[tex-live] install-tl-windows.bat unavailable in Microsoft Store

[George N. White III]

On Fri, 7 Dec 2018 at 11:01, Norbert Preining <preining at logic.at> wrote:

> Hi Denis,
>
> >   ┌────
> >   │
> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode
> >   └────
> >
> > This student had to get the (hopefully with no charge) "Switch out of
> > S mode" program (or extension, or whatever) and to accept that
> > "[s]witching out of S mode is one-way" and that "mak[ing] the switch,
> > [he] won't be able to go back to Windows 10 in S mode".
>
> When was this **** introduced? I don't remember ever having switched out
> of whatever mode, and I can install a lot of programs...
>

I think enterprises and universities have been asking for this due to the
high
cost of dealing with Windows malware.   There is also the high cost of
systems
that can run native Windows compared to chromebooks that have become very
popular with schools due to the low cost.

<https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/s-mode>:

S mode is an evolution of the S SKU introduced with Windows 10 April 2018
Update. It's a configuration that's available on all Windows Editions when
enabled at the time of manufacturing. The edition of Windows can be upgrade
at any time as shown below. However, the switch from S mode is a onetime
switch and can only be undone by a wipe and reload of the OS.


MS has a FAQ which explains the limitations.  These include conflicts with
developer tools.   I  expect S-mode will be showing up on enterprise and
university
configurations of Windows 10.   It remains to be seen how such
organizations will deal
with the conflicts.

Not all apps witll run in S-mode, see: <
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2017/05/18/will-linux-distros-run-on-windows-10-s/
>

If your site policy requires S-mode you should look into front end apps
such as RStudio
and Jupyter where you have a workbook in a browser and the processing is
done on
some remote system, e.g., there is nothing to install on Windows.   Many
people are
already using latex via pandoc to produce PDF's using RStudio server.


> > I would be very surprised that the TL team would be able to make
> > `install-tl-windows.bat' become an app available in the Microsoft Store.
> > So this S(ecurity or hit?) mode will sadly refrain people from
> > installing TeX on their Windows computer...
>
> Well, I think this is a problem with 99% of the software. Most software
> I use is not distributed via MS Store, and I guess this is generally so.
> I think this is just a stupid dead-end of Microsoft trials.
>
> Norbert
>

Microsoft has lots of users with a wide range of use cases.  For large
organizations, they have conceeded the command line to linux and macOS.
Cost is the real driver: security conts real money in large organizations,
and so does Windows hardware.  For this market, MS needs
chromebook level systems.   The heavyweight  Edge browser is being
replaced by one based on Google's Chromium engine.

The TeX community has work to do to provide guidance to people who
must work with S-mode on low-end hardware.   See
<http://rtalbert.org/the-case-for-chromebooks/> for a LaTeX user's
experience
moving from a laptop to a chromebook.

-- 
George N. White III
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