> I want to like the Microsoft that appears to be turning over a new leaf from their “evil” days.
Embracing open source is just the first step of an old, old strategy of theirs. Maybe I'll be proven wrong on that, but you'd be a fool to forget their past. This the company that brought down IBM.
> I can’t imagine that corporations would allow Microsoft to market to their end-users.
No real choice, unfortunately. Oh, I'm sure some clueless Linux Desktop evangelist will try to claim otherwise, but the reality is that Windows and Office run the business world. Microsoft put a lot of effort into delivering good products and keeping compatibility with old software, in addition to shady anti-competitive practices, to ensure that. Meanwhile, the Linux Desktop is still a fragmented mess that breaks every few years (at best). I really wish it weren't true, because Windows is a painful experience these days, but Linux Desktop manages to still be worse.
> There must be some ultra-premium edition of Windows 10 that one can buy, where telemetry and ads are fully disabled?
That may be true of Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC, which can not be purchased individually and is expensive.
> Do most PC enthusiasts figure out how to disable that stuff or buy professional editions?
There are readily available tools to disable it, like O&O ShutUp 10.
Embracing open source is just the first step of an old, old strategy of theirs. Maybe I'll be proven wrong on that, but you'd be a fool to forget their past. This the company that brought down IBM.
> I can’t imagine that corporations would allow Microsoft to market to their end-users.
No real choice, unfortunately. Oh, I'm sure some clueless Linux Desktop evangelist will try to claim otherwise, but the reality is that Windows and Office run the business world. Microsoft put a lot of effort into delivering good products and keeping compatibility with old software, in addition to shady anti-competitive practices, to ensure that. Meanwhile, the Linux Desktop is still a fragmented mess that breaks every few years (at best). I really wish it weren't true, because Windows is a painful experience these days, but Linux Desktop manages to still be worse.
> There must be some ultra-premium edition of Windows 10 that one can buy, where telemetry and ads are fully disabled?
That may be true of Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC, which can not be purchased individually and is expensive.
> Do most PC enthusiasts figure out how to disable that stuff or buy professional editions?
There are readily available tools to disable it, like O&O ShutUp 10.