Build 2017 Developer Conference ended a week ago, and fans of Microsoft came away with reasons to be bullish about the future. One of the interesting things announced at the conference was the planned ability for Windows 10 to run Linux operating systems downloaded from the Windows Store.
As expected, this idea excited many in the technology industry, especially those who have long felt that Microsoft is trying to destroy Linux. It’s a plan that should see the rise of several collaborations between Microsoft and the Linux community, and it will only benefit consumers and the enterprise market.
When this plan goes into effect, computer users will be able to fire up the Windows Store and download either Fedora, Ubuntu, or SUSE Linux. After installation, the operating system will then run alongside Windows 10 instead of wiping it from the computer system.
But there’s one little problem, and we see many future users of the new operating system having an issue with this, even though they shouldn’t.
Windows 10 S lacks support for Linux
Before we got the chance to see all the awesome things from Build 2017, Microsoft announced a new product in the form of the Surface Laptop. It’s not your regular Surface seeing as the device abandons the 2-in-1 design. Furthermore, the core version of the operating system doesn’t power this laptop, but instead, it’s driven by Windows 10 S.
The operating system, Windows 10 S, is designed for non-technical users who just want to download apps and browse the web. These folks have little need for advanced computer functions, and because of that, the operating system only supports apps from the Windows Store.
Interestingly enough, as stated above, the Linux distros will be available via the Windows Store, but they won’t work on the lite version of Windows regardless.
“Just because an “app” comes from the Windows Store does NOT automatically mean that it’s safe & suitable for running in Windows 10 S. There are some apps that are not allowed to run on Windows 10 S, including all command-line apps, shells, and Consoles,” according to Rich Turner, a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft.
The company did not clarify this piece of information at Build 2017, but that’s classic Microsoft when it comes down to messaging.
There’s a way to get around the restriction
If you’re using a laptop with Windows 10 S at the helm and want to download and install Linux from the Windows Store, there’s only one option at the moment. To get the full benefits, Microsoft recommends updating Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro. It cost a mere $50 to get the job done, and from there, the possibility to download and install Linux from the Windows Store becomes an option.
