Why are the store apps so bad compared vendors standard apps

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  1. Posts : 11,246
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #1

    Why are the store apps so bad compared vendors standard apps


    Hi there
    Why is it in most cases (at least the ones that I've used) the store apps are usually atrocious and have far more limited functionality than the standard apps available usually from the vendors own web site.

    My latest nag here is on the HP MFP M28-M31 laser printer software (great cheap fast Black and white printer (although scans in color) laser printer BTW - compared with the cost of ink on ink jets these days !!!). The store app goes through a whole convoluted piece of B/S and then if you want to scan anything it attempts to log you in to HP's cloud servers which insist you sign in (or create an account) before the scan facility works.

    The stand alone app downloadable from HP just allows you to scan without any of that B/S --I hate in any case having to create accounts even if they are free just to use hardware !!!!!!

    Loads of other apps seem to be similarly hobbled if they come from the store. IMO perhaps Ms should ditch that whole store idea --it only came from somebody at the top of M/s trying to emulate Apple.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7,127
    Windows 10 Pro Insider
       #2

    jimbo45 said:
    Hi there
    Why is it in most cases (at least the ones that I've used) the store apps are usually atrocious and have far more limited functionality than the standard apps available usually from the vendors own web site.

    My latest nag here is on the HP MFP M28-M31 laser printer software (great cheap fast Black and white printer (although scans in color) laser printer BTW - compared with the cost of ink on ink jets these days !!!). The store app goes through a whole convoluted piece of B/S and then if you want to scan anything it attempts to log you in to HP's cloud servers which insist you sign in (or create an account) before the scan facility works.

    The stand alone app downloadable from HP just allows you to scan without any of that B/S --I hate in any case having to create accounts even if they are free just to use hardware !!!!!!

    Loads of other apps seem to be similarly hobbled if they come from the store. IMO perhaps Ms should ditch that whole store idea --it only came from somebody at the top of M/s trying to emulate Apple.

    Cheers
    jimbo
    I don't care for the HP Smart app. I think they should rename it HP Stupid. My last HP printer purchase is going to be just that. My last HP Printer purchase.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 11,246
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Winuser said:
    I don't care for the HP Smart app. I think they should rename it HP Stupid. My last HP printer purchase is going to be just that. My last HP Printer purchase.
    I agree about the software but the hardware is excellent. !!!

    However the point is that the standard app isn't the "Smart app" - but just gives you want you want -- print (with the print options such as orientation, size, duplex printing etc etc) or Scan with its options e.g auto orientate, pdf, jpg, png etc.

    I don't need any of the other "Web things" which request you to create an account, logon somewhere or answer silly questions - like "What color of knickers did (or does) your grandma wear in bed etc etc". !!

    The basic app just works fine and the amount I've saved on ink by using a laserjet compared with an inkjet is amazing - plus it always works even after not being used for ages - inkjets always "dry up" if not used regularly etc etc. The Laser cartridge also from 3rd party supplier can be had for around 20 EUR and lasts for pages and pages. Decent inkjet refills can cost a lot more than that and don't last anything like as long.

    (For special photography I'd dedicate a printer to that - but certainly wouldn't use it for normal work).

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 8,039
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
       #4

    Most of the Store apps are designed for idiots but Ten Forums members are not idiots! Many of us are from the generation which invented modern IT and the supporting hardware.
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  5. Posts : 2,937
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #5

    Another thing that I utterly dislike about UWP apps is that the interface is also hideous.
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  6. Posts : 1,728
    Windows 10 Pro x64 22H2
       #6

    jimbo45 said:
    Why are the store apps so bad compared vendors standard apps
    I think It's because of API limitations, one can do anything he wants with native API but when you try to do the same thing with UWP it's not straightforward.

    Depending on software in question it may take a lot of time to create a replica of original software that is years old and well tested.

    Another issue is software design, design of store apps is not here to replace desktop programs but to achieve something that runs on multiple platforms not only on Windows desktop.

    Something that makes sense and works well on Windows PC may be and usually is completely unrelated to another platform, this is the limitation because you have to choose whether you are designing a software for Windows PC or multiple platforms.

    For example I don't know whether you can plug your printer into mobile phone? and if you do does your mobile phone expose same functionality as Windows PC? I'm Just guessing about this but you get the point.
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  7. Posts : 11,246
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
    Thread Starter
       #7

    zebal said:
    I think It's because of API limitations, one can do anything he wants with native API but when you try to do the same thing with UWP it's not straightforward.

    Depending on software in question it may take a lot of time to create a replica of original software that is years old and well tested.

    Another issue is software design, design of store apps is not here to replace desktop programs but to achieve something that runs on multiple platforms not only on Windows desktop.

    Something that makes sense and works well on Windows PC may be and usually is completely unrelated to another platform, this is the limitation because you have to choose whether you are designing a software for Windows PC or multiple platforms.

    For example I don't know whether you can plug your printer into mobile phone? and if you do does your mobile phone expose same functionality as Windows PC? I'm Just guessing about this but you get the point.
    Hi there
    Then surely when installing the stuff the installer should say - for computer or whatever.

    I can't say that I've ever wanted to print anything from a mobile phone so I don't think the argument washes as far as printing from a PC or other device.

    Maybe the "Millennials" print from mobile phones -- not sure that I'd use that type of app on a tiny screen for printing a really complex multi sheet spread sheet containing a load of different worksheets all including embedded graphical content etc.

    To me a PC is a PC - not a mobile phone with a larger screen. !!!

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,208
    11 Home
       #8

    To me, personally, forcing the type of user who does not own, nor wants, a touchscreen device to use Metro UI is the exact opposite of 'Smart'. Quite possibly in fact, it is the worst insult to the user's intelligence that one could hold imaginable, as it flat out kills productivity in a vast number of ways─kind of like putting tractor wheels on a Ferrari.
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  9. Posts : 1,697
    X
       #9

    Jimbo said "To me a PC is a PC - not a mobile phone with a larger screen. !!!"
    I totally agree. Put lipstick on a pig and the result is ... a pig.

    hdmi said "... forcing the type of user who does not own, nor wants, a touchscreen device to use Metro UI is the exact opposite of 'Smart'. Quite possibly in fact, it is the worst insult to the user's intelligence that one could hold imaginable, as it flat out kills productivity in a vast number of ways - kind of like putting tractor wheels on a Ferrari."
    I totally agree. Metro is utter crap. And, given that Microsoft lost the phone wars long ago, Metro ought to be retired. It's a pointless anachronism.

    The solution? The Windows Store is disabled on all of our computers. It works best when it's disabled, right?

    PS: My sister-in-law is a MS executive in the cloud realm. Her son is a developer, also in the cloud.
    The cloud is everything for MS (as it should be). Don't expect much from Windows, not now nor in the future.
    I'm just waiting for MS to kill Windows and replace it with a branded Linux.
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  10. Posts : 11,246
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
    Thread Starter
       #10

    margrave55 said:
    Jimbo said "To me a PC is a PC - not a mobile phone with a larger screen. !!!"
    I totally agree. Put lipstick on a pig and the result is ... a pig.

    hdmi said "... forcing the type of user who does not own, nor wants, a touchscreen device to use Metro UI is the exact opposite of 'Smart'. Quite possibly in fact, it is the worst insult to the user's intelligence that one could hold imaginable, as it flat out kills productivity in a vast number of ways - kind of like putting tractor wheels on a Ferrari."
    I totally agree. Metro is utter crap. And, given that Microsoft lost the phone wars long ago, Metro ought to be retired. It's a pointless anachronism.

    The solution? The Windows Store is disabled on all of our computers. It works best when it's disabled, right?

    PS: My sister-in-law is a MS executive in the cloud realm. Her son is a developer, also in the cloud.
    The cloud is everything for MS (as it should be). Don't expect much from Windows, not now nor in the future.
    I'm just waiting for MS to kill Windows and replace it with a branded Linux.
    Hi there
    Just about the only things I use Windows for are OFFICE (including Visio and Project) - in spite of Freebies - Ms Office is still far superior to the rest, Photoshop (although the GIMP is improving by leaps and bounds), and accessing Work VPN's and applications -- and even then I tend to do it on a VM if I can.

    I test some of the new insider builds but compared to the Server versions they remain poorish performers -- not hideous but measured against the servers - poor.

    Performance of W2K16 and W2K19 when "modded" to run as desktops even on quite modest hardware and even as VM's should really get Ms to look again at their "Consumer grade" OS'es -- of course it's not easy since consumers probably have every bit of hardware (and software) in the known universe (and beyond !) running on Windows which rather makes running a "Standardized" OS like servers rather more complex. Also Windows is still the Gaming platform so there's no choice there - and while performance of VM's has improved significantly over the years - it's still much too complex task for most users to do to get "Near Native performance" on VM's - especially on Graphics which is a prime requirement for serious gaming.

    Ms IMO if Windows is to develop -- should split completely from the HOME, PRO, etc situations -- for those who simply want basic things like OFFICE and typical type applications develop a Windows based on Server W2K19 or its new incarnation W2K22 and for people who want games, extreme graphic GPU's, hobbyists, developers, eseoteric hardware put out a Windows "developer or Gaming" edition. -- 2 SKU's - cheaper to develop / maintain -- the one based on W2K19 server could be a LTS version while the other would get the "leading edge" developments -- So 2 teams -- the server developers could also release the standard windows while the other set would develop the "gaming" OS.

    Cheaper for Ms, simpler for users and would significantly reduce number of defects in the base product.

    Probably much too logical for Ms to do it though.

    For corporate stuff "The Cloud" is fine and even for some domestic / consumer things -- but one will always want to retain some local computing facility - away from internet etc -- for example security requirements, Internet outages, power outages either of ISP systems or local ones , off site backups / archives, sabotage / terrorism / hostile military destruction, natural disasters of infrastructure etc etc.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


 

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