Will You Replace Programs for Apps When Updating to Windows 10?

[Sir Topham Hatt]

I was thinking along the lines of Outlook and such.

Will you just use the inbuilt apps or continue to use full programs?

[vcfan]

any desktop application that I can switch to a windows app, I will. windows apps look better, scale better, and offer much better security. plus. they will allow me to run them on any of my devices, regardless of form factor.

[neo1911]

Let's see my list and chances that they will be available as an app in Windows store

 

1. iTunes: No chance. It will remain as legacy desktop app (How else can apple add so many bloatware services and depending apps?)

2. PotPlayer: No chance. The best video player will never see app store. 

3. Tag&Rename: Possibility of seeing it in app store but it will be severely crippled.

4. TeamViewer: It will be AppStore only app for sure.

5. Office 2016: Yes, it will be AppStore only

6. Torrent client: Depends on Microsoft's stance.

 

So it's going to be mixed. Wondering how hard it would be for developers to port their code to Store style apps. They will not be allowed to use Windows Registry as freely.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

If my desktop applications continue to work then I will not replace them for an app. But I'm not sure which of your options closest resembles that answer, so I haven't voted.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

Very difficult question to answer.  My answer which doesn't map particularly well to the choices: Where a functionally equivalent app exists.

[Max Norris]

Depends on the app really, but ditto vcfan's comment mostly, that's assuming a modern replacement is available of course.   Better looks, sandboxed, multiple platforms, centralized updates, they're not full screen anymore but behave just like classic apps, it's all good.  Still going to be a lot of legacy stuff floating around for years to come obviously, not going to be an overnight thing, plus not every program is suited to a modern app, stuff like services/servers, development tools, etc.

[tsupersonic]

It all depends...no one knows what apps are going to be on the store. If the apps I use are on the store, I will install the store version rather than download/install/maintain it myself.

[MikeChipshop Member]

Depends if the app functions as well as the desktop counterpart, if so, then i probably would.

[Ci7]

mostly already do.

 

using

 

Video app /music app (why dont they seriously merge Video and Music app?) , i stopped using any kind of codecs because of the current state of affairs. less thing to mantain is surely better Security and stability wise

Mail app.

Maps ....but rarely.

Weather... for quick galance.

[neo1911]

Depends if the app functions as well as the desktop counterpart, if so, then i probably would.

 

It will not. The dev had years to perfect their apps for desktop while store only apps will be half baked, at least initially till the APIs mature.

[MikeChipshop Member]

[Fraud OS 11]

- Apps look better? Hell no! That is subjective.

- Perform better? No they're slower because they're mostly written in XAML. User has no idea if the app is native code or managed unlike programs where you can easily determine if it relies on .NET.

- Usability of apps over programs? Far worse.

- Security? None of my desktop apps has been hacked ever.

- Scale better? Yes but I already have Android where apps are optimized for the specific display sizes I use

 

So apps replacing programs? No way in hell.

 

- Apps can't have multiple instances.

- No dragging and dropping data between two apps possible?

- Performance is extremely horrid.

- Usability is laughable, for both keyboard and mouse.

- Navigation is far far worse.

- App have inherently low information density due to touch optimized controls, UI dumbed down, very low utility and value in terms of features

- WinRT APIs not even remotely close to Win32 yet

- No remotely attractive feature in the UI, plus UI elements oversized for mouse usage.

- Programs have full manual control over updates in case some "improvements" arrive which will be forced on you

 

So when Windows 10 is forced on poor Windows 7 users, first thing to do is use PowerShell to uninstall all apps, change all defaults to desktop versions. And replace all Windows "improvements" with 3rd party desktop apps so functionality doesn't reduce every few years and UI isn't compromised every few years.

[PGHammer]

Very difficult question to answer.  My answer which doesn't map particularly well to the choices: Where a functionally equivalent app exists.

The question is - and should be - app-specific. Where an app is the better choice (for me personally), an app will be my choice. In some cases, features will be the deciding factor - in some cases, it will be the screen-size of where it will be used (I have a desktop and two notebooks - of different screen sizes from each other and the desktop-formfactor PC). In other cases, I may actually use both (where the app is an adjunct - that is how I use Mail, and it's tile - as an adjunct to Outlook).

[Max Norris]

- Perform better? No they're slower because they're all written in XAML, not native code.

XAML is a markup language, not the language a program is written in. You can even use XAML with C++. That has nothing to do with it, never mind that being done that way actually gives you much better video performance over what's possible with the classic GUI stuff, which is unaccelerated and quite slow.

- Security? None of my desktop apps has been hacked ever.

Sandboxed versus potentially unrestricted access to the entire system, a no brainer, never mind everything is updated all from the same place versus letting something rot because you forgot to grab an update.

- Scale better? Yes but I already have Android where apps are optimized for the specific display sizes I use

So your fix is to just use a different OS?

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Chrome over Spartan - Depends how well Spartan turns out. I like Spartan so far, but in its current state, Chrome wins all the way. 
Office - prefer desktop version. 
Photoshop - Cant ever see a metro app of this happening, so desktop.
Maya - Maya is WAAAAYYY to complex for a metro app, so desktop again.
Skype - Desktop app has everything I want and need, the metro app is horrendous compared to it.
Photos app - windows photo viewer is already WAY better, faster and does what I want.
Music app - I began to use Dopamine app, which is already better and more feature complete than the Microsoft version.
Video app - VLC Player for desktops - nothing comes remotely close.
iTunes - If Apple released a metro app that did EXACTLY what the current desktop app does, sure. Cant see it ever happening though.
uTorrent - if a good metro app exists that allows me to put in proxy/vpn info sure. 

Basically IF metro apps had the same functionality as their desktop counterparts, sure. But they never will. So for that reason win32 and win64 apps will always rule the day.

[HawkMan]

 

- Apps look better? Hell no! That is subjective.

- Perform better? No they're slower because they're mostly written in XAML. User has no idea if the app is native code or managed unlike programs where you can easily determine if it relies on .NET.

- Usability of apps over programs? Far worse.

- Security? None of my desktop apps has been hacked ever.

- Scale better? Yes but I already have Android where apps are optimized for the specific display sizes I use

 

So apps replacing programs? No way in hell.

 

- Apps can't have multiple instances.

- No dragging and dropping data between two apps possible?

- Performance is extremely horrid.

- Usability is laughable, for both keyboard and mouse.

- Navigation is far far worse.

- App have inherently low information density due to touch optimized controls, UI dumbed down, very low utility and value in terms of features

- WinRT APIs not even remotely close to Win32 yet

- No remotely attractive feature in the UI, plus UI elements oversized for mouse usage.

- Programs have full manual control over updates in case some "improvements" arrive which will be forced on you

 

 

So many statement and basically there's not a true one among them...

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

So many statement and basically there's not a true one among them...

Every one of those are true. 

[neufuse Veteran]

not until 100% of the functionality I have in the desktop version is built into the other version... so far the "apps" feel like stripped down programs

[DConnell Member]

I already use a mix of Apps and desktop programs. IF I update to 10 (not even remotely sold on it being an improvement over 8.1), I'll likely continue to use the same mix.

[BinaryData]

any desktop application that I can switch to a windows app, I will. windows apps look better, scale better, and offer much better security. plus. they will allow me to run them on any of my devices, regardless of form factor.

I feel like there should be /sarcasm at the end of "better security". Windows has been proven to have the WORST security, out of all Operating Systems.

[PotatoAlchemist]

I feel like there should be /sarcasm at the end of "better security". Windows has been proven to have the WORST security, out of all Operating Systems.

I think he meant better security for the WinRT apps (Windows Store, Universal, the likes) rather than the desktop/Win32 ones. Which is actually true in this case.

[BinaryData]

I think he meant better security for the WinRT apps (Windows Store, Universal, the likes) rather than the desktop/Win32 ones. Which is actually true in this case.

Makes sense. I see Windows as a massive security problem. If it were within my power, I'd have Ubuntu on my work laptop. But that's beside the point.

Thank you, for the correction Potato! Fyi, Love the name :]

[Max Norris]

I feel like there should be /sarcasm at the end of "better security". Windows has been proven to have the WORST security, out of all Operating Systems.

Oh please, it's the end user that's the problem, not the OS. Other operating systems have had their fair share of massive vulnerabilities too, without exception. That's how the overwhelming majority of malware happens.. not a flaw in the OS but user dumbassery or occasionally exploited flaws in third party software like the browsers or plugins, plain and simple.

[strollin]

I only use a few apps on my Windows tablet that has a touchscreen and apps make sense, on my laptop and tower I stick with desktop versions.

[BinaryData]

Oh please, it's the end user that's the problem, not the OS. Other operating systems have had their fair share of massive vulnerabilities too, without exception. That's how the overwhelming majority of malware happens.. not a flaw in the OS but user dumbassery or occasionally exploited flaws in third party software like the browsers or plugins, plain and simple.

 

I disagree, but that is for another topic.

To keep on topic; I'll convert a few of my tools. Nothing like Visual Studio, more of Skype, etc..