Is it game over for the Microsoft Store? (And if not, why not?)
Microsoft’s app store came into being at the same time as Windows 8. It was, as I said at the time, part of an attempt to copy Apple's successful model. I think most people expected the Store to be a bit rubbish, but it turned out to be even worse than that. Seven years on and it’s wasteland full of knock offs and junk apps. It hasn’t fallen on hard times, it’s always been that bad.
Part of the problem is there’s no longer a need for the Store, or the apps that it offers. If you want a piece of software to run on your PC, or your Windows tablet, you can download it from a wide range of sources, and the versions you’ll find elsewhere -- programs, legacy apps, whatever you want to call them -- tend to be superior to the crippled and/or packaged apps Microsoft is offering. So what’s the point of the Store?
Microsoft stops selling ebooks, offers refunds to customers
If you have been using the Microsoft Store as your point of purchase for ebooks, you're going to have to start shopping elsewhere. Microsoft has ditched the Books category from the store, and this means that not only will it not be possible to buy books from the Microsoft Store, but also that previous purchases will not be accessible after July.
For anyone who has built up a library of ebooks via Microsoft, this will come as bad news -- but there is a slight silver lining. The company says that it will provide full refunds for all book purchases.
The Document Foundation distances itself from unofficial LibreOffice app in the Microsoft Store
Earlier today we wrote about the sudden appearance of a new LibreOffice app in the Microsoft Store. There were a couple of peculiarities about the app -- not only was it made by an unknown developer, but it came with a price tag.
Now The Document Foundation -- the organization behind the LibreOffice office suite -- has spoken up to say that the app is not official and to point out that it is not getting any money from it.
Free, open source office suite LibreOffice arrives in the Microsoft Store -- with a price tag
LibreOffice is one of many free alternatives to Microsoft Office, and the open source office suite has now arrived in the Microsoft Store.
While many people will be pleased by the appearance of a Store version of the software, some will be disappointed to find that the app is not free. At least not at first glance. There's a $2.99 price tag attached to Libre Office, but this is not necessarily a reason to let this put you off.
How to download offline copies of Windows 10 apps from the Microsoft Store [Update]
It’s very easy to install Windows apps from the Microsoft Store. You just need to go to the app’s page there, click the 'Get the app' button, and wait.
But what if you want to download a copy of the app for installing later, or on multiple systems? Well it turns out there is a way to do this.
You can now remotely install apps from the Microsoft Store to your Windows 10 devices
There is a new remote installation feature available in the Microsoft Store on the web, making it possible to install apps on Windows 10 devices even if you are not currently using them.
Working much like the option found in Google Play that lets Android users push apps to any of the devices they have associated with their Google account, the new feature from Microsoft provides a similar ability with Windows 10 apps.
Apple embraces the Microsoft Store with iTunes for Windows 10
Windows 10 is a great operating system, but its app store? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, the Microsoft Store is a serviceable solution, but it is deficient in many ways. Most notably, there is a lack of quality apps, as many developers haven't truly embraced the store. The apps that are there, however, are often fakes/imitations and low quality. If Microsoft wants to legitimize its app store, it needs to score some major software.
I was in attendance at Build 2017 when Microsoft announced an impressive score -- iTunes was coming to the store. Believe it or not, that announcement elicited a gasp from the Build crowd. True, Apple's media program is in dire need of a UI refresh, and it is quite bloated, but many people still use it daily -- especially for Apple Music. Unfortunately, the promised iTunes never came to the Microsoft Store -- until today. Yes, damn near a year after the announcement, iTunes is finally in the store. Better late than never, I suppose.
WSL-DistroLauncher is an open source tool designed to lure Linux distros to the Microsoft Store
Is it cool that there are Linux distributions in the Microsoft Store? Eh, I suppose. While I don't fully trust Microsoft's commitment to both Linux and open source, understandably, some Linux users and administrators have the need to also run Windows 10. And so, from a convenience standpoint, the whole Windows Subsystem for Linux thing is appreciated (we are watching you though, Microsoft!).
Unfortunately, not all Linux distributions are available in the Microsoft Store. This is a problem, as Linux users are very tribal -- a Fedora user, for instance, might be unhappy using Debian. Microsoft hopes to solve this dilemma by making it even easier for distribution maintainers to get their distros into the store. How does the Windows-maker plan to do this? With an all-new GitHub-hosted open source tool called "WSL-DistroLauncher."
As Debian comes to Windows 10, should we worry Microsoft will 'embrace, extend, and extinguish' Linux?
Personally, I am not a fan of running Linux distributions on Windows 10 -- WSL, virtual machine, or otherwise. While I appreciate Microsoft's focus on Linux lately, I am of the opinion that if you want to run an operating system based on that open source kernel, then you should just do so natively -- not on top of Windows. While there is no proof that anything nefarious is afoot, it does feel like maybe the Windows-maker is hijacking the Linux movement a bit by serving distros in its store. I pray there is no "embrace, extend, and extinguish" shenanigans going on.
Just yesterday, we reported that Kali Linux was in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10. That was big news, but it was not particularly significant in the grand scheme, as Kali is not very well known. Today, there is some undeniably huge news -- Debian is joining SUSE, Ubuntu, and Kali in the Microsoft Store. Should the Linux community be worried?
Kali Linux for Windows 10 now available in Microsoft Store
It still seems unreal, but yes, you can install Linux distributions from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10. This remains shocking for many people (including me), as Microsoft was a longtime enemy of both open source and Linux. Of course, that is no longer true, as the Windows-maker embraces both nowadays.
Today, yet another Linux distribution comes to the Microsoft Store for Windows 10, joining such favorites as SUSE and Ubuntu. While not as popular as those two, Kali Linux is still an important distro, as it focuses on security and penetration testing.
Here's how to fix the missing Store problem in Windows 10 Build 17110
Shortly after Microsoft released the latest Windows 10 preview build to Insiders on the Fast ring, reports started coming in that the Store was missing for a number of users.
The problem wasn’t one of those listed in the known issues, and Microsoft announced that it was investigating. If you’re on the new build and the Store is missing for you, there is now a workaround you can try.
Subscriptions with automated recurring billing come to Windows 10
The number of decent apps available in the Microsoft Store pales in comparison to those in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Big names drop out almost as quickly as new ones arrive, which doesn’t help.
In yet another bid to woo developers to the platform, Microsoft is introducing subscription add-ons for Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, and later.
Google Chrome finally arrives in Windows 10's Store (kind of) [Update]
Google is notorious for its abysmal support of Windows 10's app store. A quick search reveals that there are only two apps available from the company, both of which are called Google. One is for PCs and the other targets mobile devices. Neither is of any real value to Google users on Windows 10 though.
If you want Gmail, Google Calendar, YouTube or Google Maps you will have to use the browser. However, there is a different story with Google Chrome. The browser just landed on Microsoft Store (Windows 10's app store), making it easier than ever to download it on a Windows 10 machine.
Microsoft Black Friday 2017 sale -- score amazing deals on Surface, Xbox, and Windows 10 devices!
If there is someone in your life that loves technology, and you want to get them a really great Christmas gift, look no further than the Microsoft Store. Seriously folks, if you want to delight someone special, just get them an Xbox One or Surface. If Microsoft's Surface-branded computers are too expensive, there are plenty of other Windows 10 devices from which to choose too.
Understandably, buying such extravagant gifts might be a hardship financially, so if you have been waiting for the best time to make that purchase, please know that now is when you should finally pull the trigger. You see, Microsoft's Black Friday 2017 has gone live a day early! Yes, you can score a great deal on Surface, Xbox, and Windows 10 devices right now. Here's the details, y'all.
Paint.NET hits version 4.0.18 and arrives in the Microsoft Store... for a price
Fans of the image editing tool Paint.NET have two big pieces of news to digest. While this is only a minor version number bump, Paint.NET 4.0.18 improves startup times by around 25 percent as well as improving portable mode and introducing per-user plugins.
But perhaps the biggest news -- as promised a few months ago -- is that Paint.NET is now in the Microsoft Store. While many people will welcome the arrival of the app in the Store, the fact that a price tag has been slapped on it will come as a surprise -- and a disappointment -- to some.
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