I wonder if tying this to the windows store is a good move. The reception thus far hasn't been extremely encouraging.
On a chromebook-style laptop, expectations might be different.
I personally don't like the walled-garden aspect of app-stores, but I like that there is someone who can effectively respond if malware is reported. Sometimes malware is even proactively removed.
For non-power-users this is definitely an advantage. I hope in a few years I can just tell my parent to only install software from the app store, and they will be fine. Additionally, they don't have to do anything to stay up-to-date.
Even for power users there is a (theoretical) advantage, which is explicit dependency management. Once you know that all your software is distributed through one channel, libraries and versions can effectively be shared. This is what happens in the Free Software version of app stores: All major distros have them, and without them dependency management would be impossible.
So what is the potential gain here? In some version of the future, we might hope that apps don't include hard-copy versions of the libraries they are using, but just tell the app-store which versions they like to use. Security updates can then be pushed by the app-store vendor vs the app vendor.
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It's also not a situation that will likely dissipate. For instance, if in 100 years we're all (I dream) boarding starships, do the engineers really expect the average passenger or crew to understand the intricate workings of the entire vessel? Is this true for airplanes now?
Computers are essentially a vehicle for knowledge. If it's not where one is at one moment, it is where one can arrive. Not everyone who drives a car is an automotive engineer, kinetics or physics expert, or even a mechanic. Most people just want or need to get in and drive. Demanding more of somebody who's true goal is to become an expert in a subject that doesn't involve technical engineering is frankly just stupid. This is one of the things I liked about Steve Jobs, in that he believed this. Of course, that developed into the walled-garden approach but I think that's something else altogether.
It's far more beneficial for the world to have easy access to knowledge than to wish everybody saw computers and other technology the way people like us who spend time on tech forums do.
TL;DR - I agree! But I also think there's much more to be said about that.
But right now all i can see in there are UWP "apps", and those are usually very limited in capabilities vs their Win32 equivalent.
For example, if i want to use a UWP file manager, i have to go through the Win32 file picker to allow the UWP file manager to access anything but the sub-folders of my user's home folder.
I don't think I'll ever understand the weird logic of most Windows users where DRM Online Store A is the best thing ever and a selling point of the platform and DRM Online Store B is an abomination that should never exist.
1. You just bought a laptop, time to install some software
2. Open Edge, search for "spotify", "vlc" maybe even "office".
3. Congratulation, you now have a bing search full of adware and possibly malware.
For average Joe it is impossible to not get infected at this stage.
Even right now, a search for Game of Thrones has the first result of a $2.99 app that promises the first season. Published by "ViWi Corp" that has broken HTTP links _in the store_ (that is the privacy policy etc don't link). Same publisher has tons of other crap apps.
The Windows Store is a joke.
I own a Chromebook precisely because it's limited in the software it can run. Other people own it because it's simple to own and use. Restricting to the Windows Store is a good move for security, but I'm not sure the different groups of customers will take away the same message.
Some people will see it as a move to water it down or take away features while others will see it as a positive step toward improved security.
I'm not envious of the tightrope Microsoft has to walk to set the right expectations from their customers. If they're smart, they're going to make simplicity and enhanced security the key features. If they're not so smart, they'll be emphasizing the "one windows" message they were pushing a few years back.
Then again, I've been wrong before.
(This seems to be a clear case where Microsoft is trying to separate itself from the iOS/Chromebook pack. For now you can't graduate and turn an iOS device into a macOS device. With a lot of work you might be able to graduate a Chromebook to Linux or Windows, but certainly not the ease of a $50 purchase from the Windows Store, or a free button click with an existing education site license for Windows 10 Pro.)
(Meanwhile, some of us are still hoping for that next ARM SKU, too.)
It can't be any worse than downloading random exe files off the web. Most people are scared to install software on their computers at this point.