The most critical useless feature (as it is now) is actually the Windows Store. What is Microsoft doing wrong that makes nobody use it? It could be a revolution (selling + updates).
- Firefox - office suite (Libre Office for me, Office for my wife) - games (Steam) - backup software - video chat - image/video editing
Some of these could work just fine with WinRt, others don't. If most of my frequently used programs aren't available through a store, I'll complain about the store. If most are and a couple aren't, I'll complain about those apps.
Most apps people want don't currently use WinRT (AFAIK), and many apps probably will never use it (heavy software like games, maya/blender, photoshop/gimp, etc). It's really telling that Microsoft's motivations are when they prioritize the least used platform (and the most beneficial to Microsoft) in a new app store.
Maybe. But personally, if the store was successful then it would make Windows even more painful than it is now, because inevitably applications would just release to the store and not supply standalone installers. And I really, really want standalone installers.
Also, nobody wants to give Microsoft a cut of the software price if they can help it.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/30/18645609/microsofts-unive...
I think the Windows Store is incredibly important. Worked as a technician for a while, and the amount of garbage people installed from random sites is mind-boggling. Or programs that hadn't been updated in five years. Non-tech people need a safe source for installing software (that also automatically updates it) and as long as the store wasn't providing a significant amount of useful software (all of which is Win32), it wasn't ever a viable solution. It might be soon.
What MS should do is do a Google search (or a Bing search in their case) and filter out just the app results. Then find the download link, and get you that.
And that way the store becomes a storefront for not just "store" apps, but also non store apps, and therefore a comprehensive directory.
MS can still provide certain benefits to devs who store-ify their apps, such as updates, easy payments, slightly better placement, etc.
But the store needs to be a comprehensive directory for all apps.
Windows has similar tooling for the OS, but it doesn't have an answer for everything else other than a ton of hand-rolled scripts. If the store doesn't make that easier, the enterprise won't use it. This seems like a huge missed opportunity. It should be trivial for an enterprise to curate the store like they can on Linux.