6 ms·

App implies microsoft gets a monopoly on control and distribution (as well as revocation), ie app store, ie walled garden. It also implies you should expect it

App implies microsoft gets a monopoly on control and distribution (as well as revocation), ie app store, ie walled garden. It also implies you should expect it to not be open source, and you should expect to pay at least $0.99 for it.

wlesieutre 11y ago
You can distribute universal Windows apps outside the Windows Store.
- ant6n 11y ago
  You mean programs?
  - wlesieutre 11y ago
    No, I mean apps. I'm just as lazy as anybody else, and I don't see a need to use an older word with an extra syllable and a bunch of baggage just to show off that I was using computers before the iPhone came out. If they were distributed as .programx files instead of .appx files, maybe you'd have a point.
    - ant6n 11y ago
      So when the IPhone came out, the word 'program' was changed to 'app'?
      - grokys 11y ago
        Even before the iPhone came out, people used the abbreviation "app" for "application". Source: I was around then ;)
        ant6n 11y ago
        But did they use "app" instead of "program"?
        wlesieutre 11y ago
        True, especially with OS X having .app file extensions. I still called them "Applications" more often than not though.
        ant6n 11y ago
        Oh, so it's like a Mac thing. So why do we have to call Windows programs 'App'?
        icebraining 11y ago
        It's not a Mac-only thing, it has been used on Linux and Windows for decades. http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-handlers/184409706 http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-ha...
      - wlesieutre 11y ago
        In popular usage, pretty much. I'd object more if it were something like "nuculer" where we're adding in wrong letters to pronounce it wrong, but I really don't care if something is an "app" or a "program". As far as connotations go, "app" tends to mean a simple single-purpose piece of software, and "program" is an all encompassing legacy blob that takes a dump in 40 different folders because it can't keep its shit together. Not always true, but still what I think of. I tend to use the words that way when the software in question falls into one category or the other. Will I call Forza an app because it's on the store? Eh, maybe. I'll probably call it a game (does anybody call those "programs"?). Would I call AutoCAD an app if they started distributing it as a UWP package? Less certain. Maybe not. Skype? Absolutely.
- protomyth 11y ago
  If your customers check a setting called “side-loading” in "Updates & Security" under "For developers" with a fairly scary warning, then yes you can sell outside the Windows Store.
  - madspindel 11y ago
    Nope. Now you can double-click the appx file. Demonstrated on Build keynote.
    - protomyth 11y ago
      Well, that's a whole lot nicer than their website is currently telling me. I did look for updated instructions as this has been a bit of issue with contractor supplied software.
  - anonymfus 11y ago
    These settings are about digital signatures of applications.
- mrec 11y ago
  Yes, they've been trailing that for a while. Do you know if there's any kind of legally-binding commitment to keep this option open, or might this be a temporary thing while they try to get some traction for the platform?
  - wlesieutre 11y ago
    I'm sure it's not legally binding, but neither is Apple's letting people run unsigned applications or even signed applications from outside the app store. MS seems pretty serious about trying to get developers on board with their platform. I can't imagine them reversing course on this, especially with "Tim Sweeney is wrong about everything, UWP is an open platform" being a recurring subtext of the keynote.

wlesieutre 11y ago

You can distribute universal Windows apps outside the Windows Store.

ant6n 11y ago
You mean programs?
- wlesieutre 11y ago
  No, I mean apps. I'm just as lazy as anybody else, and I don't see a need to use an older word with an extra syllable and a bunch of baggage just to show off that I was using computers before the iPhone came out. If they were distributed as .programx files instead of .appx files, maybe you'd have a point.
  - ant6n 11y ago
    So when the IPhone came out, the word 'program' was changed to 'app'?
    - grokys 11y ago
      Even before the iPhone came out, people used the abbreviation "app" for "application". Source: I was around then ;)
      - ant6n 11y ago
        But did they use "app" instead of "program"?
      - wlesieutre 11y ago
        True, especially with OS X having .app file extensions. I still called them "Applications" more often than not though.
        ant6n 11y ago
        Oh, so it's like a Mac thing. So why do we have to call Windows programs 'App'?
        icebraining 11y ago
        It's not a Mac-only thing, it has been used on Linux and Windows for decades. http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-handlers/184409706 http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-ha...
    - wlesieutre 11y ago
      In popular usage, pretty much. I'd object more if it were something like "nuculer" where we're adding in wrong letters to pronounce it wrong, but I really don't care if something is an "app" or a "program". As far as connotations go, "app" tends to mean a simple single-purpose piece of software, and "program" is an all encompassing legacy blob that takes a dump in 40 different folders because it can't keep its shit together. Not always true, but still what I think of. I tend to use the words that way when the software in question falls into one category or the other. Will I call Forza an app because it's on the store? Eh, maybe. I'll probably call it a game (does anybody call those "programs"?). Would I call AutoCAD an app if they started distributing it as a UWP package? Less certain. Maybe not. Skype? Absolutely.
protomyth 11y ago
If your customers check a setting called “side-loading” in "Updates & Security" under "For developers" with a fairly scary warning, then yes you can sell outside the Windows Store.
- madspindel 11y ago
  Nope. Now you can double-click the appx file. Demonstrated on Build keynote.
  - protomyth 11y ago
    Well, that's a whole lot nicer than their website is currently telling me. I did look for updated instructions as this has been a bit of issue with contractor supplied software.
- anonymfus 11y ago
  These settings are about digital signatures of applications.
mrec 11y ago
Yes, they've been trailing that for a while. Do you know if there's any kind of legally-binding commitment to keep this option open, or might this be a temporary thing while they try to get some traction for the platform?
- wlesieutre 11y ago
  I'm sure it's not legally binding, but neither is Apple's letting people run unsigned applications or even signed applications from outside the app store. MS seems pretty serious about trying to get developers on board with their platform. I can't imagine them reversing course on this, especially with "Tim Sweeney is wrong about everything, UWP is an open platform" being a recurring subtext of the keynote.