Of course, quite true, and as I noted above in #67, the headline is overstated.
OTOH, it's an indication that Microsoft is still Microsoft, and it's obviously and demonstrably to Microsoft's advantage to have complete control over the Win10 environment, top to bottom. "Windows As A Service" and "Win10 is the final 'version' of Windows, from now on it's just 'Windows'" indicate clearly that the days of an open platform for third parties are coming to a close. The rules have changed.
Only a fool would believe or argue that Microsoft does not want tight control over the Windows ecosystem.
Note that I don't condemn this. It's Microsoft's right to do so, and it's to their business and market advantage, long term, to do so. They're doing what they need to do.
The reason this little kerfluffle is interesting (other than the sensationalist/FUD aspects) is that it's a "feeler" about whether they can get away with locking things down again.
So first they mention it happening in an application almost nobody cares about. If nobody bitches, they'll be encouraged to try elsewhere. If there's a lot of pushback -- which could only be on principle, given the infinitesimal use of the Mail app -- they have tested the water in a safe way and can try something else.
I don’t begrudge Microsoft’s efforts as long as they provide a way for tech-savvy consumers to remove the restrictions. I’m enjoying Windows 10 for the most part. I had to uninstall a ton of AppX packages to get it where I wanted it, but it’s faster and more stable than Windows 8.1, IMO.
Microsoft’s not beyond reproach. They’re moving everything to a XaaS (X as a Service) model, but then so is everyone else. If they want to force us to use their OS, they need to keep it useable, but more importantly, it MUST be safe. Microsoft’s been beat up pretty bad over the years for being the easiest platform to compromise, but over the last 5 years, that moniker is becoming fuzzy. Apple and Linux systems, esp. IoT devices, are becoming easier targets, and you can thank Microsoft’s no-nonsense security posture for that.
Unless and until Microsoft prohibits me from installing another browser, photo viewer, video player, media manager, etc., I’ll continue to advocate for them. As soon as they start locking down the OS to their products, I’ll go fully to Ubuntu Linux for day-to-day.