root, and then even disable write protection and flash arbitrary firmware. Can you do that with these boxes?
That’s not the target audience. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-365/link > Windows 365 Link is for organizations that have desk-based workers and are using, or are considering using, Windows 365. Windows 365 Link is well suited for enabling secure productivity in shared workspaces such as hot desks, call centers, reception desks, labs, and more. And on top of that it’s a desktop computer. There are plenty of…
I own a decent number of machines that used to be used in businesses or schools before getting replaced and going on the second hand market (often ebay). This works because the hardware can be repurposed, and it significantly reduces ewaste by allowing a device to go through multiple owners. Will these devices be able to do that?
Re: Windows 365 Link: The New Device That Imprisons Users in Microsofts Cloud
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s not the target audience. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-365/link > Windows 365 Link is for organizations that have desk-based workers and are using, or are considering using, Windows 365. Windows 365 Link is well suited for enabling secure productivity in shared workspaces such as hot desks, call centers, reception desks, labs, and more. And on top of that it’s a desktop computer. There are plenty of…
I own a decent number of machines that used to be used in businesses or schools before getting replaced and going on the second hand market (often ebay). This works because the hardware can be repurposed, and it significantly reduces ewaste by allowing a device to go through multiple owners. Will these devices be able to do that?
If the devices are only functional dumb terminals, why would they need to be replaced as long as they are still functional?
Going by Microsoft’s previous hardware and OS support, you should expect the hardware to be officially supported for over a decade.
The computers that were sold on eBay, couldn’t run the software the school/business needed. As long as these can connect to the cloud, that won’t be an issue
Re: Windows 365 Link: The New Device That Imprisons Users in Microsofts Cloud
#34I am the author of this article. The moderators on Hacker News don't let me post here anymore, and they de-emphasize my articles that anyone else posts to prevent them from being viewed by many people. If I recall correctly, they even shadow banned worldofmatthew for a while for posting too many of my articles? So, I am surprised that so many people found this post. Since the moderators still allow me to comment here…
This is a thin client by any reasonable definition targeted at IT departments.
Do you really think that even in the next 20 years that no one will sell a regular computer? We’ve had lockdowned single purpose computers since the coders consoles came out in 1977.
True this has more local processing power than dumb terminals in the past. But only because the cost of compute has gotten a lot cheaper and things that people want today - multiple monitors, good video conferencing (that works locally on these devices) require low latency.
This is no different than the needless panic when Apple introduced the Mac App Store in 2006 and people thought Apple would lock out installing apps outside of the App Store on Macs.
Re: Windows 365 Link: The New Device That Imprisons Users in Microsofts Cloud
#35It just seems like a product that is aimed explicitly at places like call centers, where employees are expected to universally have apps 1-3 only. I find that setup pretty gross, but it makes sense from an IT Management perspective. I didn't get the impression that this was meant for home, or even most office use. I don't think it would make sense in either setting because each would have more complex user requiremen…
Most office workers only need access to Microsoft Office and a browser. I can definitely see a use case for having these at your desk and some people having a laptop that is not as locked down.
I am a developer and I was using AWS Cloud 9 exclusively for a year until it was deprecated because it was much faster working with a lot of data in a VM hosted on AWS than it was on my local PC even though I did have 1GB symmetrical Fiber at home.
It was definitely a better experience working with a cloud IDE when traveling for business with much slower internet.