Comment by haunter
7 days ago
LTSC, surprised the post doesn't mention that. No forced feature updates, no unnecessary preinstalled apps. I'm using them for years without any problems. There was only one extreme edge case where an app didn't work because it was hard coded to only work on Windows 10 Pro and couldn't do anything with the LTSC version.
Yes you can't get it legally as a regular end user but MSFT also doesn't care about piracy either. They don't lose money on you (they rather keep you as a Windows user than switch to another platform).
Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 is supported until 2032, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 is supported until 2034.
> Yes you can't get it legally as a regular end user
That's why it's not mentioned, it's not a product for "normal users", the audience described in the post.
But that's also kind of the point too: Windows Lite exists but MSFT is "gatkeeping" it to enterprise users only. Probably because they are paying for it.
Not even enterprise customers are allowed to use LTSC. Only hardware OEMs.
It's asinine. They could charge $1000+ for LTSC licenses, but my data and digital sovereignty is apparently worth even more to them.
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You can get it legally. Just gotta find a smaller VAR and convince them to sell you a single seat for testing purposes
It's not cheap, but getting it legally is easy, and you don't need a VAR.
Specifically, you can buy a single-seat Microsoft 365 E3 subscription directly from Microsoft for $432/year, which includes a license for a single user to use Windows Enterprise, including LTSC, on up to 5 PCs (along with other stuff, mainly Office).
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/e3
(click "try for free")
I'm using ltsc windows 11 and yes it is much better than one of my other pcs which has pro on it.
However I did use windows 10 ltsc for quite a few years until I hit a dll issue with an old game that turned out to be unresolvable as far as I could tell at the time. So much so I switched to pro (I have a work visual studio subscription so I have access to all versions of windows for free). I can't for the life of me remember what dll or what game it was. But I tend to play older games so probably not something many will hit the same problem.
I wonder if they don’t include all the application compatibility stuff in LTSC. It would be a good way to make the version work for its intended purpose (as part of a larger appliance or industrial tool with purpose built software), while making it much less useful for ordinary purposes.
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer stopped working once I updated my Win10 to Win10 LTSC. (have enough games that do work, so I will not change again until 2032 or rather until Steam discontinues Win10 support)
In the EU, anyone can legally get a second hand LTSC license. See e.g.
https://en.windowsnoticias.com/Where-to-get-cheap-and-offici...
Do these versions get regular updates or are they expected to run on air-gapped machines so nobody really has to take care of them?
Yes but no feature updates, so for example LTSC 2021 is "stuck" on 21H2 from 2021. But it gets the regular security and bugfix updates, last one was June 9th
See here (Enterprise and IoT Enterprise LTSB/LTSC editions):
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/rel...
No feature updates sounds like a feature these days. It's why I use a crappy old Debian install too.
Genuine question , what does that mean, stuck on what from 2021? Compared to? Thanks :)
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They receive updates on time. I've been supporting a few LTSC machines for friends and relatives, haven't ever seen them receive any unnecessary junk through Windows Update. Just bug and vulnerability fixes.
They get only security fixes. So if there is some system component that is buggy under some circumstances it stays that way. Part of native windows development is constant workarounds around old buggy dlls
There's even Win 11 LTSC although I have yet to test it
Yeah but who gets that legally
Businesses with volume licensing agreements and Kiosk manufacturers can get the licenses pretty easy. Then can even negotiate a lower cost per device.