[tex-live] install-tl-windows.bat unavailable in Microsoft Store

[Alois Steindl]

Hello,

MS has quite a long tradition in trying to kick competing systems out, 
so I am not surprised about this attempt.

There might of course be some circumstances, where one wants to be 
completely sure, that no foreign program lives on the computer. (Except 
security environments this might also be an option for people who fear 
the dark dangers in the internet. Of course, I would never advocate for 
something like that.)

I could imagine, that it is relatively easy to compromize a system 
running some TeX distribution; it contains a lot of programs and also 
allows dangerous practices, like running scripts to include graphics, 
which could maybe also do something else. I am very satisfied, that this 
is possible.

If one would place all restrictions on TeX, which a security advisor 
could think of, it would quite likely become useless.

I think, there is nothing, the TeXLive maintainers can really do. We 
could of course warn all consumers, that the S mode might not make them 
happy.

Best wishes

Alois

Am 07.12.18 um 16:00 schrieb Norbert Preining:
> Hi Denis,
>
>>    ┌────
>>    │ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode
>>    └────
>>
>> This student had to get the (hopefully with no charge) "Switch out of
>> S mode" program (or extension, or whatever) and to accept that
>> "[s]witching out of S mode is one-way" and that "mak[ing] the switch,
>> [he] won't be able to go back to Windows 10 in S mode".
> When was this **** introduced? I don't remember ever having switched out
> of whatever mode, and I can install a lot of programs...
>
>> I would be very surprised that the TL team would be able to make
>> `install-tl-windows.bat' become an app available in the Microsoft Store.
>> So this S(ecurity or hit?) mode will sadly refrain people from
>> installing TeX on their Windows computer...
> Well, I think this is a problem with 99% of the software. Most software
> I use is not distributed via MS Store, and I guess this is generally so.
> I think this is just a stupid dead-end of Microsoft trials.
>
> Norbert
>
> --
> PREINING Norbert                               http://www.preining.info
> Accelia Inc.     +    JAIST     +    TeX Live     +    Debian Developer
> GPG: 0x860CDC13   fp: F7D8 A928 26E3 16A1 9FA0 ACF0 6CAC A448 860C DC13