Windows 10: Windows Search to let users install Microsoft Store apps directly from the Start Menu

Microsoft is set to make an important change to the Windows 11 Start Menu. It will soon allow users to search for and install applications from the Microsoft Store, without opening the store app.

A screenshot shared by Giorgio Sardo, Vice President of Microsoft App Store & Apps, illustrates an example of searching for an app. This feature seems to be designed to assist users to discover apps and install them quickly, as opposed to opening the Microsoft Store app and looking up the app. The search result presents a card that displays the app's name, icon, and the description. It also contains a Get button, clicking on which installs the app on the computer. Alternatively, users may click on the "Open in the Microsoft Store" button, to view the app's listing, screenshots, permissions, system requirements, etc.

This search and install experience isn't restricted to the Start Menu, the Windows Search box on the Taskbar will also support the feature. While it sounds like a useful quality-of-life addition, this change does not come without controversy. Many users have previously expressed dissatisfaction with Microsoft’s attempts to promote apps and services through the Start menu, such as OneDrive, Microsoft 365, etc. Some users feel that such features veer into unwanted advertising territory. This has also raised questions about user privacy and the effectiveness of search results. There is also the risk of installing fake apps/malware that masquerade as legitimate versions of popular services.

Sardo says that the ability to install apps from the Windows 11 Start Menu will be rolling out to users shortly. It is unclear whether users will be able to disable the app search functionality from the Settings app, it may require editing a Group Policy, or making a change in the Registry.

Source: Beta News

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows Search to let users install Microsoft Store apps directly from the Start Menu appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

read more...

 

Microsoft is purging a lot of low quality apps from the Windows Store

"Microsoft is sending emails to some Windows Store developers informing them that their apps have been removed from the Store for violating its quality standards."

"Neowin reports that app developers have been receiving these emails over the past couple of days:

In its latest review of the Store, Microsoft is evaluating if the published apps are good enough to be listed in the Windows Store. This includes publicly available apps as well as private beta apps. Additionally, Microsoft is also asking developers to delete any promotional campaigns for their apps to prevent advertising charges. Similarly, app name reservations are also being nullified; which means that if your app is unpublished, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to republish it under the same name.

Officially, the policies for the Microsoft Store says that apps must have "distinct and informative metadata" and "provide a valuable and quality user experience". There are also some specific standards that must be in the apps, including having a name that is not similar to another app or device, along with offering a description that is accurate about its features and functions.

There have certainly been many Windows Store users who have complained over the years about the large number of apps published that are clones of other apps or ones that are simply poorly made. Hopefully, this new move by Microsoft will help to curb these issues, at least for now."

Microsoft is purging a lot of low quality apps from the Windows Store

 

Microsoft Store app icon is missing in search result on start menu

If I scroll down the list of all installed apps on the start menu there is a Microsoft Store entry with the expected briefcase. But if I type "st" then it searches and I get the Microsoft Store entry at the top, as an app, and the icon is the missing image thing. The white sheet with a blue scene.

Also just noticed the top two entries just after I click the start button are missing icons (both this and the Meta Messenger app...though I uninstalled one copy Messenger copy that'd come from outside the store, and have another from the store still installed). Both apps (store and messenger) run fine. And running them doesn't fix the icon.

I can't manually pick an icon for them by right clicking.

I ran the "repair" feature from the Microsoft Store's app details page, and nothing changed.

Any further suggestions?

 

Start Menu Reset - Windows Apps Unsearchable

A family member recently upgraded (a week ago roughly) Windows 10 and all of the start menu metro icons (pinned apps, the default Weather tiles etc) disappeared.

In addition searching for the built in default apps like "Photos" or "Calc" returns no results. The only way I can run the calculator is by finding and running calc.exe directly. If I go to the Windows Store the default calculator is installed it just can't be found from the start menu.

• This doesn't effect 3rd party programs. For example searching Chrome in the Start Menu works fine.
• I re-indexed the search thing and made sure the directories are correct in the settings
• I made C:\WindowsApps (or similar) readable by the user which didn't seem to do anything

Is there a way to reset the start menu? Any help appreciated