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PurpleGaga27

Is Microsoft trying to make Windows 10 the next Android OS?

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I have been wondering after Win10 Creator's Update on what Microsoft was trying to do.... trying to make the OS look more Android-like.

Ever since Windows 8, Microsoft introduced the Windows Store using XAP (for previously mobile devices before Win8.1) and now APPX (for current Win8.1/10 mobile and desktop) files. No wonder why Gabe Newell hated this feature because it'll ruin Steam and thus creating competition of how we buy/install/run apps. Microsoft is now relying on more Universal Windows Platform (notably UWP) apps away from the traditional desktop platform but desktop computing will never die. Some UWP apps consume less resources than traditional desktop apps. If Windows 10 is to be better with those UWP apps, the Windows Store really needs to be more stable, functional and convenient just like Steam, Origin and the others, and also provide an easy way to convert desktop apps to UWP, and so far I am not seeing it. I haven't got used to UWP apps yet because I seldom used them and they have limitations such as saved/installed files cannot be transferred to anywhere else.

There is a way to convert desktop apps (even the older legacy ones) to the UWP but the steps to produce it is complex and complicated. I don't think anyone here would try to convert every C&C game to a UWP app unless one is a programmer. The drawback is that the Desktop App Converter only works on a 64-bit PC with hardware-virtualization enabled.
http://www.windowscentral.com/how-convert-desktop-apps-universal-windows-platform-apps-desktop-bridge
https://www.howtogeek.com/250041/how-to-convert-a-windows-desktop-app-to-a-universal-windows-app/

I also found other formats that can be ported to UWP: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/

Currently as of now Android apps using APK are no longer supported for conversion into Windows 8/10 UWP which just sucks. There's still a way of doing this through another 3rd-party app but I am not providing details for that. I don't think such Android apps such as Plants vs Zombies 2, SimCity Buildit or even C&C4 mobile can be converted into Windows 10 UWP and run from it.

Also there are a limited number of 3rd-party sites providing XAP/APPX downloads. It's possible to download APPX files manually through the Windows Store and it requires some 3rd-party app to track the link and download from it (such as Fiddler): https://www.maketecheasier.com/download-appx-files-from-windows-store

I can pretty much tell that this is now the way Windows 10 is going to be after its first release.

 

Edit: This is not a finished post yet due to an error I typed. May add more info to this.

Edited by PurpleGaga27

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21 minutes ago, PurpleGaga27 said:

No wonder why Gabe Newell hated this feature because it'll ruin Steam and thus creating competition of how we buy/install/run apps.

That sentence would make sense if Windows Store could in any way, even remotely, compete with Steam. And MS is still using Steam for their games - Halo Wars: Definitive Edition has been released there, for crying out loud.

 

22 minutes ago, PurpleGaga27 said:

Steam uses their own file format to install games and other apps and so Steam OS was eventually born.

Are you aware Steam OS is Valve's custom Linux distribution, not a result of their "own file format"?

 

23 minutes ago, PurpleGaga27 said:

The illegal way of doing this is still possible but I am not providing details for that

Do you even know what the word "illegal" means?

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@Plokite, I wasn't finished posting the thread since I accidentally hit the enter key.

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