But otherwise, Windows 10 S can be an exercise in frustration. There’s always an escape hatch: a simple upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. Locking your PC away from the big, bad, outside world makes sense when your children are going off to high school or college, Microsoft thinks. But even the most dutiful parent will wonder why their child can’t use Chrome to beam YouTube videos to a Chromecast, print on some local printers, or protect their PC with anything other than Windows Defender. But as our review shows, the lack of freedom chafes. Windows 10 S, a locked-down version of Windows 10 found on the Surface Laptop and a small group of low-cost, third-party notebooks, keeps students safe and secure by restricting them to the Windows Store. Microsoft’s Windows 10 S is what happens when a once-easygoing operating system has kids and turns into a helicopter parent.
