Really impressed with Windows 10 LTSB

Windows 10 has been known for its intrusive privacy policy as well as Microsoft's own bloatware(Cortana, App Store..etc)
LTSB is short for long term support which is an enterprise release of Windows 10 that comes with pretty much none of the Microsoft's bloatware that is normally loaded into other versions of Windows 10. That also means no Microsoft Edge, Instead it will have Internet Explorer as its default browser. and again no Store apps support at all.

I've installed it on my old Thinkpad X220T along side Arch Linux and my aim was to use Linux as a primary OS and keep Windows 10 just in case I needed it. But I ended up using Windows 10 LTSB as my primary OS. it is very fast and responsive. And most importantly it is so lightweight. The battery life of the laptop has greatly increased compared to the professional version that I used to have. Oh yeah and the best feature No Windows updates(only the security patches).

There are few caveats tho(for me). the LTSB comes with Windows 7 calculator, photo viewer, Internet expolorer, and No voice recorder. I actually do use MS Edge for viewing PDFs and I like the new calculator app because of its support for dark skin and I got used to the new Photo Viewer. Unfortunately none of these can be installed on LTSB release. not a deal breaker but they're a bit aged and feels retro to use them.
it is free to download from MS website with an evaluation period of 90 days.

Just wanted to share my experience with you guys.
Cheers.

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Thank you for sharing your experiances.

I´m exally interested in looking at the Enterprise LTSB-N version myself aswell.
Just to find out if there is a similar amount of telemetry tracking going on in that.
And if the keylogger is in there aswell?
I personally wouldnt mind to use retro apps, because i´m personally not a huge fan of all the modern stuff.
However with all the telemetry and spying in the normal version of Windows10, is one of the reasons for me not to use Windows10 atall.
I personally dont like the directions that MS is heading with Windows.
Windows10 is basicly not a standalone OS like Windows7 anymore.
Its build up on online services.
Thats also one of the reasons why there is soo manny telemetry tracking.
But Windows10 LTSB-N does not have allot of the modern apps on it.
And that makes it kinda interesting to look at.

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I've been using Windows 10 LTSB for a while now and I'm liking it so far compared to Windows 10 Pro, I only use Windows for gaming now days but I'd rather use the LTSB version over a base Windows 10 install.

There is also another thread on the forums which has more information relating to Windows 10 LTSB:

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On my main rig, I have Win10 Pro installed. and I have debloated it. that PC has a good enough specs that the extra services on Pro version would make almost no pronounced diff to me. But my poor TP laptop has a hot i7 chip (2640MQ) and any background cpu spike can drain my battery. That is not happening anymore since I installed LTSB.

@MisteryAngel totally agree. the telemetry stuff are the no.1 thing I disable in any Win10 machine that I lay my hands on lol. even if it is somebody's else computer, and they usually thank me for it :P

I will believe it when i see it. From my view point, the core of windows is an issue ever after debloating it. So even after the debloat, the mystery packets sent to ms is still an issue. You have to ask yourself will ms build an os that you can deploy without any of their controls. For me ? The answer is no. The previous versions have been backdoored for so long. Have they made a business version that is a little more respectfull ? Maybe ?

Is Win10 enterprise still $400-500 per machine?

LTSB is alright. anyone seen the shitsstorm the EFF, sweeney and the like are stirring up over W10 Cloud edition?

Have you had it for 90 days? MS are aggressive with that particular version of their software... $500+ and other requirements for the license.

Depends how you buy it. Most companies that buy it do so on a subscription basis, or as part of a suite, and that's going to vary a lot depending on your size.

For my organisation, it cost around 87,000 usd or thereabouts. I think. That was about two years ago, and covered about a thousand users for three years.

It's important to note that it's generally sold per user, rather than per device.

It's also important to note that the LTSB release doesn't get a lot of patches - it's intended to be used with a patch management system like SCCM or another enterprise tool.

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I thought the only way to get LTSB was in bulk? I did a bit of research a couple years back but hit a wall. And I checked since you said LTSB is on MS's site, but I couldn't find it.

Any word on where to actually buy a copy? I would love to get my hands on it instead of bloated Pro.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-10-enterprise

Iirc you can just download the iso and not activate it. I think the only thing you miss out on is personalization options but I could be wrong.

the personalization options are there.

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Generally, you need a volume licensing agreement. There are some ways to get it through an OEM like Dell: you can opt to purchase software assurance when you buy an OEM piece of hardware. That covers you for Enterprise, and allows you to upgrade to the latest version of the OS as long as your Software Assurance is covered.

If you want to buy through a volume license agreement, you're probably looking at a minimum purchase of 250 - 500 seats, depending on how friendly your sales rep is.

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So pretty much me just wanting about 5 copies for a few servers and my desktop would be out of luck?

For production use? Yeah, probably. Talk to your Microsoft reseller, see if they can work something out. Sometimes you can make some noises that it's a pilot, and get some traction that way.

You can't buy it per machine, remember. You get it per user, and it's only for workstations or VDI, really. I wouldn't want to run it over Server 2016.

If you're not using it for production, and just want a small number for testing (ehem), you could alternatively purchase an MSDN subscription.

That'd give you access to all the operating systems. For testing. And labs.

Is it true what it says here about the trial version of LTSB (second paragraph from the bottom)

...that after the trial period of 90 days is over, you can still continue using the OS?

Students should be able to get it aswell via school.

Yes, it will just pester you.

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@TeslaMaxwell or @MichaelLindman

Could one you guys check in services,
if there there is a services called "dmwappushsvc" running by default?
I'm kinda currious if that particular service exists on the LTSB-N version.
And if its enabled or disabled by default.