MS store causing trouble

On 2019-08-19 8:18 p.m., VanguardLH wrote:
Mayayana wrote:

"VanguardLH" wrote
| Mayayana wrote:
|
| I just read that MS are planning to remove Paint
| and Wordpad. I guess that makes sense. It's a gradual
| transformation from a productivity device to a services
| kiosk. Happy shopping.
|
| I remember reading in the past about Microsoft removing Paint, but it
| remained. I don't recall seeing they were going to remove WordPad.
|

Actually I misspoke. I looked up the link to post and realized
that what they said is Paint and Wordpad will be removable,
not removed. And they'll be added to the store.

The same for the Mail, People, and Calendar apps bundled with Win10.
Maybe they noticed all the articles on how to use Powershell to remove
packages, so making an app uninstallable was a wasted effort to keep it
installed.

Interesting description you gave of Office. I knew about
MS Office. I knew about Office 365. I didn't know there
was a half-assed, free web portal office. I assume you're using
this stuff mostly out of curiosity.

Mostly I looked at using their online web apps via local app portal to
see how much they were usabled. Well, I had already used their online
web apps before and was disappointed, so no different using a portal to
them. I have trialed alternates of MS Office but gave up on them for
various reasons. I currently have LibreOffice installed but I'm getting
weary of digging around trying to find a function that's stuffed
somewhere that doesn't make sense. They tried adding their own ribbon
toolbar (aka ribbonbar) but it's not that intelligent and is beta. I
had Office 365 and might go back to it, as I find the Mail, Calendar,
and People WinRT/UWP apps to be just minimally acceptable. Now that
some others in the family are interested in getting later versions of MS
Office, the cost per person is lower than just me buying an Office 365.
Last time it took awhile to find a reputable seller but found someone at
eBay that sold the 1-year subscription cards at $33 apiece (I bought 3
to get a 3-year subscription term). I'm sure not paying Microsoft's $99
price per card per year. The 1 TB storage quota was nice, though.

I use LibreOffice myself and am very glad that my needs aren't too
extensive because I've heard of the "functions being hidden in
non-sensical places" and I'm glad I haven't had to deal with that.

"Rabid Robot" wrote

| I use LibreOffice myself and am very glad that my needs aren't too
| extensive because I've heard of the "functions being hidden in
| non-sensical places" and I'm glad I haven't had to deal with that.

I'm similar. To me, office software requires even more
training than graphical software. But I have far more
use for the latter. With Libre Office I typically just do
things like business cards and business receipts... And it
takes me a long time... And suddenly the whole layout
gets lost for no apparent reason when I'm almost done...
But those projects are rare. Once I've got my template files
designed I don't have to do it again.

So these days I mostly just use Libre Office to fill in
receipt templates and contracts, to convert various things
to PDF, and to open the occasional DOCX sent in email so
that I can copy the text and resave it as TXT. (I still use
Notepad far more than any other program.)

On 2019-08-20 9:50 a.m., Mayayana wrote:
"Rabid Robot" wrote

| I use LibreOffice myself and am very glad that my needs aren't too
| extensive because I've heard of the "functions being hidden in
| non-sensical places" and I'm glad I haven't had to deal with that.

I'm similar. To me, office software requires even more
training than graphical software. But I have far more
use for the latter. With Libre Office I typically just do
things like business cards and business receipts... And it
takes me a long time... And suddenly the whole layout
gets lost for no apparent reason when I'm almost done...
But those projects are rare. Once I've got my template files
designed I don't have to do it again.

So these days I mostly just use Libre Office to fill in
receipt templates and contracts, to convert various things
to PDF, and to open the occasional DOCX sent in email so
that I can copy the text and resave it as TXT. (I still use
Notepad far more than any other program.)

I'd say that WordPad is probably good enough for most of what I do but I
don't mind having a spell checker. I'm not entirely sure if LibreOffice
has a grammar checker and the check I've just done "The elephant fat is
hungry" suggests that it doesn't but I suppose that doesn't matter since
my documents are fairly short and sweet anyway.

When you think about it, people used to pay good money for software that
does just about as little as what Microsoft bundles with Windows so
either our demands keep getting greater or we're paying for things we
don't actually need. I imagine that it's the latter.

On 2019-08-18 16:57, micky wrote:
I've used the MS store for the first time tonight, and it's already
causing lots of trouble.

I avoid it like the plauge. It's full of CRAP


--
(aka 'Bombastic Bob' in case you wondered)

'Feeling with my fingers, and thinking with my brain' - me

'your story is so touching, but it sounds just like a lie'
"Straighten up and fly right"

On 2019-08-19 05:52, Mayayana wrote: It's a gradual transformation from
a productivity device to a services
kiosk.
since WHEN has Win-10-nic, with is forced "no work done until WE FEEL"
updates, frequent brickings, and pathetic reliability, been about
PRODUCTIVITY???

Maybe 7 and earlier were. I think windows 2000 definitely was.

if not for windows applications being dedicated to running ON WINDOWS,
we'd all be using Linux. Or Macs.

and the CRapp store is full of CRAP.

"Big Bad Bob" wrote

| Mayayana wrote:
| It's a gradual transformation from
| a productivity device to a services
| kiosk.

| since WHEN has Win-10-nic, with is forced "no work done until WE FEEL"
| updates, frequent brickings, and pathetic reliability, been about
| PRODUCTIVITY???
|
| Maybe 7 and earlier were. I think windows 2000 definitely was.
|

In theory, at least, business is supposed to be
able to use Win10, although most have tried to
avoid it. The changes have been gradual for many
years. XP brought product activation and NT for
home users. Vista/7 brought lackey employee
restrictions by default for all users, with Microsoft
essentially being your admin. 8 brought Metro. Then
10 brought spyware, forced updating, and the actual
transition to Windows as a service, both officially
and in practice.

I'm always intrigued to see the little tricks they
come up with. But those tricks also say a lot about
the public. XBox, Bing, Cortana, Office365 and Skype,
for instance, are all popular products that have helped
move Windows into service mode in the public's perception.
And the public generally accepts these things, despite the
spying and intrusive privacy policies. There might be a
little grumbling, but generally people have just accepted
that their own files, correspondence and even public life
belong to the likes of Microsoft, google, Apple, Facebook,
etc.

I guess it makes sense in a way. Most of
the non-corporate public is not using computers to
get anything done. They're just chatting, sending youtube
links, etc and they've come to expect ads. Their devices
are regarded as entertainment devices. I think that's
especially true of millennials and younger. They seem to
feel they have no choice but to let device companies and
social media own their private lives and rent it back to them.
Those are the kids who grew up in shopping malls and
have never truly known solitude.

I wonder about future directions, though. Microsoft still
have the PC market wrapped up. But most of the money
being made on ads and spying is being made on phones.
MS is profiting more now from the web services hosting
on Azure. So they're stretching themselves thin. They charge
corporate customers through the nose, but don't make
much on PCs. Meanwhile, they're alienating people who
want computers for work while playing second fiddle in the
adware/spyware business. If there was ever a time for
someone to come up with a truly user-friendly version
of Linux....

But I guess I shouldn't worry for Microsoft. The intensity
of Bill Gates's greed really does approach the genius he
thinks he possesses. I don't doubt that he and Satya have
got a few things up their cash-lined sleeves.

"Big Bad Bob" wrote

| since WHEN has Win-10-nic, with is forced "no work done until WE FEEL"
| updates, frequent brickings, and pathetic reliability, been about
| PRODUCTIVITY???
|

Speak of the devil. Now that Windows is spyware
crap running web apps, Google have decided that
maybe they can get a slice of the corporate pie:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/26/2...nge-businesses

I don't think their move would be credible if
Microsoft were still offering a true PC OS. But if
they're going to control the machine, spy, and
push people to Office 365, then I guess people
don't really lose anything by going to a Google
OS and Google docs.

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sun, 18 Aug 2019 22:46:08 -0500,
VanguardLH wrote:

micky wrote:

I've used the MS store for the first time tonight, and it's already
causing lots of trouble.

All I did is install Netflix,

This one?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/netflix/9wzdncrfj3tj

Probably. I was only offered one, and the one I got looked an awful lot
like the webpage.

then look at their list of other "apps"***

No idea if that means you looked are recommendations by Microsoft's

No idea? It was made clear by my next lines. Anyhow it wasn't labeled
Recommendation. It was labeled "other apps".

Store ("People also like" list at the bottom of an app's description) or
some ad by the Netflix app.

But I looked at the list of "All owned", presumably owned by me, and it
didn't include Netflix but it did include Candy Crush Saga, which it
claimed I had purchased moments ago. I don't want it and I certainly
don't want to pay for it, and I really really don't like them claiming
that a dl'd it or that I agreed to puchase it.

Candy Crush comes pre-installed in every Windows 10 installation, along
with Microsoft's Solitaire Collection. I uninstalled both. Candy Crush
is inane, and their Solitaire Collection is lureware to get you to pay
for more games (well, Candy Crush is lureware, too).

Was this the first time you use the Store app on Windows 10 to visit
Microsoft's Store?

Yes.

Maybe that's why it thinks you just bought Candy
Crush because it was the first time their Store could inventory your
system.

Ah, maybe.

I uninstalled Candy Crush (and, as I recall, some other inane game)
after doing a fresh install of Windows 10 Home x64, so it wasn't on my
computer when I later (many months later) decided to run the Store app
that also comes in Windows 10.

The only WinRT/UWP app that I remember getting from their Store is for
Dropbox. Their web site doesn't list anything that I've ordered.
Perhaps the only thing they track is what you paid for, not what you
downloaded and installed (since that category isn't listed when I go to
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/home, login, and click on my
name to check my Order History). Maybe if you don't buy something from
there that lets Microsoft take a slice of the transaction then they
don't bother tracking the free stuff using their web site.

Maybe.

I then opened the Store app that comes in Windows 10. Yep, lots listed

That's all I've used, and almost 2 weeks have gone by -- sorry it took
so long to reply -- and I'd like to delete everything Ididn't want to
save space on my harddrive, but I've managed to ignore the Windows store
all this time, and my annoyance with it all has subsided, so it's not at
the top of the list anymore. .

there and mostly stuff that already comes in Windows 10, like (they
don't sort the list by name):

Your Phone
Spotify Music
Dropbox (I remembered downloading that one)
Microsoft To-Do (yep, now I remember downloading that one, too)
Mixed Reality Portal
Paint 3D
3D Viewer
XBox Game Bar
Windows Alarms
PureText (another that I now remember downloading)
Windows Voice
Windows Maps
Windows Calculator
Skype
Microsoft Messaging
Microsoft Sticky Notes
Mail and Calendar
OneNote (I probably downloaded that one)
Paint3D
Office (a weblink to their Office site, not a crippled Office suite)
Get Help
Web Media Extensions
Microsoft Store
Snip & Sketch
HEIF Image Extensions
Movies & TV
Feedback Hub
Xbox Identity Provider
Microsoft People
MSN Weather
Microsoft Photos
App Installer

Thanks for the list.

Yep, other than the ones that I knew or got prodded to remember that I
had downloaded, all those apps are bundled in Windows 10. 3 apps were
installed by me. 28 apps came bundled in Windows (would've been more if
I still have the pre-installed inane games installed). How could you
not know they were already there when you got your new Win10 computer?

Some aren't listed because I uninstalled them almost as soon as I
started tweaking the OS. I didn't need any of the XBox /stuff/, but
they won't let me uninstall the XBox Game Bar.

You've never bothered looking at the alphabetized list in the Start menu
to see all the fluff that comes pre-installed in Windows 10?

I got rid of the alphabatized list by installing Classic [something]
that makes it look like win7.

and install Online Radio -- Free LIve FM and AM**

This one?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/on...m/9n4hx2x3f88h

Probably.


URLs help to distinguish which app you are talking about because names
are often too vague.

The MS app store does't tell me the url afaicr. It just gives me a word
or two and downloads that.

So, you installed an app just because it got pushed at you? You don't
investigate them first, see the reviews, check what other users or

It didn't have reviews on the screen I looked at.

reviewers recommend, and choose to get one of those?

Since it came from the MS store, I figured I coudl assume it has no
malware. As to reviews, what other people like and dislike isn't always
what I do, or they just dont' mention the the things I would dislike,
and the best way to see what it is is to install it.

***I was very disappointed in their list, which is nowhere near as
good as the PlayStore list. The MS list only has 88 "apps" and they
are no better, or worse, than the PlayStore has. Many have included
advertising and the number of reviews is a pittance compared to most
of the playstore. Plus, maybe most important, there is barely any
description before you install the app.

You really go there to have them push at you what they want you to use?

No. I didn't go there for that purpose. I went because someone here
said there was a Netflix app, and there was.

The web site has more screen space than the Store app. I'm pretty sure
whatever you see at the web site you can search on and find using the
Store app. You should encounter a need, do the research to see which
free apps are best, perhaps decide which paid apps would better match
your criteria (since most of the free apps are adware, which is the same
way on Google's Play Store for Android and Chrome Store), and then go
find that app. Dumping every app onto your computer that anyone pushes
at you is guaranteed to waste your disk space with apps you'll never or
rarely use or quit using after a short trial period.

**I have Radiomaximus which is great, and also allows on-line
recording, and for the modest purchase price allows online recording
by timer. It has stations included from all over the world, labeled
by country and type of station, but I'm always interested in more
stations.

Where'd you find that one? It's not at Microsoft's app Store.

Right. It's software. It was recommended on a newgroup on this server,
probably the XP newsgroup and I've had it since then. It's very, very
good, the author is still updating it, and he responds to my suggestions
and requests. That woudlnt' prevent something else from also being
good.

http://www.raimersoft.com/radiomaximus.html

Doesn't look like a WinRT/UWP app

Probably not. I don't know what WinRT and UWP are.

Looks like a Win32 program.

Maybe.

You're mixing apps with programs.

I don't think I'm doing that any more than it is to run the Netflix app
while running Forte Agent or Edge.

I recommend radiomaximus highly. Even the free version allows
recording, inc. recording 2 stations while playing a third. The paid
version allows timer recording. I record 4 hours of The Big Broadcast
every Sunday night, whether I'm home or not.