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> One wonders what would have happened if they just sort of let Windows be Windows. I.e. if they had continued iterating on core stuff but left UI and general p
by cptskippy 9y ago
> One wonders what would have happened if they just sort of let Windows be Windows. I.e. if they had continued iterating on core stuff but left UI and general philosophy resembling Win7's trajectory and not tried to force people into WinRT/UWP/store.
With Windows 8 they tried to do too much too quickly and not well, however their motivations and intention were spot on in my opinion. Security has always been a pain point for Windows and it's only been getting worse, the Store introduced a sandbox like that found on iOS and Android. ARM, iOS, and Android showed that modern hardware and software can produce power efficiencies that put x86 and Windows to shame. UWP introduced hardware independence and a modern development framework that would put Windows Apps on a level playing field with iOS and Android.
The problem was that Microsoft thought that merely by virtue of their existence, developers would adopt UWP/Store despite the path forward being a huge pain in the ass. We see how that played out. With Windows 10 we've seen a course correction and a change in strategy. You can have traditional Applications sandboxed in the Store, and you can have UWP Apps outside the Store. Microsoft bought Xamarin and is folding it into UWP, the intent is to not just have hardware independence with UWP but also OS independence.
- saiya-jin 9y agothat's... not what most users want. even as a dev myself, I understand most people want just freedom and no hassle, OS to be there in the background, not creating narrow allowed alley for its own users. will keep my Win7 for as long as hardware and software keeps running. don-t expect much more from OS honestly
- Endy 9y agoI second this.
- cptskippy 9y ago> that's... not what most users want. even as a dev myself, I understand most people want just freedom and no hassle, OS to be there in the background, not creating narrow allowed alley for its own users. Android and iOS have demonstrably shown that most users don't value freedom as long as the OS works for their needs. Most users are security nightmares as IT Admins and relatives supporting family members can attest to. The Store is Microsoft's attempt to introduce that stability and safety to the wider Windows audience. That's not to say that there isn't a significant subset of power users who want the ability to do what they will with their machine however they are the exception. Microsoft is struggling with how to cater to both markets simultaneously.
- nickpp 9y agoAnd still, the Mac OS app store failed as well.
- manigandham 9y agoThere's a big difference in phones and tablets vs productivity machines like desktops and notebooks. The first is designed to be casual and apps grew out of a situation where there previously was nothing, while desktop OS's have had decades of external software being installed regularly. Introducing something new, especially when opening up so much potential, is far easier than trying to change existing habits of both consumers and vendors on an existing landscape.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- hrktb 9y agoIMO iOS’s success comes more from the quality of the applications than the security model per se. The iPad is a good case showing how the same model doesn’t succeed without top class apps.
- criddell 9y agoIs there any metric that doesn't show the Windows Store to be an abysmal failure? Have any Windows Store apps gone viral? Despite the enormous installed user base, there seems to be a definite lack of excitement around Windows apps (other than games) compared to the Android and iOS app stores. And for games, Steam feels like it's more dominant.
- cptskippy 9y agoNo but recently I started using the App Store version of the Arduino IDE. It's been a lot less trouble to setup and deal with cross device. If more Apps moved to the Store I would consider using them over managing updates across all of my devices.
- yakz 9y ago> and you can have UWP Apps outside the Store IFF your user has enabled side-loading.
- s2g 9y agoHas security been getting worse on windows? That’s a bold claim presented without evidence.