Was looking through my recent updates, and thought "WTF is 'Windows App'?!" Turns out, it's Remote Desktop. Fantastic naming there, and keeping the branding clear and distinct, as usual.
Imagine how many people at microsoft are working on bs like this, actively making existing products worse. To whomever came up with this idea, the world would be a better place if you just retired and never ever returned to the workforce again.
They're not retiring. The old guys approaching retirement age are the ones that understand the principles of Human Computer Interaction, predictability, familiarity and consistency. It's the new guys desperate to justify their positions and the subscription model who have to constantly introduce BS changes as part of the 'Evergreen' strategy.
Youre insane. This is way better than the remote desktop client. This isnt the same thing as the RDP client. It's the client to remote access Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. They previously had 2 separate clients. Now it's all in one and works for MacOS, Android, and iOS.
How do you mean? I could connect to any host I wanted to via RDP, a recent update on the Windows client stopped this and on Mac it still works as I used it to access VMs on my server
At work we're having a hard time explaining what version of copilot we're talking about, which are all very different: Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Pro, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, GitHub Copilot, Security Copilot, Copilot Studio, and there are Azure versions too.
The worst for me is "Visual Studio Code" and "Visual Studio" which are two completely different, incompatible Microsoft products.
Don't get me started on the mess that is their developer .NET framework stuff. That naming and versioning scheme is insane and changes with every version.
In South American countries, the movie "Airplane!" was retitled "So... where's the pilot?" ("Y... donde está el piloto?")
So, where exactly is the pilot? why are they all copilots? It's not like it's letting me fly independently...
Elaine Dickinson: Oh, my God! The automatic pilot! It's deflating!
Steve McCroskey: Now, Elaine, don't panic. On the belt line of the automatic pilot there is a hollow tube. Now that is the manual inflation nozzle. Pull it out - and blow on it.
Usually I just refer the first as Visual Studio and the latter as just "VS" Code. The abbreviation is very important and people seem to understand. But I agree with you though.
I don't even understand why they named it that, it's an Electron based IDE practically unrelated to Visual Studio. It's only slightly more related than JavaScript is to Java.
I would love to understand: what features does Word have nowadays that it didn't have back in the days of Microsoft Word 6? For extra credit: what features does it have that it didn't copy from WordPerfect back in that era? Same question for modern Excel and Quattro Pro.
I work in IT, we use Ninja One to remote into users computers and same for servers. Employees in other departments that use Azure VMs still use the old remote desktop app and will continue to do so until it either is a security risk or completely deprecated. If you're using AVD I don't think there's a way around the Windows app.
There are plenty of remote desktop/VNC alternatives though, including FOSS alternatives (TigerVNC works fine but Windows version is currently unmaintained). I use Linux on all my personal devices and don't have a need for remote desktop with those
My fantasy is that microsoft execs get sedated for a week and a group of outside engineers come in to fix windows without business-oriented directions affecting the process. And every time the execs find out about how windows actually improved, they just get sedated again. And this goes on forever.
I've reverted my Android RDP app to 8.1.81.435 and disabled updates. That's the last version that doesn't have the "we're gonna enshitify the app and it's name!" notification every time you open it.
When I was trying to get the "Your Phone" app to work, I spent a lot of time trying to Google the issue. It was a nightmare to find anything online due to the apps name.
Why do they do this shit, such brainless idiots, what was wrong with the name Remote Desktop, if there was some legal issue, atleast rename it to something appropriate. Wtf is windows app???, it’s more misleading now. Like USB implementors, they will change the name again and again. Creating more confusion. They complain that there is too much red tape in an old company, where is the red tape here? Nobody thought that this is stupid? Nobody said anything?
It will become a more appropriate name when you don't have Windows locally and just use the app as a "thin client" to connect to the machine they control in the cloud ...
I had to request this app to evaluate it vs. RDCMON and our I.T. (Fortune 500 company) refused it because they thought I didn't know what I was talking about. I shared pics and the app link but a year later, the ticket is still open and I still can't use it.
Believe it or not, some of us actually manage more than one server. Sometimes, hundreds and being able to group multiples of logins can be beneficial.
Thank you for posting this. I couldn't find the name of the god damn RDP client because it's now named "Windows App". What the actual f..... Did your stunned AI come up with this brilliant idea microslop?
Back in the mid ‘90s, MS was working on set-top box software and named their project MMOSA, pronounced “mimosa”. When I pointed out to a team member that in addition to being a drink name, it is also the name of the “sensitive plant” that folds up when you touch it, they were not amused.
Please turn off/on your computer, then try Microsoft App, then Microsoft App (1) and then Microsoft App (2). Please reach your administrator if all the steps failed in anyway.
I don't mind it, but Windows Remote would be better. Althought if it does more, and remote access is only a part of its features, than Windows App IS better.
I have a Windows machine I access remotely from my Mac... whoever programmed this thing doesn't understand either platform. For example, there's no way to swap alt and command - it only allows a few shortcuts to be re-mapped. For power users who heavily rely on the Windoze key and alt, you keep hitting the wrong key combination. A better solution would be to mimic what macOS's remote desktop does: capture the command key so that it can't be used to command-tab away from it, then allow the user to use it as a WIndoze key or alt key (add a setting) that way there's maximal flexibility for all workflows. Another issue is that it always starts in full screen - although there may be a setting now to fix this, I haven't looked in a little while.
It gets better: The Windows app can connect via RDP to a local Windows computer or Remote Desktop Services hosted in your own datacenter - except on Windows, where it can only access Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365.
A while ago I had to configure VPN plus Remote Desktop on a colleague's MacBook, and I was confused because I couldn't find the Remote Desktop app, and it instead kept recommending a "Windows App" to me.
Windows App sounds like an app for Windows that doesn't have an assigned name field
So in my headcanon Microslop are just so incompetent that they removed the name field of the app, and then whoever produced this announcement just called it whatever they saw it being called on the screen
The RD app was great to work with. Responsive, great UI, good scaling of the video and a virtual mouse that worked great. The windows app sucks so hard. The UI is terrible and it’s super unresponsive, not to talk about the mouse/cursor movement.
It’s like these engineers woke up were like ‘Let’s fuck this beautiful app up’
so "winfows" is a remote desktop tool, and "copilot 365" is an office suite, and "azure ..something" is windows server and active directory amd exchange...
and how is the thing called i use to start chrome? "microsoft subsystem for azure" or what?!
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u/tomfiddle91 Mar 21 '26
Imagine how many people at microsoft are working on bs like this, actively making existing products worse. To whomever came up with this idea, the world would be a better place if you just retired and never ever returned to the workforce again.