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WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU Never fear: Windows 10 Cloud might not be as locked down as we thought, and you might be able to install your desktop applications after all. Microsoft’s Windows 10 is a robust operating system that can do just about anything. Usually that’s a strength, but while Windows 10 competes well against Google’s Chrome OS platform on features and overall power, it’s at a disadvantage in terms of cost and manageability. That’s why Microsoft is releasing the Windows 10 Cloud edition, which essentially enables locking down the OS to allow apps to be installed only from the Windows 10 Store. At least, that’s how it works in theory and with the current preview build, but there’s a way to bypass that limitation for the technically astute, as  Windows Central reports . More:   An early build of Windows 10 Cloud has leaked, proving the new OS is no myth By limiting Windows 10 Cloud to only Windows Store apps, Microsoft coul...

Snap and Google will be partnered for the next five years, according to Snap’s S-1 filing released last week. Completed on January 30, the deal commits Snap to purchasing $400 million in Google's cloud services annually until 2022, totaling $2 billion over the period. The new lease is a formal continuation of a partnership that began around 2013,  TechCrunch notes .  The deal is a big win for Google Cloud, as mobile video is poised to make up a larger portion of the data storage space. Snapchat users are highly engaged, with the average daily user turning to the app 18 times each day, according to Snap's S-1. And although Google doesn’t break out revenue from its cloud business, instead lumping it together with nonadvertising, which includes the Google Play store, the $400 million deal will give it a hefty annual bump. In Q4 2016, nonadvertising accrued $3.4 billion in sales. Mobile video already accounts for more than half of all mobile traffic. In 2015,...

Oh boy. Critics, developers, and customers who oppose Windows 10 and Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform initiative are likely now gathering their pitchforks and torches, as a recent leak seemingly confirms that Windows 10 Cloud does indeed exist. Even more, the unannounced operating system is  locked to the Windows Store , preventing users from installing traditional (Win32) desktop programs. An early version of Windows 10 Cloud is now available as an ISO file via  Twitter user @adguard . Those wanting to see what the fuss is all about should  not  install this platform on a machine, but create a bootable USB drive or run the ISO file through a virtual machine. The downloadable file resides on a cloud server located in Russia. More:   Epic’s Tim Sweeney isn’t thrilled about the locked nature of Windows 10 Cloud The idea behind Windows 10 Cloud is to provide a lightweight, optimized version of Windows 10 for notebooks to compete dir...