Microsoft Remote Desktop will be renamed to Windows App(techcommunity.microsoft.com)
techcommunity.microsoft.com
Microsoft Remote Desktop will be renamed to Windows App
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/windows-app-general-availability-coming-soon/ba-p/4206647
58 comments
"... to pointlessly rebrand something from a descriptive name that is understandable to something pointless and generic"
Seems like the point might be to obscure the nature of the executable, i.e., what it does. Why someone might want to do that is a question left for the reader.
Seems like the point might be to obscure the nature of the executable, i.e., what it does. Why someone might want to do that is a question left for the reader.
Have you used the Windows App?
Which Windows App?
Google it!
Oh, you mean the Windows App Store?
No, the new Remote Desktop Windows App.
You mean there's a new version of Remote Desktop?
Yes, and it's called Windows App.
Right, it's always been a Windows app.
No! It's THE Windows App now. Get it?
No, I don't get it.
Which Windows App?
Google it!
Oh, you mean the Windows App Store?
No, the new Remote Desktop Windows App.
You mean there's a new version of Remote Desktop?
Yes, and it's called Windows App.
Right, it's always been a Windows app.
No! It's THE Windows App now. Get it?
No, I don't get it.
"do you use Outlook the application or outlook.com?"
Do you have a Live account? Or Office 365? Do you open a web browser to sign in?
I have had to ask non-technical people this and they're confused beyond belief.
Do you have a Live account? Or Office 365? Do you open a web browser to sign in?
I have had to ask non-technical people this and they're confused beyond belief.
Do you use Outlook or Outlook (new) which is just a webview to Outlook.com?
Microsoft Remote Desktop is a list of machines to connect to. It doesn't need to be more than that. It's a tool, it has to be functional first. People often have approximately 50 entries in there.
They never asked anyone for feedback. Why are there big squares instead of a list in that screenshot? Why is there a button "All devices"? I want "All devices" right now, from the moment I open the thing.
I certainly hope it won't suck, but it probably will.
They never asked anyone for feedback. Why are there big squares instead of a list in that screenshot? Why is there a button "All devices"? I want "All devices" right now, from the moment I open the thing.
I certainly hope it won't suck, but it probably will.
Microsoft Remote Desktop for the Mac is a grid of thumbnails already. There is a list view but it isn't the default.
Android too
Maybe it alludes to a future where you land directly at the Microsoft Store when you login and from there, everything including the desktop is an App - everything is on Cloud, you don't have any control over your machine (because there is practically nothing local) while simultaneously requiring you to have a 10ghz CPU to see partner-supported-mandatory-value-ad(d)s.
You have to wonder if these people ever stop and think through these decisions.
Start with: why are we even renaming this thing? Everyone already knows the name. The new name is not going to make us any more money. So what are we doing?
Next: is there any chance "Windows App" will be confusing for, I dunno, practically everybody? (I realize everyone else here has pointed this out.)
Maybe the decision to rename was made by AI.
https://genius.com/Abbott-and-costello-whos-on-first-annotat...
Start with: why are we even renaming this thing? Everyone already knows the name. The new name is not going to make us any more money. So what are we doing?
Next: is there any chance "Windows App" will be confusing for, I dunno, practically everybody? (I realize everyone else here has pointed this out.)
Maybe the decision to rename was made by AI.
https://genius.com/Abbott-and-costello-whos-on-first-annotat...
Completely agreeing with the other comments but tangent looking at the reference screenshot, does anyone else remember the emotive excitement of building out a new Windows build back in the day, hacking customisation that wasn’t out of the box, and getting that first boot with an exciting new desktop and theme? What times.
Separate observation, that comment trail in the article demonstrates everything about the corporate failure case that is our modern tech stack. If the most enthusiastic early adopters are getting immediately dismissed by the hypercare teams, what hope do the rest of us have. Where is the Netscape/Phoenix/Mozilla/Firefox for Desktop OS? When did we become so complacent about device monopolies?
Separate observation, that comment trail in the article demonstrates everything about the corporate failure case that is our modern tech stack. If the most enthusiastic early adopters are getting immediately dismissed by the hypercare teams, what hope do the rest of us have. Where is the Netscape/Phoenix/Mozilla/Firefox for Desktop OS? When did we become so complacent about device monopolies?
Does anyone know the model of internal communications which allows such "interesting" decisions to arise in large corporations over time?
These decisions are usually not based on technical considerations or based on daily/quarterly/yearly goals. They are usually very broad, long horizon, multi year "themes" that are handed down to top level directors who are asked to interpret-implement them. The issue is many of these themes are dropped before they are fully implemented.
When Ballmer was in charge, his theme was that Microsoft should be "devices and services" company. My guess is that Microsoft now wants to be "services" company. In that light, "Remote Desktop" does not quite fit because in the future everything is an App which is a SAAS that we will pay a subscription to.
When Ballmer was in charge, his theme was that Microsoft should be "devices and services" company. My guess is that Microsoft now wants to be "services" company. In that light, "Remote Desktop" does not quite fit because in the future everything is an App which is a SAAS that we will pay a subscription to.
Is there a particular reason why Microsoft is so terrible at naming things? What’s wrong with “Remote Desktop”?
Infiltred North Korean psyop to push people to Red Star OS. 2025 will be the year of Linux on the desktop thanks to the Great Leader.
this year will always be the year of the Linux desktop
I suppose this will become another instance of "Outlook" where finding documentation or support for your version of the product (the web service or the email application) is made needlessly more complex.
From the same branding team that brought you Xbox One and ASP.NET, it's Windows App!
And "Windows Subsystem for Linux".
Which, to my continual surprise, is a subsystem of Windows, not of Linux.
(Yes I realize this makes me sound rather dense.)
Which, to my continual surprise, is a subsystem of Windows, not of Linux.
(Yes I realize this makes me sound rather dense.)
To be fair, "for" is one of the most overloaded prepositions in the English language. "for [use by]" and "for [doing/acting as]" are still both "for" in short hand, you need more context in English to distinguish, including verbal clues that don't exist in the written language (how you pause between words and/or how you emphasize the syllable "for"). English is a strange contextual language; it is still Microsoft's marketers fault for finding and relying on so many of the weird edge cases, but they didn't invent the weird edge cases in the language.
It's almost like PR said "Windows" had to be prominent in the name.
I just had a look at the Xbox models. There's no way to know what order they were released in. 360. 1. X. S.
Xbox One isn't even that bad compared to XBox Series X and S following the XBox One X and S.
I will NEVER understand how the name xbox one could have ever come to exist. Simply unfathomable.
Maybe start with the 360?
Even then, everyone expected the successor to be called the 720.
And multiple Azure services named Fabric.
Uncharitable take warning.
My bet is on a PM thinking: "Surely if the project has Windows in its name we can't get laid off".
Also:
https://bonkersworld.net/organizational-charts
My bet is on a PM thinking: "Surely if the project has Windows in its name we can't get laid off".
Also:
https://bonkersworld.net/organizational-charts
It used to be called "terminal services."
By your reasoning, it's possibly "career down" for a PM to name their project "terminal."
By your reasoning, it's possibly "career down" for a PM to name their project "terminal."
Great Idea, I am sure that will make it much easier to Bing it when Issues arise. Right? Right?
Look, I’m all for getting away from naming things Microsoft Enterprise Work Application for Students and Home Deluxe… but I think they may have gone a bit too far in the wrong direction.
This reminds me of Google Nest's three thermostat models: The Nest E, Nest Learning and the Nest. It's confusing even in their own marketing and support info.
> The Windows 365 App will undergo an in-place update to transition to Windows App.
I think the Windows 365 App is a different application than Microsoft Remote Desktop.
I think the Windows 365 App is a different application than Microsoft Remote Desktop.
Dont let facts stand in the way of Microsoft bashing.
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i am guessing this still won't run on linux?
Windows as an App sounds like I’m going to connect to windows 365 on azure
Thats exactly what this is.
Looks like a copy of Gnome Connections with a worse name.
Looking forward to "Linux App".
billion dollar company, infinite cash, blind trust from government, and that's what they come up with?
insane
i'll say it again, if the west goes all in with microsoft, it'll collapse
insane
i'll say it again, if the west goes all in with microsoft, it'll collapse
Please tell me I can still "WIN + R" -> mstsc
Even though I'm well aware of HN's guideline against shallow dismissals, I still can't help but say it: Worst. Naming choice. Ever. Searching for documentation or assistance relating to "Windows App" will be effectively impossible.
That’s not even close. Microsoft churns out incredibly awful names. The “Defender” family is probably the most egregious example today.
I’m sure the enterprise version will be Azure Windows 365 App for Business E3. But it won’t be compatible with one of the 4 hosted windows desktop solutions that Microsoft ships lol, but nobody will be sure of which one!
I’m sure the enterprise version will be Azure Windows 365 App for Business E3. But it won’t be compatible with one of the 4 hosted windows desktop solutions that Microsoft ships lol, but nobody will be sure of which one!
Windows Defender I'm willing to overlook; it defends Windows which is at least slightly explanatory. Windows App gives no hint about its purpose at all. If I wanted to connect to another Windows machine and saw a Windows App entry in the start menu, I probably wouldn't think to try it.
Sometimes I think that when a Product Manager is feeling unimportant, they rename the product so that every. damn. department. from marketing, to sales, to all the peer products have to take notice. "Fear my importance! I'm changing the name of this product!"
> "Fear my importance! I'm changing the name of this product!"
Well, the person who wrote the tech blogpost that was linked here is :
>Hilary Braun
>I'm a Senior Product Manager for Windows 365, focused on providing a great experience for people using Windows in the cloud with the Windows App.
So, Bingo! It's indeed most likely a case of needing to feel important. After all, you're the manager of something absolutely nobody cares about, as long as it works as intended. The RDP features of Windows are the kind of thing you only notice if they do not work properly, if they work fine, they're just another tool in the box, no more exciting to look at or talk about than hammers and screwdrivers. I would even suggest watching paint dry is more entertaining than having to listen to a manager talk about their brand rebranding of the computer equivalent of a screwdriver.
Well, the person who wrote the tech blogpost that was linked here is :
>Hilary Braun
>I'm a Senior Product Manager for Windows 365, focused on providing a great experience for people using Windows in the cloud with the Windows App.
So, Bingo! It's indeed most likely a case of needing to feel important. After all, you're the manager of something absolutely nobody cares about, as long as it works as intended. The RDP features of Windows are the kind of thing you only notice if they do not work properly, if they work fine, they're just another tool in the box, no more exciting to look at or talk about than hammers and screwdrivers. I would even suggest watching paint dry is more entertaining than having to listen to a manager talk about their brand rebranding of the computer equivalent of a screwdriver.
My favourite recent MS naming confusion is myapps.microsoft is a SSO type place similar to Okta, but apps.microsoft is a shop, some of which I might own.
Maybe the whole idea was that people would be looking for other things and accidentally discover that there was a 'Windows app'.
Even in this release they use the word "app" with a different meaning. I would love to know how they arrived at this name.
Microsoft is so bad with naming I suspect there is a bonus program for employees that can came with the most confusing names.
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I'm not kidding.