Articles about Windows Store

Using an app store to keep installed apps up to date is something that the likes of Apple’s App Store and Google Play brought to the mainstream, and it eventually moved to the desktop. Until now, the Microsoft Store has been limited in its capabilities, but Microsoft has announced some huge changes.

Perhaps the biggest change is support for updating Win32 apps directly in Microsoft Store, which is something users have been asking for for some time. But there are other changes too, including zero onboarding fees for developers, and an expanded set of Health Report insights.

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WhatsApp is in the process of rolling out a redesigned app for Windows users. The latest update to the beta version of the chat client sees the app echoing the design language used for WhatsApp Web, as well as some UI changes that will be familiar to macOS users.

One of the most notable changes to be seen in this refresh is the way in which channels are accessible. There are also changes in the Community section of the app, but the most welcome aspect of this latest update is the consistency which can now be enjoyed across platforms.

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Today, at its Build developer conference, Microsoft surprised no one with the news that it is betting big on the power of artificial intelligence.

The most exciting news was undoubtedly the announcement of Windows Copilot for Windows 11, but the company is also bringing AI to the Microsoft Store.

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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.

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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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It has been well-established that Microsoft is a friend of open source. The company releases many projects on GitHub, and recently, the Windows-maker became a Cloud Foundry Foundation Gold Member. During Build 2017, the company even shocked the world by announcing it was bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store.

Some SUSE-based distros recently arrived in the Windows Store as promised, but sadly, no Fedora or Ubuntu. While Red Hat's distro is still missing, today, Canonical's finally arrives. Yes, folks, Ubuntu has officially joined the Windows Store Linux party!

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Recently, the developer of Paint.NET mentioned that the app would be making its way to the Windows Store. He went as far as saying, "it's at the top of my list" of things to do.

Rick Brewster has now followed up on his "innocent little comment," confirming that the free image editor -- it was originally developed as simple replacement for Windows Paint, but has grown into something much bigger -- will indeed appear in the Windows Store as of version 4.0.17.

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If you aren't familiar with Anime, please know that it is essentially just Japanese-originated animation. Not only are the videos offered in short form for television, but as full-length films too. If you don't understand Japanese language, do not worry -- they are offered with either English language dubs or subtitles. These cartoons are not just popular with children, but adults too. Heck, some people even dress up as their favorite Anime characters for things like Comic Con.

Today, Microsoft announces that July is "Anime Month" in the Windows Store. Not only is the company offering great deals on movies and TV shows, but video games based on them too. In fact, there are even some free offerings to be had.

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During Build 2017, Microsoft delighted open source enthusiasts with a surprise announcement -- Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, and SUSE) was coming to the Windows Store. If you were running Windows 10 (not including the crippled "S" version) you would soon be able to install a Linux distribution directly from the official software store. Exactly when these distros would become available was unknown, sadly.

Ubuntu and Fedora are still not yet in the Windows Store, but starting today, both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 and openSUSE Leap 42 are -- sort of. You see, while they are technically in the store, you must be a Windows Insider running Windows 10 build 16190.0 or higher to install. If you are like me and you aren't running an Insider build because you prefer a stable experience, you are out of luck for now. Sigh.

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As the owner of a Kindle, I normally get all my e-books from Amazon. It is a great experience, as not only can I read the book on my e-reader, but thanks to the Kindle app, my smartphone and tablet too. Quite frankly, I never considered getting an electronic book anywhere else.

If you are a Windows 10 user, you can buy books from the official Store -- just like an app, song, game, or movie. If you have never bought an e-book from Microsoft before, now may be the time. The Windows-maker will give you a $5 Windows Store credit for buying a book from its store. Believe it or not, it even applies to books that cost less than $5, meaning you can sort of make a profit off the deal.

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While Windows users have long had the ability to use an official client for Spotify, there is a big dilemma -- Windows 10 S. The most recent version of Microsoft's operating system is limited to apps from the Windows Store. In other words, the official "Win32" Spotify client will not be compatible.

Luckily, Microsoft announced that both Spotify and iTunes were coming to the Windows Store. When they were coming, however, was unknown. While Apple's program is still missing, Spotify is finally here. As of today, Windows 10 users can get the official client from the Store.

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When Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is released later in the year, it will be the first glimpse many users get of Microsoft's new Fluent Design System. But Windows Insiders can already enjoy the new look, and an update to the Windows Store sees the app getting an acrylic makeover.

Formally known as Project NEON (when we were still talking about Redstone 3 builds), the Fluent Design System sees Microsoft bringing elements of Glass and Aero back to life. The acrylic material, specifically, refers to the blurring of backgrounds, and if you're an Insider on the Fast Ring, you can grab an update to check it out for yourself.

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Windows 10 S, Microsoft’s new education-focused operating system, has a lot of restrictions in place. The main one, of course, being that it only allows you to install apps from the Windows Store. If you want to install programs from outside its ecosystem, you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Edge is the default browser in Windows 10 S, and Bing the default search engine, and unlike in Windows 10 itself, you can’t change these. That might be something of a deal breaker for any browser-makers interested in bringing their product to Windows 10 S, but that’s not the only issue they’ll face.

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Microsoft this week introduced a new version of Windows 10 aimed primarily at users in education, and designed as an alternative to Google’s Chrome OS.

The main difference between Windows 10 S, and Windows 10 Home/Pro is it only runs apps from the Windows Store. You can’t install programs from elsewhere, and this includes Chrome. This mean users can only install Microsoft-verified software which, the software giant says, will result in better security and superior performance. You don’t need to buy or install Windows 10 S to get this feature though, you can simply lock down an existing version of Windows 10.

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If you want to download official themes for Microsoft’s operating system you can do so at the moment by going here, and choosing the theme you want from a selection of categories including Featured, Animals, Games, Movies, Places & Landscapes, and Panoramic. There are also 'Compatible with Windows 7' and 'Compatible with the new Windows' categories.

In Windows 10, you can also go to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Themes Settings, and click 'Get more themes online'. However, there’s now another way to get Windows 10 themes, and that’s from the Windows Store.

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