In recent weeks, Microsoft has made a lot of announcements. Among them are the operating system for the education of Windows 10 S, the new Surface Laptop laptop, the significant updates of Windows 10 and much more presented at the Microsoft Build 2017. The question arises as to what, in the context of the new Microsoft announcements, the future of the most popular OS for the PC and will it remain the same and familiar?
Various announcements of the software giant clearly indicate that Microsoft's focus has shifted to the Windows Store, which may become the central part of the Microsoft operating system in the future.
When Windows Store appeared in 2012 simultaneously with the debut of Windows 8 and Windows RT, the situation in the industry was completely different than now. Influenced by the incredible success of Apple's iOS App Store, technology companies have sought to create their own application stores. In 2011, Apple also launched the Mac App Store, far less successful than the digital product store for mobile devices.
The debut of the Windows Store in 2012 was accompanied by the fact that Windows 8 was intended for computer devices based on the Intel x86 / x64 architecture, while Windows RT was intended for the ARM platform. The same store for both platforms was one, which meant the need to ensure the compatibility of the applications placed in it with ARM. After all, only this approach would allow the software to run on RT as well.
From this it followed that the Windows Store originally contained applications in the style of Metro, from which the software giant now decided to abandon, focused on tablets and created in order to compete with the Apple iPad. Thus, the store was actually not designed for traditional programs oriented to the Windows operating system.
In addition, it should be noted that the software based on the popular .NET and Win32 frameworks was not suitable for the store. This meant that many popular programs simply could not become available in the Windows Store without their fundamental processing.
But Microsoft has learned from the initially dull debut of the Windows Store. With Windows 10, the universal platform Universal Windows Platform appeared, which made it easier for developers to create applications that could run on different platforms. Last year, at its Build 2016 conference, the software giant Microsoft introduced the Desktop Bridge Tool, which helps make Windows-based versions of Windows-compatible versions of traditional Windows desktop applications based on .NET and Win32.
Last year, the first part of the games for Xbox One was offered as Windows 10 compatible versions that were compatible with Windows 10. This became part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, ensuring Microsoft the opportunity to compete with such solutions, including Steam.
And here's a nice news for users - Windows 10 for ARM, which is essentially the development of the RT concept, is able to run almost all x86 applications using emulation, whether they are installed from the Windows Store or not. This fixes the most significant disadvantage of RT. It seems that Microsoft wants to provide developers the opportunity to place in the Windows Store of real applications for desktop computers. In the meantime, the new Windows 10 S operating system allows you to run only applications from the Windows Store. And in Windows Store there is a whole range of important software for the user, including iTunes, Spotify, and even several Linux distributions.
Instead of continuing to use the store for just a few applications for ARM, Microsoft aims to put it at the core of the Windows ecosystem. Of course, until the moment when you can install applications like Photoshop from the store, perhaps, it is still far away, but the software giant would like to see that most of the software that users need is available there.
If Microsoft can make the new Windows Store concept appealing to both users and developers, the Windows Store will have a second chance, which, if successful, will completely change the perception of Windows that users have had over decades of presence in the market for these operating systems systems. Installing and uninstalling applications can become much easier for users. The Windows Store interface will replace a whole set of tasks - downloading the application executable file, installing it and removing it, and not just dreaming that the developer has provided at least some uninstaller. Moreover, the presence of a store in which the main software for the most popular computer OS is collected could simplify the process of providing software updates.
Microsoft recently also added an option in Windows 10 Creators Update that provides an optional option to block installation of applications not from the Windows Store. This option is similar to the Gatekeeper function for OS X from Apple. In reality, in which the Windows Store would contain all the necessary software required by users, Windows could become much more secure for users.
The advantages of such an approach for Microsoft would also be expressed in 30% of the proceeds from the sales of applications. Of course, Microsoft thought about the role of the application store a little later than the period when this approach was innovative. It should be remembered that Apple tried to repeat its own success with the Mac App Store. At the same time, the technological giant from Cupertino has never had such multiplatform contradictions as Microsoft. But the limitations on what applications can do and the fact that developers have to give away 30% of their income from application sales have made it easier for them to sell applications directly to users and the Mac App Store has not yet become an indispensable part operating system.
However, Microsoft has softer requirements for applications, and this could theoretically ensure its success where it was not reached by Apple. All this will become clear only with the time, while from the recent announcements Microsoft clearly follows the growing role of the application store in the Windows ecosystem.
Does this trend please the users?
Based on theverge.com
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