Looking at the Win10 comparison chart, was surprised to see so many versions of Win10.
Also noted, some versions are not available using the Win10 media tool from this link.
Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)
Wiki lists these versions, Windows 10 editions - Wikipedia
The media tool only installs these versions.
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home N
Windows 10 Home Single Language
Windows 10 Education
Windows 10 Education N
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Pro N
Surprisingly, the most secure version of win10 from the media download tool appears to be the Education version.
The Enterprise version still appears to be the pinnacle version, most secure and most functional with a Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) to keep things the same for as long as possible. LTSC helps maintain maximum productivity because time is not wasted relearning stuff, dealing with change, probably the most customisable which makes life easier for everyone to get the setup best suited to their needs, provided that doesnt take too long either, it shouldnt be a full time job in itself but it probably is.
Surprisingly perhaps, the Education version appears to be the next closest to Enterprise with nearly the same functionality minus NVDimm Support, (Did XP ReadyBoost spawn this?) and Remote DMA, something aimed for clusters to get access to a bigger array of memory locations (6144 GB) using an almost direct HW route to ram from another machine. I wonder just how many computers have this ability baked in without anyone knowing? Thats some serious CryptoMiner that could be built if you can harness a number of workstations running Enterprise, but equally an attack vector if that HW exists and no one considers it an attack vector.
Finally, Resilient File System ( ReFS ) and Suggestions from the Microsoft Store are also missing from the Education version.
Remote direct memory access - Wikipedia
remote direct memory access ( RDMA ) is a direct memory access from the memory of one computer into that of another without involving either one’s operating system. This permits high-throughput, low-latency networking, which is especially useful in massively parallel computer clusters.
| Feature | Home,Pro,ProEducation | Education | Pro for Workstations | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AppLocker | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| BranchCache | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Credential Guard (Pass the hash mitigations) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Microsoft App-V | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Microsoft UE-V | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Start screen control with Group Policy | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| User experience control and lockdown | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Unified Write Filter (UWF) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| DirectAccess[54] | No | Yes[55] | No | Yes |
| Long-term servicing option available (LTSC) |
Microsoft have also introduced something called Features on Demand. It sounds like something out of the Matrix where the hero’s can download a program using a phone next to their ear.
It appears to be a way perhaps a next generational way to add remove programs.
Features On Demand | Microsoft Docs
A list of preinstalled features and available features can be viewed here
Available features on demand | Microsoft Docs
There are some interesting features and tools available for download. One that caught my eye was
Windows Emergency Management Services & Serial Console.
But getting back to the different versions of windows readily available to the widest number of windows users, ie those using the windows media tool, Education may perhaps be the best OS to develop on, simply for the increased level of security on offer. Naturally I find this surprising having always considered Pro to be the next best after the pinnacle Enterprise version.