FloodAnxiety wrote on Nov 17, 2012, 21:17:
Game devs should not feel threatened by the windows 8 app store. They can still sell their desktop games the same way as they used to. They are only worried because if users start to gravitate to the app store they may stop purchasing desktop apps from other channels. If that does happen then that will only validate the direction they are going with the app store.
The certification process is a necessary evil to ensure that end user gets a good quality experience from these apps.
Here are some PROs of Windows 8 Store apps:
- The app can utilize more resources. All apps are required to properly support suspending and the possibility that the OS can terminate the app when it is not running. This means that an app store game can be a resource hog, and other open apps that are not running will get terminated if your app requires the resources used by that app.
So Windows 8 will close an app for if your not using it. Big whoopie do. How will it know whether you actually want an application left open or not? I keep hundreds of tabs open in my web browser, a PDF reader, NotePad++, Steam, SeaGate tools, etc. They run 24/7. They don't need to be closed. I DO NOT like this idea at all. Sounds like Microsoft wants to make every decision for the user now days...from the cradle to the ****ng grave.
- Consistent ways to update all of your apps. No more Quicktime/Adobe flash updaters pop ups and the corresponding services that are constantly running in the background checking for these updates.
Way to make a big deal about nothing. If an intelligent user wants to shut down a service and do manual updates he's free to do so. Unless the service running in the background is completely disrupting your OS experience, whats the problem? Furthermore, I actually enjoy getting popup windows from Adobe and other software. Forced updates are a bad idea. If the software changes in such a way that people don't WANT to upgrade to the latest version, what then?
- Security of the walled garden builds trust in the store and their apps. This will increase the number of users willing to take a chance on your software if you aren't a well known and trusted publisher.
Another bullshit so-called "PRO" of the Metro App store. All you are saying here is that it's good for small developers who aren't well known. Yet there are TONS of websites on the internet where small developers can promote their software. CNET is a great place for developers to have their software showcased.
- Installing an app can only install that app. No more hidden installations of google toolbar and other crap that you didn't ask for.
I didn't ask for the Metro UI on the latest version of Windows ...who's protecting me from that crap? How do I uninstall that?
- Simple and easy way to uninstall an app, and uninstall it cleanly. Most desktop software today will leave things behind, such as loose files and additions to the registry. Which contributes to the decline in performance and disk space of the PC after several years.
Oh my God. A loose file left behind on my 7200rpm SATA 6.0Gb/s 1TB hard disk drive???? The second return of Christ must be near!!! And last time I checked, Windows 7 still includes this neat little tool called "Disk Defragmenter".
- Apps that go unresponsive (the grey ghosting of the title bar you see in desktop apps) are terminated immediately. This raises the bar on developers to write responsive UIs.
An unresponsive application isn't a reason to contemplate suicide. Start the task manager and kill the application. A better way to have worded your point would have been to use the words "forces the developer" versus "raising the bar". Microsoft is very good at forcing things on people.
As for the desktop experience in Windows 8; I don't miss the start button at all. Instead of having a roughly 50x50 hot spot for the mouse to click on, there is a 4x4 hot spot right in the corner. I know where the start button is, I don't need the wasted pixels on my taskbar to show the Windows Logo. Not that I use it much anyways, since the Windows key on the keyboard has always opened the start menu and still has the same function.
Wow, that means if I upgrade to Windows 8 I can reclaim 2484 pixels of screen real-estate of a total 2,073,600 pixels on my 1920x1080 monitor for an actual savings of a number so insignificant I can't reprint it here. Yeah, I can see why people are "rushing" to upgrade to Windows 8. Hey, I got another tip for you. Get rid of your keyboard and mouse and buy a touchscreen-monitor(if you don't already have one). Think of the space you will save on your actual desk!!!
tldr; Lots of improvements all around. Devs should target the app store to reap the additional benefits it provides, or they can stick to the old way of doing things.
Every point in "FloodAnxiety"'s post was complete and total bullshit. Microsoft wants to coddle their users from the cradle to the grave. That means transferring more control away from the users and developers into the hands of Microsoft. Windows 8? No thanks. I'll stick to the "old" way of doing things.
People get all up-in-arms when they hear about bills like SOPA and PIPA because they don't want the government controlling and monitoring everything they do but somehow, its "A-Okay" if Microsoft controls everything on their desktop computer.
Windows 8 was the first step towards the home desktop PC becoming nothing more than a dumb terminal.
"People who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither" - Benjamin Franklin
This comment was edited on Nov 18, 2012, 01:35.
I'm sorry to inform the general public that vaccines DO NOT bestow upon thee eternal life. If you're around the age of 80 you need to be making your peace with God or the easter bunny. Whichever you believe in.