4 ms·

Windows S is completely backwards. If the Windows Store was actually any good, they should make a version without store apps (win32 only) and let customers pay

Windows S is completely backwards. If the Windows Store was actually any good, they should make a version without store apps (win32 only) and let customers pay a premium to use signed, vetted, store apps. (Only half kidding...) But this way around, store apps will always be viewed as the cheaper, less featured option.

djsumdog 10y ago
No one uses the Apple app stop on MacOS because apparently it's terrible. I don't see going to a closed/walled garden system as being any type of meaningful advantage. You're trading off some security/sandboxing for reduced flexibility. If Microsoft wanted something competitive, they'd allow people to add other repositories to their stores, so manufactures could publish their own certs and people could chose to trust them .. remove MS from the middle man, but allow their update system to be more universal.
- denzil_correa 10y ago
  > No one uses the Apple app stop on MacOS because apparently it's terrible AFAIK, most major apps are on the macOS app store.
  - nezza-_- 10y ago
    Afaik quite some of the major apps were leaving it in the last years (Sketch comes to mind), but might just be my filter bubble.. Would be interesting to hear from some Mac OS devs
    - moduspwnens14 10y ago
      It's just tricky because of the restrictions, and it's not just the restrictions themselves but the reality that you're limited to them in the future. Even if your app can run in a sandbox today, are you willing to turn down any future feature requests that would make it so it won't? We're putting an app on there, but our app is kind of an ideal use case because we don't expect to have to add features that can't work in the sandbox and our app is free. It's a tougher sell if you have to cut features to fit in the sandbox or hand off 30% of your sale to Apple. Admittedly that 30% isn't unreasonable if you're really just starting out. That does include hosting, purchasing, and billing. But those things can be done at a much cheaper rate than 30% if you can set them up. Panic is one of my favorite Mac app developers and (just checked) one of their apps (Coda) is distributed outside the App Store [1], while Transmit is distributed on both. [1] https://panic.com/blog/coda-2-5-and-the-mac-app-store/ https://panic.com/blog/coda-2-5-and-the-mac-app-store/
  - abrowne 10y ago
    What's "major"? No Office (only OneNote), no Adobe Acrobat or CC...
    - denzil_correa 10y ago
      > No Office (only OneNote), no Adobe Acrobat or CC... Office for Mac - https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Office-for-Mac/categoryID.69404500#For-Mac https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Office-... Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/install-reader-dc-mac-os.html https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/install-reader-dc-mac-os.... What's CC?
      - SyneRyder 10y ago
        Those aren't links to the Mac App Store. The previous poster was talking about major apps that aren't available through Apple's own App Store for the Mac. Similarly, while you can get Photoshop Elements in the Windows Store, I don't believe you can get the full Photoshop CC on the Windows Store yet.
      - sebtoast 10y ago
        Adobe Creative Cloud maybe?
        abrowne 10y ago
        Yes, I meant Creative Cloud.
- eugeniub 10y ago
  I use the Mac App Store for many of the apps I use because I trust it more than apps downloaded from random websites, and I like background updates. The problems with the App Store lie on the developer side — sandboxing, restrictive submission guidelines, large 30% revenue cuts, lack of alternative pricing models, etc.
- captainmuon 10y ago
  And the macOS store is one of the better ones! I just recently set up a Hackintosh, and have been browsing the app store to discover a couple of neat new apps. The Windows Store in contrast... most apps seem to be from a Microsoft contest a couple of years ago, where you could win a prize by writing a Metro app. The few decent apps can be counted on a hand and are all made by MS: Office Mobile (really good actually), Skype, Wunderlist/To-Do.
deleted 10y ago
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cm2187 10y ago
Mostly I don't get the different between Windows RT and Windows S. Did they just change the name?
- zip1234 10y ago
  No. Windows RT is not x86. It is ARM. Windows RT could never upgrade to regular Windows.
- billyfish96 10y ago
  I believe Windows RT could only run windows apps compiled for ARM, Windows S can run an x86 windows application
- wvenable 10y ago
  Basically the same idea except S runs on x86 and it's now much easier to convert bog-standard Win32 apps to store apps.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

djsumdog 10y ago

No one uses the Apple app stop on MacOS because apparently it's terrible. I don't see going to a closed/walled garden system as being any type of meaningful advantage. You're trading off some security/sandboxing for reduced flexibility. If Microsoft wanted something competitive, they'd allow people to add other repositories to their stores, so manufactures could publish their own certs and people could chose to trust them .. remove MS from the middle man, but allow their update system to be more universal.

denzil_correa 10y ago
> No one uses the Apple app stop on MacOS because apparently it's terrible AFAIK, most major apps are on the macOS app store.
- nezza-_- 10y ago
  Afaik quite some of the major apps were leaving it in the last years (Sketch comes to mind), but might just be my filter bubble.. Would be interesting to hear from some Mac OS devs
  - moduspwnens14 10y ago
    It's just tricky because of the restrictions, and it's not just the restrictions themselves but the reality that you're limited to them in the future. Even if your app can run in a sandbox today, are you willing to turn down any future feature requests that would make it so it won't? We're putting an app on there, but our app is kind of an ideal use case because we don't expect to have to add features that can't work in the sandbox and our app is free. It's a tougher sell if you have to cut features to fit in the sandbox or hand off 30% of your sale to Apple. Admittedly that 30% isn't unreasonable if you're really just starting out. That does include hosting, purchasing, and billing. But those things can be done at a much cheaper rate than 30% if you can set them up. Panic is one of my favorite Mac app developers and (just checked) one of their apps (Coda) is distributed outside the App Store [1], while Transmit is distributed on both. [1] https://panic.com/blog/coda-2-5-and-the-mac-app-store/ https://panic.com/blog/coda-2-5-and-the-mac-app-store/
- abrowne 10y ago
  What's "major"? No Office (only OneNote), no Adobe Acrobat or CC...
  - denzil_correa 10y ago
    > No Office (only OneNote), no Adobe Acrobat or CC... Office for Mac - https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Office-for-Mac/categoryID.69404500#For-Mac https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Office-... Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/install-reader-dc-mac-os.html https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/install-reader-dc-mac-os.... What's CC?
    - SyneRyder 10y ago
      Those aren't links to the Mac App Store. The previous poster was talking about major apps that aren't available through Apple's own App Store for the Mac. Similarly, while you can get Photoshop Elements in the Windows Store, I don't believe you can get the full Photoshop CC on the Windows Store yet.
    - sebtoast 10y ago
      Adobe Creative Cloud maybe?
      - abrowne 10y ago
        Yes, I meant Creative Cloud.
eugeniub 10y ago
I use the Mac App Store for many of the apps I use because I trust it more than apps downloaded from random websites, and I like background updates. The problems with the App Store lie on the developer side — sandboxing, restrictive submission guidelines, large 30% revenue cuts, lack of alternative pricing models, etc.
captainmuon 10y ago
And the macOS store is one of the better ones! I just recently set up a Hackintosh, and have been browsing the app store to discover a couple of neat new apps. The Windows Store in contrast... most apps seem to be from a Microsoft contest a couple of years ago, where you could win a prize by writing a Metro app. The few decent apps can be counted on a hand and are all made by MS: Office Mobile (really good actually), Skype, Wunderlist/To-Do.

deleted 10y ago

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cm2187 10y ago

Mostly I don't get the different between Windows RT and Windows S. Did they just change the name?

zip1234 10y ago
No. Windows RT is not x86. It is ARM. Windows RT could never upgrade to regular Windows.
billyfish96 10y ago
I believe Windows RT could only run windows apps compiled for ARM, Windows S can run an x86 windows application
wvenable 10y ago
Basically the same idea except S runs on x86 and it's now much easier to convert bog-standard Win32 apps to store apps.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]