As part of its Shanghai presentation today, Microsoft announced a new version of Windows 10 specifically created for the Chinese government. At launch, three government entities will use the new OS, which is called the Windows 10 China Government Edition.
The OS was created by CMIT, which is a “joint venture between Microsoft and CTEC (China Electronics Technology Group),” and it’s based on the Windows 10 Enterprise Edition. Out of the box, Microsoft said that the Windows 10 Enterprise Edition OS already has a massive suite of security, deployment, and management features out of the box, but the China Government Edition will let its users remove features that are not needed in government work. One example Microsoft gave is OneDrive. In addition, government officials can use the management feature to monitor and deploy updates as needed, or they can embed their own encrypted algorithms into the software.
A release date for the OS wasn’t announced, but the three government groups within China to try it out first are China Customs, the City of Shanghai, and Westone Information Technology on the national, regional, and state-owned enterprise levels, respectively. In addition, Lenovo will be the first OEM partner to have devices that come pre-installed with the Windows 10 Enterprise Edition.
Nearly 20% of the world's population lives in China. If you're trying to run a global business, ignoring that segment isn't the best strategy.
So... China gets to get rid of the deadwood that a Government doesn't need... Well a Government doesn't need Cortana either.... Corporate America doesn't really need OneDrive, let alone Cortana. For that matter, average joe citizens don't need the extra conveniences. They might desire them after using them, and they might not. They might investigate first and decide that even in the "lesser" data collection mode MS is gathering waaaaaay to much info through these conveniences (I heard that the lesser was still like 80% of what you do and type... and the full was like 100%. Verify this by reading the Developer's Edition release on what they collect. (Mind you the way its worded, it excludes previous editions.)
So... Gimme a stripped down version of Win 10. One with all the required security and update features, and none of the bolt-on convenience features that feature "I spy on you for my writers." The Microsoft Store is useless... Win 10 spies on you... Yeah... "non-identifying" data.... in and on its own perhaps, but databases are tied together.... your SIM card ID alone isn't exactly identifying on its own... get to access a database at the phone company, all of a sudden, you get more data on it, and some of that data is identifying. Win10 would be much better if it wasn't for all the MS spyware that they refuse to let us have an honest say in, and option of, disabling.