6 ms·

Windows App now available on all major platforms

37 points by alexrustic 2y ago

oldpersonintx 2y ago
one more step to a fully-rented, all-in-the-cloud business "PC" security is easy because you aren't running anything locally, can't save anything locally, probably can't even do true copy/paste when they want to fire you, the client reboots and you have nothing from your job accessible anymore and you wonder why Microsoft is so busy building hundreds of Azure datacenters...
- twoodfin 2y ago
  Kind of funny that the network computer/thin client vision that 30 years ago was trying to break Microsoft’s stranglehold on the app platform is now being embraced as the future of the Windows experience!
- pferde 2y ago
  We've had this at the uni twenty years ago, in form of thin Linux workstations, connecting over XDMCP to a central server which served individual desktop sessions over the network.
QuercusMax 2y ago
It's an RDP client / management UI, I guess?
- tux3 2y ago
  Yes, the copy is obfuscated, but this is a new remote desktop tool, like VNC, RDP, or Teamviewer.
  - MengerSponge 2y ago
    or NoMachine :)
  - drpossum 2y ago
    It is not "new". In the Mac space it was called "Microsoft Remote Desktop Client" and that client had messages saying it was going to be renamed in the near future for the last few weeks. It's just largely a UI facelift.
- drpossum 2y ago
  It's largely not anything new. They reworked the UI on the long standing Microsoft Remote Desktop app and added "Teams Optimization". I think that last bit was just to make me viscerally angry.
- ranger_danger 2y ago
  Except you cannot use it to connect directly via RDP from a Windows client to a Windows server ala good old mstsc.
nneonneo 2y ago
[flagged]
- dangger 2y ago
  to piss you off
- bunderbunder 2y ago
  It's black on white for me. I wonder if it has different color styling for different devices.
- inanutshellus 2y ago
  I'm guessing a CSS file didn't load for you? It looks fine for me.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
sempron64 2y ago
This is the most confusing branding since Xbox One.
- netsharc 2y ago
  Intel Core 2 Duo, Dual Core CPU..
tsujamin 2y ago
Just remember fam: you can use the Windows App on macOS to connect to a Linux RDP session, but you cannot use the Windows App on Windows to connect to a regular Windows RDP session :) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-connect-devices-desktops-apps?tabs=windows-avd%2Cwindows-w365%2Cwindows-devbox%2Cmacos-rds%2Cmacos-pc&pivots=azure-virtual-desktop https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-co...
- xnx 2y ago
  Can I run the Windows App in Windows Subsystem for Linux to connect to a Windows RDP session?
- amanzi 2y ago
  I haven't tried this on Windows yet because it appears to require a Work or School app. I'm really confused as to why you can't connect to a remote PC from Windows with this app? Is this an intentional strategy, or is it "coming later"? It looks like the "metro" version of Remote Desktop Client app is still available in the Windows store, and as long as I can Start -> Run "mstsc", I'm happy. :-) Also, on macOS they have renamed the Remote Desktop Client to Windows App and it appears to work exactly like the old app. Which is different to how the Windows version of the app works. Crazy stuff...
johnklos 2y ago
Microsoft has an app called, "Windows App". Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising from a company that named their OS after a single featur, but this name is so much worse. What does it do? The name doesn't say at all. Did it really occur to nobody at Microsoft that "now open the Windows App app" is going to confuse a lot of people? Even after reading the whole article, all I can infer is that this is a "seamless" replacement for Microsoft's "Remote Desktop". I'm assuming it's 100% Microsoft cloud based, although I'd be curious if it can be used without the Internet.
- lvncelot 2y ago
  It reminded me of everything and anything AI related being called Copilot.
- tsujamin 2y ago
  On non-Windows platforms its a partial UI rework on the existing Remote Desktop Client, but I think on Windows its separate to the existing Remote Desktop Client/App(s) and its specifically for accessing cloud-hosted Windows PCs (Windows365, DevBox, Azure VDI etc)
  - twoodfin 2y ago
    More specifically, I get the impression it’s part of a strategy to recenter the Windows desktop experience from “the PC on your desk” to “an aggregated view of your workplace-focused cloud services”.
- drpossum 2y ago
  Microsoft seems to be terrible at naming things, but their strategy is to confuse people when their products get labeled as garbage and have a stigma attached so they can just change the name again.
  - BitwiseFool 2y ago
    I'm more surprised they didn't call it Microsoft One.
xnx 2y ago
"With this general availability launch, users of Remote Desktop clients for Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and web will transition to Windows App." I installed the Windows App on Windows and the first screen prompts with "Connect to your cloud resources with a work or school account. Sign in". This definitely does not make Windows App seem like a replacement for Remote Desktop, which requires no cloud account.
- drpossum 2y ago
  Thankfully it doesn't do this on MacOS at least. Otherwise I'd have to start reformatting my remaining Windows 10 machines with Linux (sooner than I was going to)
- ryandrake 2y ago
  Microsoft's desperation to have everyone make a Microsoft account is becoming pervasive throughout their operating system and application portfolio.
  - amanzi 2y ago
    But it's worse than that. Anyone can create a free "Microsoft account", but you need more than that to sign in to this app. You need a "Work or school account", which is similar to a Microsoft account, but not the same thing. A "Work or school account" is an account tied to a commercial M365 subscription.
sys32768 2y ago
Have you tried the Windows App? You mean Windows? No, I mean the app. Which app? The Windows app. Is it in the Windows app store? Yes, and you can use it to connect to your other devices. Oh, so like RDP? Sort of. But you need an MS 365 subscription to use it. Also, you cannot connect to remote desktop services from a Windows OS using Windows App, only MacOS, iOS or Android. So I should get a Mac or Android to use the full feature set of the Windows App? Sort of, but you can connect to your Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktops using the Windows App on your Windows OS. So the Windows App on Windows is just for accessing cloud PC subscriptions with Microsoft, but not any of my physical Windows PCs? Yes. That's why it's called the Windows App.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- BenFranklin100 2y ago
  Azure has already been renamed ‘Entra’. Get with the times.
  - nixosbestos 2y ago
    Well, not quite. Azure AD was renamed to Microsoft Entra.
delta_p_delta_x 2y ago
In classic recent Microsoft style, the name is rubbish, and they are gradually mobile-ifying their UI.
AmVess 2y ago
I hope this will be as pleasant and performant as Teams aka how to make your 16-core CPU feel like it is an Intel Atom from 2009.
SimianSci 2y ago
The immediate impact of this is simple, Remote Desktop apps previously made by Microsoft are being re-branded to be the "Windows App" As far as long-term impact, Im curious to know how this might impact Windows developers. Does this push developers to choose native platforms over the unnecessary aditional abstration of running within windows? IE: If your user base simply starts using their iphones to occasionally access your application via the windows app, does this push your team to just choose to build an iphone app? Or does this become the best way for developers to build a cross-platform experiences?
- drpossum 2y ago
  I'm confused by your question because this isn't anything new. They just renamed the old Remote Desktop App which was already available for alternate platforms like MacOS. I don't see how that changes anything for developers that they couldn't do before.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
snozolli 2y ago
This is the worst explanation of a new product that I've seen since Google Buzz.
asveikau 2y ago
I think some of what's depicted is what Windows RT should have been. There was lots of talk in the 2011 era about docking your tablet and getting a full desktop experience, and similar things. Some of the video is showing similar scenarios. I thought back then that the biggest mistake was to not lean more heavily into the existing Win32 ecosystem, which was the one big asset Microsoft had. Imagine if they had spent less time building tablet UIs nobody wanted, and more time working on solutions to let people access the Win32 world from your tablet, which is what I see in this video.
menotyou 2y ago
"...connect to the Windows experience they know and love.." I am not in that target group.
Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y ago
Does Windows have a Windows App?
TowerTall 2y ago
Gave it a shot and downloaded the app on win 11 with the intention of trying to rdp from my laptop to my desktop. When the app started it asked me to sign in (WTF), entered my Microsoft Account (personal, not azure AD) and was meet with the error message: Personal accounts are not supported (WTF). Utterly useless app at least for accessing on-prem devices on a home network. I go back to the good old remote desktop app that comes with windows because that is working flawless. Of course it doesn't work flawless. If you have been a good boy and followed Microsoft best practice and configured your Microsoft Account to be passwordless account as I have you of course cannot login because, as you would expect, the RDP app doesn't work with passwordless accounts. It only like 4 - 5 years since Microsoft introduced passwordless accounts so of course that too little time for an organization with 100K+ developers to implement their own best practices in their own products. sigh.

37 points by alexrustic 2y ago

one more step to a fully-rented, all-in-the-cloud business "PC" security is easy because you aren't running anything locally, can't save anything locally, probably can't even do true copy/paste when they want to fire you, the client reboots and you have nothing from your job accessible anymore and you wonder why Microsoft is so busy building hundreds of Azure datacenters...

twoodfin 2y ago
Kind of funny that the network computer/thin client vision that 30 years ago was trying to break Microsoft’s stranglehold on the app platform is now being embraced as the future of the Windows experience!
pferde 2y ago
We've had this at the uni twenty years ago, in form of thin Linux workstations, connecting over XDMCP to a central server which served individual desktop sessions over the network.

QuercusMax 2y ago

It's an RDP client / management UI, I guess?

tux3 2y ago
Yes, the copy is obfuscated, but this is a new remote desktop tool, like VNC, RDP, or Teamviewer.
- MengerSponge 2y ago
  or NoMachine :)
- drpossum 2y ago
  It is not "new". In the Mac space it was called "Microsoft Remote Desktop Client" and that client had messages saying it was going to be renamed in the near future for the last few weeks. It's just largely a UI facelift.
drpossum 2y ago
It's largely not anything new. They reworked the UI on the long standing Microsoft Remote Desktop app and added "Teams Optimization". I think that last bit was just to make me viscerally angry.
ranger_danger 2y ago
Except you cannot use it to connect directly via RDP from a Windows client to a Windows server ala good old mstsc.

nneonneo 2y ago

[flagged]

dangger 2y ago
to piss you off
bunderbunder 2y ago
It's black on white for me. I wonder if it has different color styling for different devices.
inanutshellus 2y ago
I'm guessing a CSS file didn't load for you? It looks fine for me.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

sempron64 2y ago

This is the most confusing branding since Xbox One.

netsharc 2y ago
Intel Core 2 Duo, Dual Core CPU..

tsujamin 2y ago

Just remember fam: you can use the Windows App on macOS to connect to a Linux RDP session, but you cannot use the Windows App on Windows to connect to a regular Windows RDP session :) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-connect-devices-desktops-apps?tabs=windows-avd%2Cwindows-w365%2Cwindows-devbox%2Cmacos-rds%2Cmacos-pc&pivots=azure-virtual-desktop https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-co...

xnx 2y ago
Can I run the Windows App in Windows Subsystem for Linux to connect to a Windows RDP session?
amanzi 2y ago
I haven't tried this on Windows yet because it appears to require a Work or School app. I'm really confused as to why you can't connect to a remote PC from Windows with this app? Is this an intentional strategy, or is it "coming later"? It looks like the "metro" version of Remote Desktop Client app is still available in the Windows store, and as long as I can Start -> Run "mstsc", I'm happy. :-) Also, on macOS they have renamed the Remote Desktop Client to Windows App and it appears to work exactly like the old app. Which is different to how the Windows version of the app works. Crazy stuff...

johnklos 2y ago

Microsoft has an app called, "Windows App". Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising from a company that named their OS after a single featur, but this name is so much worse. What does it do? The name doesn't say at all. Did it really occur to nobody at Microsoft that "now open the Windows App app" is going to confuse a lot of people? Even after reading the whole article, all I can infer is that this is a "seamless" replacement for Microsoft's "Remote Desktop". I'm assuming it's 100% Microsoft cloud based, although I'd be curious if it can be used without the Internet.

lvncelot 2y ago
It reminded me of everything and anything AI related being called Copilot.
tsujamin 2y ago
On non-Windows platforms its a partial UI rework on the existing Remote Desktop Client, but I think on Windows its separate to the existing Remote Desktop Client/App(s) and its specifically for accessing cloud-hosted Windows PCs (Windows365, DevBox, Azure VDI etc)
- twoodfin 2y ago
  More specifically, I get the impression it’s part of a strategy to recenter the Windows desktop experience from “the PC on your desk” to “an aggregated view of your workplace-focused cloud services”.
drpossum 2y ago
Microsoft seems to be terrible at naming things, but their strategy is to confuse people when their products get labeled as garbage and have a stigma attached so they can just change the name again.
- BitwiseFool 2y ago
  I'm more surprised they didn't call it Microsoft One.

xnx 2y ago

"With this general availability launch, users of Remote Desktop clients for Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and web will transition to Windows App." I installed the Windows App on Windows and the first screen prompts with "Connect to your cloud resources with a work or school account. Sign in". This definitely does not make Windows App seem like a replacement for Remote Desktop, which requires no cloud account.

drpossum 2y ago
Thankfully it doesn't do this on MacOS at least. Otherwise I'd have to start reformatting my remaining Windows 10 machines with Linux (sooner than I was going to)
ryandrake 2y ago
Microsoft's desperation to have everyone make a Microsoft account is becoming pervasive throughout their operating system and application portfolio.
- amanzi 2y ago
  But it's worse than that. Anyone can create a free "Microsoft account", but you need more than that to sign in to this app. You need a "Work or school account", which is similar to a Microsoft account, but not the same thing. A "Work or school account" is an account tied to a commercial M365 subscription.

sys32768 2y ago

Have you tried the Windows App? You mean Windows? No, I mean the app. Which app? The Windows app. Is it in the Windows app store? Yes, and you can use it to connect to your other devices. Oh, so like RDP? Sort of. But you need an MS 365 subscription to use it. Also, you cannot connect to remote desktop services from a Windows OS using Windows App, only MacOS, iOS or Android. So I should get a Mac or Android to use the full feature set of the Windows App? Sort of, but you can connect to your Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktops using the Windows App on your Windows OS. So the Windows App on Windows is just for accessing cloud PC subscriptions with Microsoft, but not any of my physical Windows PCs? Yes. That's why it's called the Windows App.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
BenFranklin100 2y ago
Azure has already been renamed ‘Entra’. Get with the times.
- nixosbestos 2y ago
  Well, not quite. Azure AD was renamed to Microsoft Entra.

delta_p_delta_x 2y ago

In classic recent Microsoft style, the name is rubbish, and they are gradually mobile-ifying their UI.

AmVess 2y ago

I hope this will be as pleasant and performant as Teams aka how to make your 16-core CPU feel like it is an Intel Atom from 2009.

SimianSci 2y ago

The immediate impact of this is simple, Remote Desktop apps previously made by Microsoft are being re-branded to be the "Windows App" As far as long-term impact, Im curious to know how this might impact Windows developers. Does this push developers to choose native platforms over the unnecessary aditional abstration of running within windows? IE: If your user base simply starts using their iphones to occasionally access your application via the windows app, does this push your team to just choose to build an iphone app? Or does this become the best way for developers to build a cross-platform experiences?

drpossum 2y ago
I'm confused by your question because this isn't anything new. They just renamed the old Remote Desktop App which was already available for alternate platforms like MacOS. I don't see how that changes anything for developers that they couldn't do before.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

snozolli 2y ago

This is the worst explanation of a new product that I've seen since Google Buzz.

asveikau 2y ago

I think some of what's depicted is what Windows RT should have been. There was lots of talk in the 2011 era about docking your tablet and getting a full desktop experience, and similar things. Some of the video is showing similar scenarios. I thought back then that the biggest mistake was to not lean more heavily into the existing Win32 ecosystem, which was the one big asset Microsoft had. Imagine if they had spent less time building tablet UIs nobody wanted, and more time working on solutions to let people access the Win32 world from your tablet, which is what I see in this video.

menotyou 2y ago

"...connect to the Windows experience they know and love.." I am not in that target group.

Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y ago

Does Windows have a Windows App?

TowerTall 2y ago

Gave it a shot and downloaded the app on win 11 with the intention of trying to rdp from my laptop to my desktop. When the app started it asked me to sign in (WTF), entered my Microsoft Account (personal, not azure AD) and was meet with the error message: Personal accounts are not supported (WTF). Utterly useless app at least for accessing on-prem devices on a home network. I go back to the good old remote desktop app that comes with windows because that is working flawless. Of course it doesn't work flawless. If you have been a good boy and followed Microsoft best practice and configured your Microsoft Account to be passwordless account as I have you of course cannot login because, as you would expect, the RDP app doesn't work with passwordless accounts. It only like 4 - 5 years since Microsoft introduced passwordless accounts so of course that too little time for an organization with 100K+ developers to implement their own best practices in their own products. sigh.