"Windows 10 S, Microsoft's new locked-down operating system that comes bundled with the Surface Laptop, won't allow you to change the default Web browser away from Microsoft's own Edge. Furthermore, Edge's default search provider can't be altered: Bing is all you get."
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/windows-10-s-edge-bing-default/
@jalefkowit It's baffling. If they want people to actually use 10 S, why release the Surface Laptop with free Win 10 Pro upgrades *and* ensure that lots of users who would otherwise accept the walled garden decide it's not worth the hassle? Alternately, if they want people to use the Surface Laptop, why anger so many people from the outset? There's something fascinating about a corporate culture dysfunctional enough to mess that up from every direction.
@howfar This would also explain why it's tied to the launch of the new laptop, since that's a Windows & Devices product too.
Also DevDiv's longtime head stepped down in 2015: https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/08/somasegar-leaves-microsoft/
... so maybe he lost an internal fight and decided to get out before the Windows hit the fan.
(Ah, Microsoft Kremlinology. It feels like the 90s again)
@howfar MS decisions rarely make sense unless viewed in terms of internal politics. So, my (completely uninformed) guess:
Win32 apps have traditionally belonged to MS's Developer Division, part of their "Cloud & Enterprise" business unit. Windows & Surface belong to another BU, "Windows and Devices."
So 10 S could be an effort by Windows & Devices to grab some internal power from C&E, by pushing the Windows app ecosystem away from Win32 (aka DevDiv) into an environment they control.