Showing posts with label store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label store. Show all posts
Monday, 1 October 2012
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Software Catalogs appear in Windows Store
Up until now Windows Store offered a straightforward experience. The store front displays a number of categories that you could click on to be taken to app listings. Here you’d then see desktop and Windows Store apps offered in the store. While Windows Store has its issues, it works reasonably well most of the time.
If you have browsed the new apps listing recently you may have noticed that software catalogs, or store inside a store apps, have made their appearance on Windows Store.
Intel’s AppUP Center is an an app that makes available the same functionality as the website and desktop program the service has been offered on for the last couple of years. The Windows Store app lists free and paid programs that Windows 8 users can download to their PC. You will find several identical offerings in Windows Store, with games like Fruit Ninja being offered both in the Intel sub-store and the main Windows Store. There is a difference though; the Intel store redirects you to the Intel AppUp website where the apps are downloaded as program executables.
Why that is important? Windows Store apps get installed automatically, and when updates become available, the updates too. The programs offered in the Intel store app on the other hand are desktop programs that work on all recent versions of Windows. Payments too are not handled via Windows Store but using Intel’s own payment system integrated into the apps.
Intel is not the only company that has added a sub-store of sorts to Windows Store. The major software download portal Softonic too has added its own app to the store that uses a very similar system. The app highlights applications when installed and launched, some with reviews, others without, that all lead to the Softonic website where the programs can be purchased or downloaded, depending on whether they are commercial or freely available.
Both catalog apps highlight desktop apps exclusively. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely confusing at first, especially if you stumble onto dupes here. Users need to be aware that these store fronts act more or less independent from Windows Store. While they are available and installed in the store, that’s really the only connection there is.
It is likely that other download portals will push their apps to the store as well, and Microsoft should consider adding a separate category for these kind of apps to avoid confusion and intermixing with regular store apps.
The main question though is if anyone needs those store in a store apps. Only time will tell, but considering that they do not use the store ecosystem at all for downloading, updating and payments, and the fact that these stores are only a click away on the web, one has to ask whether there will be demand for these kind of apps.
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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Friday September 21, 2012 -
Tags:downloads, intel, Software, windows store
Categories: Windows
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Windows Store, Too Metroesque For The Desktop?
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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand.You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday January 21, 2012 -
Tags:windows 8, windows store
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Responses so far:Shadess says: January 22, 2012 at 2:22 amReplyRoman ShaRP says: January 22, 2012 at 3:34 amReplyVibin says: January 22, 2012 at 8:12 amReplyNerdebeu says: January 22, 2012 at 9:50 amReplyRoy says: January 22, 2012 at 1:09 pmReplyfokka says: January 22, 2012 at 3:41 pmReplykalmly says: January 22, 2012 at 5:46 pmReplyDan says: January 22, 2012 at 7:02 pmReplyJimmu says: January 22, 2012 at 7:16 pmReplyNerdebeu says: January 23, 2012 at 9:38 amReplyLeave a Reply Follow Ghacks Subscribe To Comment Rss
Microsoft revealed additional information about the
Touch screen users can scroll with a flick of their finger, while mouse and keyboard users do not have that luxury. They need to use their input devices to scroll the page horizontally, something that should feel awkward to many considering that this is not a common activity on the desktop.
The store has been integrated into Metro UI, which means that many of the user interface controls are working in the store as well. Users can tap on the search charm to run a search or zoom out of the page with the pinch gesture. And while those actions will surely be accessible via shortcuts on the desktop, it is likely that the operations will not be as fluid as on touch screen devices.
Pinching, flicking and tapping, that’s what gets you the best results in the store and Metro UI. But the majority of Windows users are not using touch based devices, and chance is that the majority won’t in the coming years.
It is not really clear why the company decided to go down that route, other than trying to increase their market share in the tablet and touch device market. It feels like an all or nothing move, with no turning back.
Is no one at the company wondering if Windows 8 could alienate a large part of the company’s existing user base?
The concentration on apps, and the exclusion of desktop applications, is another aspect that weights heavily here. While it would have certainly be more complicated to build a Windows store that included desktop apps, it would have been much more rewarding from a user perspective and certainly also from Microsoft’s perspective.
Microsoft has released a video that demonstrates the user experience
It is interesting to note that the video only showcases touch based navigation in the store, and not keyboard or mouse navigation.
The Windows 8 Beta will surely shed more light on a desktop user’s user experience. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft has improved the developer preview’s experience, or if it has remained more or less the same.
What’s your take on the Windows store and Windows 8?
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Responses so far:Shadess says:
I don’t get the “just metro apps” store either. I understand it would have been tricky to just offer existing program installers from the store and have a good experience with fluid auto updating and such but come on make a new installer that would play nice with the shop or something. Ever since it first became clear that win8 would have a store I just naturally assumed it would have desktop programs and autoupdating through it but no. Such a big big letdown. Windows8 still looks like it has some worthwhile updated features from win7 but what I most wanted isn’t happening :<
As I said many times, I rate the Metro UI as worst of all I have seen, so my opinion on it’s integration in Windows just couldn’t be good.
The same for Windows store – I would like don’t see it at all.
So far I’m from my work experience in Win 8 Dev Preview I’m not pleased with it at all. Yes, the system starts faster, but there all pleasant just ends because of the Metro, which I don’t like and don’t need, and which is hard to ignore because of pushing it by MS.
I think Microsoft got the basics wrong, seriously.
I like the Metro start screen, completely, but except that, Metro UI is crap. I mean it’s so annoying to leave an app *without* closing and even multi-tasking is uneasy. And I don’t even like these full screen apps.
To keep it short, you can’t have same OS on a Tablet and a PC.
Afflicted for my English, I read it very easily but does not speak it and do not write it (Google + Bing Traduction + personal modifications;) )
If Microsoft does not change anything compared to Developing it Preview, Windows 8 will be a colossal failure and I go even further, can put in danger the company.
One will not be able to compare at all with the relative failure of Vista. And even with the dependent sale. Remember that it was possible to return to XP at the time of Vista, which many people did (DELL for example proposed XP in the place of Vista).
Why a catastrophic failure?
(1) Does not create a single interface for different devices, Apple does not, for example. And you can’t really compare Metro and Mac OSX.
2)The touch screens represent only one very weak share of market for the office computers, and that will not change before years.
3)Windows 7 had an exceptional success, and is best OS than Microsoft conceived. It exceeded XP in share of market since very little time (Autumn 2011), and continues to be sold very well. To want to launch a new OS whereas the old one is not in loss speed is a madness.
4)You see companies with Metro on their working station, you? Let us be serious.
(5) These companies are beginning to renew their computing for Windows 7 only. Remember the XP mode… You think that they will engage in the purchase of Windows 8? It is not nothing understand business, while some still use IE6 in intranet, and the need to accompany them to at least IE 8…
(6) To read and discuss with many people, here, in Europe, and France in particular, apart from a few very rare users of smartphones, I don’t know anyone, but really nobody wants it, and most people have uninstalled Windows 8 DP after a day of use (my view I have taken 1 month).
7)People like appearance, and even if one will be able to come back on the desktop, naturally the interface seems to be Metro. And Metro, from a purely aesthetic point of view is particularly ugly, I would say horrible for everyone I know (users smartphones included).
(8) When I read the sites, international forums, the return of experience on Windows 8, with “geeks” is overwhelmingly negative, and the words used are sometimes extreme limits desperate.
Microsoft runs to the suicide. If they are the commercials ones which had this idea, then it is really of very bad commercials, with any direction of the analysis. Not only Windows 8 will not be sold, but worse, if I dare statement, it will not be pirated, and not because of its system of safety and authentification.
Afflicted for my English, I read it very easily but does not speak it and do not write it (Google + Bing Traduction + personal modifications;) )
Unless it changes substantially before release, W8 looks like continuing the MS good/bad alternate OS strategy and becoming another Vista/ME.
Porting what is essentially a nice tablet OS to PCs/laptops is conceptually a bad idea and the Store highlights the differences between the 2 platforms – I can’t see many reasons why a W7 user would consider upgrading.
W8 is a big gamble for MS – it looks good on touch devices but I wonder if they’ll be far too late to that particular party (or peaking fad depending which way you look at it)
as i said before, i simply don’t like the metro ui. on non-touch-computers its completely useless and on tablets etc i think it’s the worst solution of all (android, ios, web os,…).
as for the desktop-part of win8, i really can’t complain much, as long as you can disable metro _completely_.
and the store? you don’t have to use it. i for sure wouldn’t.
Metro
is not meant fo’
desktopo
I love it!! I cant wait to use this on all desktop computers I have. Looks great, feels smooth. I really hate the Apple store experience and who can trust doing any business with spygoogle. Microsoft is my choice when it comes out. Ive been selling all my apple stuff getting ready for it. I think finally one company gets it, its the customer and thats Microsoft.
Anyone notice that as 8 comes closer the anti Microsoft paid google and apple articles are all the same and so are the comments. Same anti comments but different websites. How many websites did google say they had in their paid blogger camp?
If Google or Apple had intended to pay someone to criticize Windows 8, they have not took me. I do not speak English, you saw, not? Should you care, you and your paranoia. I love Windows 7, I find Chrome OS totally absurd, and for the little that I saw a Mac by far, as it is fully locked, it doesn’t interest me. And I do not use the browser Chrome, Safari, but Opera and FF. And, it makes me sick to see MS do anything and commit suicide.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Pop Merch Market your vinyl record store online
The saying that everything that is old becomes new again is certainly becoming a reality in the music world. As digital recording has taken over as part of the technological revolution, true music enthusiasts have retained their passion for the true sound that only vinyl records can produce. Ears are naturally tuned to receive the smooth, uninterrupted sound waves that only analog captured wavelengths produce through the sculpted grooves fingerprinted uniquely into each long-playing platter.
Pop Merch Market vinyl record store online, is one of the best resources to find vinyl box sets, imports, hard-to-find out of print and special order items for those who never abandoned vinyl. For new listeners who are discovering the rich, warm sonic aesthetic quality found only with records, popmerchmarket.com offers vinyl box sets at amazing prices that allow listeners to purchase libraries of current and vintage bands in a one stop purchase.
This store specializes in re-issues from all genres which are not often advertised and many times very limited in release. Usually, because pressing and lathes have become scarce, a label will send out a single album re-issue to test the waters of the back to vinyl interest. However, popmerchmarket.com has direct relationships with distributors which are advantageous to customers as rare, imported editions come straight from the manufacturer without the added costs of middlemen. Because the people behind this service-oriented online music store are music lovers themselves, they go the extra mile to find their valued customers what they want with a desire to please that is a business model as vintage some of their inventory. As an added bonus, free shipping is standard with every purchase delivered within the continental U.S.
The trend is quickly picking up the pace which is evident by the recent manufacturer of several inexpensive turntables which major retailers and big box stores cannot keep in stock with many eagerly back-ordered. Having its finger on the pulse way and already way ahead of the curve, popmerchmarket.com is the online music store source with unique vinyl box sets from the masters such as the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, the Kinks, and Marianne Faithfull; '70s classics from Journey, Whitesnake, Pink Floyd, and Yes; to the recently released Amy Winehouse's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, whose music has been heard mainly on CD, but heard on vinyl, proves all the more gifted this tragic songstress' voice was.
Let popmerchmarket.com be the first stop in matchmaking the coveted needle to the vinyl box set or import it's been waiting to spin. Disappointment is not an option as this store strives to match music lovers with the music they love.
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