In the beginning there was the word, and the word was Metro. And then it was Windows 8-style. And then it was Modern. And then it was Windows Store. And then it was Universal. And today, Microsoft has decreed that henceforth these apps – which are all ultimately based on Windows Runtime – will be known as Windows apps.
Historically, of course, “Windows apps” (or “Windows programs”) referred to standard, Win32-based executables that ran on the Windows desktop. Under the new naming scheme, these Win32 apps will now be called Windows desktop applications. As you can see in the slide above, despite the new nomenclature, the differences between the two types of app remain the same.
Microsoft can paint itself red and call itself a girl scout until the pink cows come home, but everyone will still, and will continue to, call them Metro applications.
I’ve been calling them ‘universal apps’ for the past several months. IMO, Metro apps were the ones that only ran on desktops and tablets, but universal apps can run on phones, tablets, desktops, consoles, etc. So I think there’s a clear distinction there. But no way in HELL am I calling them Windows apps
Sorry Microsoft, even for those of us who are in support of these universal apps, it’s hard for even us to keep the faith when you can’t even get the branding right. It’s like marketing departments have meetings where they ask themselves, ‘What can we name this product that will ensure we confuse the hell out of everyone involved?’ I swear, they do it on purpose …
Edited 2015-03-26 23:36 UTC
I don’t get what the complaint is about as its VERY simple, Windows programs (I HATE the word “apps”) will run anywhere, desktop, tablet, and phone, while Windows desktop programs will…wait for it…run on the desktop which means what everybody and their dog thinks of when they think Windows desktop, your bog standard X86 tower or laptop.
So if anything I’d argue this is better and simpler, after all many users wouldn’t know Metro from Metrosexual (In point of fact every user that has come into the shop has called the Metro UI the “big screen” or “full screen” Windows) but they know what a desktop is.
I disagree. I think it’s a rare case of a trendy new word actually better reflecting the technical concept than the established word.
‘Program’ covers all sorts of things, including applications, libraries, and operating-systems. ‘App’ is a neat way to refer specifically to applications.
Say what? Might want to learn your terms mate as what you are describing is called libraries and DLLs, NOT programs. I’ve NEVER heard an OS, a library, or a DLL called a “program”, maybe a program file, certainly not a program.
And “app” is for cellphones NOT for desktops You ask anybody if they have any apps they will NOT reach for their mouse or laptop, they’ll reach for their phone. trying to get a cellphone term to work on the desktop is just hipster crap and no different than how you get the pedantists arguing about whether you should be allowed to call a piece of malware a virus, trojan, pup, or worm…at the end of the day? The public just isn’t gonna buy it.
And I should know as I work in a PC shop 6 days a week and one of the things I’ve been doing is asking folks that bring in their Win 8 PCs if they’ve used the app store…I was curious to see if the new Windows market was anything to care about…lol nope, because when I ask them “I don’t own a Windows phone” or “I get those through the play store”. Way to go MSFT, by trying to be Apple hipster you’ve doomed your store, way to go lol.
The problem is that if I say ‘xyz is a Windows app’, that has traditionally meant desktop app for about the past three decades. So they need to name these new apps something else. ANYTHING else.
That would be like them naming their Windows 10 browser Internet Explorer, and then telling us that the old Internet Explorer is called ‘IE Classic’, or some shit …
Edited 2015-03-28 03:37 UTC
Meanwhile the average joe will just look at you funny when you say Windows instead of Internet Explorer, and “apps” are those doo-hickies you use on phones. Old farts like myself will still call them programs, while “metro” refers to the greater city areas we live in. Life goes on, no one really gives a damn what Microsoft calls them.
I concur. The average Joe simply doesn’t give a shit what they’re called. And why should they? A name is meaningless when you only care about what’s important – does the thing work and does it do what I want/need?
I still refer to them as POS apps
Actually I like this term. It is rather common to call programs for Windows desktop as Windows programs[i], and the word [i]app is strongly associated with applications for mobile phones and tablets, so distinction between Windows programs and Windows apps is fairly natural and obvious. If only anyone would care.
Microsoft needs to stop attempting to leverage the Windows desktop to gain a foothold in the mobile space. They’re simply going to alienate their customer base, who will simply carry on buying iOS and Android. They really should have learn the lesson with Windows 8, but here we go again.
Yeah and there is less money in the mobile space. A legit copy of windows for a pc alone costs more than anyone in the world outisde of europe and north america would even pay for a phone.
It’s not the phone that gives them revenue, it’s the 30% cut on the apps/app store that does
I always think of them as tablet/phone style apps.
So apps mostly refering to touch-based applications. It can see the connection. Still somewhat ambigious, though not as much as calling them WinRT apps after the name of the API. And god forbid the “modern” name they used for a while.
I really don’t understand what goes on in their heads up there in Redmond. After seeing Media Center and then hearing about what Metro would be I thought it was a great idea for tablets and to replace Media Center (which they never did). My only thought was that RT should only have Metro and nothing else (no desktop at all). The pro version should have had normal Windows (with a start menu) and the option to turn on Metro and the ability to run Metro apps in the desktop. Their solution is to just remove RT and make things desktop again with a little bit of Metro involved. They seem to want to just take everything in the extreme and then go back and try to fix things with an extreme.
Also, I wish MacOS X was like I suggest above, but instead of Metro, the iOS apps show up on Launchpad and can be run in a window.
Edited 2015-03-27 16:25 UTC
Metro -> Modern -> Universal -> Windows.
Reminds me of this mess:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile#Smartphones
Which brings us to one important lesson: Pick ONE name for your product or platform already!
Of course, this is not easy when your vision changes more often than a gamer changes GPUs.
Which brings us to the second important lesson: Pick ONE vision. First Metro apps where supposed to be the next way to write apps (it was pitched as the most important shift since the shift from DOS to win32) with win32 apps considered “legacy”, then Metro apps became what a “modern” (aka time-waster’s) app should be with productivity apps remaining win32, then the whole universal thing, then I lost track of the ball…
The reason Apple doesn’t have such mess is because they have a coherent vision. OS X apps are OS X apps, and iOS apps are iOS apps. There might be some technology sharing between the two, but they are presented as two different things. Same for Android apps and Chrome apps.
Edited 2015-03-27 16:49 UTC
They might as well said “legacy” programs and modern programs.
What’s lacking is the quality of apps from the store and how well they integrate with a desktop environment.
Let’s face it, desktop is already legacy computing nobody will ever care about in a few years. Commodity comes to mind and chinese OEM’s that managed to make sub 100 bucks PC’s that fits all the needs for most consumers.
The desktop already legacy? hahahaha, you must not do any work on a computer. Some work applications are now web applications, but there are still an incredible amount of applications that require “The Desktop” and those are the applications that actually make businesses run.
I hope you realise that the latest versions of Chrome/FireFox/IE/Office/PhotoShop/any IDE are all “legacy” in your opinion
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/legacy
4. Obsolete
5. of or relating to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems
Windows Apps: Come from the store and run on everything modern. Safe but limited
Windows Programs: Come from your it-department or dubious download sites and run on the desktop. Unsafe but powerful
Universal Programs: Websites that run on any device/browser/OS