I only used it couple of years ago to download and install HID Approve (2FA auth application) to be able to login to my bank's website.

I remember messing with AV1 / VP9 packages which Chromium browsers could use with certain Media Foundation flag enabled in chrome://flags.

dr_st wrote on 2026-04-16, 12:39:

Does this mean that your son can now install Windows for free on any PC, as long as he signs in with his MS account? 😂

Maybe 😀
The parents of his friend were really pissed and he had to hurry over and fix it. Guess he will need to learn the hard way the downsides of being the computer helper 😀

Dominus wrote on 2026-04-16, 17:39:

dr_st wrote on 2026-04-16, 12:39:

Does this mean that your son can now install Windows for free on any PC, as long as he signs in with his MS account? 😂

Maybe 😀
The parents of his friend were really pissed and he had to hurry over and fix it. Guess he will need to learn the hard way the downsides of being the computer helper 😀

Nono! Microsoft HEARD these complaints, and FIXED EVERYTHING by making it nearly impossible to install windows without a microsoft account! /s

It's pretty good once you've blocked and disabled it.

Cant say I have a problem with it.
Its been useful the few times Ive used it.

Guys, I would NOT install any software on your main PC that is NOT from Microsoft store.
There is allot of bad software out on the internet that will mess up your computers.

My advice is to get a NAS or Build one from an old computers.
And get a second windows computer for installing unknown software.

This way you will never compromise your primary computer with unsecured software that is not
Approved by Microsoft.

Same goes for Apple Store.
Only use software from Apple Store.

You can make an inexpensive NAS out of an old PC or Laptop
Just install Linux and partion the drives to be able to use with PC or Mac.

Then when you download unknown software from your primary PC you can copy onto your NAS before transferring
To your second PC or Laptop.

This is a great way to to put those old computers to work.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2026-05-23, 18:57:

Guys, I would NOT install any software on your main PC that is NOT from Microsoft store.
There is allot of bad software out on the internet that will mess up your computers.

Where do you think you're posting right now?

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2026-05-23, 18:57:

Guys, I would NOT install any software on your main PC that is NOT from Microsoft store.
There is allot of bad software out on the internet that will mess up your computers.

I installed an entire operating system on my main PC that is not from the Microsoft store.
and i'll do it again

But to be completely honest there is some merit to something like the Microsoft Store; a program distribution format that doesn't need to give arbitrary code root permissions, and a tool to manage it.
Linux distros mostly have package managers for this, and they're the main way I install software now. even on windows, winget was the main way I did it on this PC.

Problem is just Microsoft's attempts at it stink imo. Winget is decent but still needs to give root permissions to third-party code, the microsoft store is... well, it's a UWP app. And it's also a way in which Microsoft try to at least slightly close off the ecosystem, especially with Windows S-mode.

I don't think the app stores are any safer. They're all full of sketchy-looking software with strangely high numbers of 5-star reviews that totally drown out any well-known developers, and there are lots of cases of Apple and Google stores having malware disguised as legitimate applications. I highly doubt that anything I need for work is in the Microslop Store anyway, so I have no reason to use it (considering that all I use Windows for outside of work is Office and AmaRecTV).

"Approved by Microsoft" sounds scary, but at least you aren't locked into the app store like Apple and Google.

Well, I once installed Python from the Microsoft store, and it became a recurring annoyance as some things didn't like/expect Python in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.[version]_qbz5n2kfra8p0.

Just for giggles I tried to get something from the store on a windows 7 machine. I could visit the site and downloaded a small program, no problem. But the program is only an installer, it phones home to download the actual app. A file got created, but the rest of the process didn't happen. Pretty much as expected.

Since I'm a proud win7 user, and my win10 machine is offline, the store is pretty much useless. If it let me download something that I could then transfer to another machine then it might be ok. But as it is, nah.

VanillaFairy wrote on 2026-05-24, 14:22:

Linux distros mostly have package managers for this, and they're the main way I install software now. even on windows, winget was the main way I did it on this PC.

You said it - I'll happily use a "package manager" (and wish everything was available this way, alas The Universal Operating System is not particularly modular nor comprehensive) but wouldn't dare use or endorse an "app store"; and while most app stores use package manager technology/principles (mobile OSes are based on that concept, even the Wii does), the big difference is that one is a platform that gives a logical grouping of certain files on disk, the other is a platform to railroad users into commercial practices, some of which predatory, and often censorship - I can name quite a few Android apps that have been "voluntarily" crippled to pander to Play Store standards. Tough luck, I stopped installing gApps and am happier without 😀

Even Debian's APT and F-Droid are annoyingly app-stor-isizing - while you still totally can, the developers don't particularly like (read: try to discourage) people trying to manually download packages from the website, use third party repos, use unsigned repos, not have the clock set correctly, etc

As for the original question: I run LTSB 2016 if I need some Win10 exclusive like Volkswagen's ODIS - for the shortest possible time as it's an unpleasant OS to run on a Thinkpad X201 (crappy trackpoint driver)
The Store wasn't horrible when it was Modern (read: their euphemism for Metro) 😜, it went to crap in the 10 days when it became a poorly wrapped webapp with benefits, and indeed regardless of quality of implementation only appealed to those who want blind automatic updates and/or the overcommercialized mobile experience!
I did get a nice Nico Nico Douga and YT frontends though, so as usual it's up to the ethics and skills of the individual developers, it's just not about how much they paid for a non-guaranteed chance of posting their app there...