Microsoft's Swiss army knife app hopes to cut through cloud clutter
(2023/11/16)
- Reference: 1700163014
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/11/16/windows_app_ignite/
- Source link:
Ignite Microsoft is teasing a Windows App that provides a home screen for users of its cloud and remote PC services.
The [1]Windows App – intended for web browsers, macOS, and iOS devices – is Microsoft's latest effort to tie up its disparate services into a unified home screen. In this case, a single pane where a user can access Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, and Azure Virtual Desktop, as well as good old Remote Desktop Services and remote PC services.
If you've bought into the Microsoft way of doing things, the app will be useful to have rather than a collection of clients. However, Microsoft is hardly the first to create a unified portal. Alternatives include Citrix.
[2]
Microsoft showed off the functionality on offer at its Ignite gathering in the US, including multiple monitor support, custom and dynamic display resolutions and scaling, device redirection, and Teams optimizations.
Microsoft Ignite at a glance
The Register: [3]You get a Copilot, and you get a Copilot – Microsoft now the Copilot company
The Next Platform: [4]Microsoft holds chip giants' feet to the fire with homegrown CPU, AI silicon
The Register: [5]Microsoft takes aim at on-desk, non-cloudy developers with Windows AI Studio
The Register: [6]Microsoft touts mirroring over moving in data warehouse gambit
The Register: [7]Databricks' lakehouse becomes foundation under fresh layer of AI dreams
Microsoft: [8]All of Redmond's announcements – and event [9]homepage and sessions .
Functions such as device redirection are not new, but we can see the benefit of it all being in one place.
Intriguingly, Android is absent from the support list. Microsoft still sells an Android device, the Surface Duo 2, but clearly feels the web browser is enough for the phone's users.
[10]
Also, while the browser version can connect to Microsoft's cloud PC services – Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, and Dev Box – you'll need the macOS or iOS version if you want to go near Remote Desktop Services or connect to a remote PC. Microsoft [11]doesn't currently support that scenario either, but it's important to remember that this is a preview, and much could change between now and the general release.
[12]Microsoft likens MFA to 1960s seatbelts, buckles admins in yet keeps eject button
[13]Microsoft 365 Copilot 'generally available' – if you can afford 300 seats
[14]Microsoft calls time on Windows Insider MVP program
The Windows App has come as Microsoft [15]showcased a Windows 365 GPU-enabled Cloud PC preview, adding to the choices faced by customers who can already access GPU-optimized Virtual Machines in Azure Virtual Desktop.
Three configurations are available, covering scenarios comparable to laptops with integrated graphics up to workstation-class systems. You can't, however, do nested virtualization, and pricing will only be revealed upon acceptance into the preview program. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/overview
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZVafHgFh00uT8YLD7QDW5wAAABQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/microsoft_ignite_copilot/
[4] https://www.nextplatform.com/2023/11/15/microsoft-holds-chip-makers-feet-to-the-fire-with-homegrown-cpu-and-ai-chips/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/16/microsoft_takes_aim_at_local/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/microsoft_fabric_mirroring/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/16/databricks_sinks_lakehouse_in_bid/
[8] https://news.microsoft.com/ignite-2023-book-of-news/
[9] https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/home
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZVafHgFh00uT8YLD7QDW5wAAABQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-connect-devices-desktops-apps
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/07/microsoft_likens_mfa_to_1960s/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/03/microsoft_365_copilot/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/30/windows_insider_mvp_ends/
[15] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/announcing-windows-365-gpu-enabled-cloud-pc-public-preview/ba-p/3982952
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The [1]Windows App – intended for web browsers, macOS, and iOS devices – is Microsoft's latest effort to tie up its disparate services into a unified home screen. In this case, a single pane where a user can access Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, and Azure Virtual Desktop, as well as good old Remote Desktop Services and remote PC services.
If you've bought into the Microsoft way of doing things, the app will be useful to have rather than a collection of clients. However, Microsoft is hardly the first to create a unified portal. Alternatives include Citrix.
[2]
Microsoft showed off the functionality on offer at its Ignite gathering in the US, including multiple monitor support, custom and dynamic display resolutions and scaling, device redirection, and Teams optimizations.
Microsoft Ignite at a glance
The Register: [3]You get a Copilot, and you get a Copilot – Microsoft now the Copilot company
The Next Platform: [4]Microsoft holds chip giants' feet to the fire with homegrown CPU, AI silicon
The Register: [5]Microsoft takes aim at on-desk, non-cloudy developers with Windows AI Studio
The Register: [6]Microsoft touts mirroring over moving in data warehouse gambit
The Register: [7]Databricks' lakehouse becomes foundation under fresh layer of AI dreams
Microsoft: [8]All of Redmond's announcements – and event [9]homepage and sessions .
Functions such as device redirection are not new, but we can see the benefit of it all being in one place.
Intriguingly, Android is absent from the support list. Microsoft still sells an Android device, the Surface Duo 2, but clearly feels the web browser is enough for the phone's users.
[10]
Also, while the browser version can connect to Microsoft's cloud PC services – Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, and Dev Box – you'll need the macOS or iOS version if you want to go near Remote Desktop Services or connect to a remote PC. Microsoft [11]doesn't currently support that scenario either, but it's important to remember that this is a preview, and much could change between now and the general release.
[12]Microsoft likens MFA to 1960s seatbelts, buckles admins in yet keeps eject button
[13]Microsoft 365 Copilot 'generally available' – if you can afford 300 seats
[14]Microsoft calls time on Windows Insider MVP program
The Windows App has come as Microsoft [15]showcased a Windows 365 GPU-enabled Cloud PC preview, adding to the choices faced by customers who can already access GPU-optimized Virtual Machines in Azure Virtual Desktop.
Three configurations are available, covering scenarios comparable to laptops with integrated graphics up to workstation-class systems. You can't, however, do nested virtualization, and pricing will only be revealed upon acceptance into the preview program. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/overview
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZVafHgFh00uT8YLD7QDW5wAAABQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/microsoft_ignite_copilot/
[4] https://www.nextplatform.com/2023/11/15/microsoft-holds-chip-makers-feet-to-the-fire-with-homegrown-cpu-and-ai-chips/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/16/microsoft_takes_aim_at_local/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/15/microsoft_fabric_mirroring/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/16/databricks_sinks_lakehouse_in_bid/
[8] https://news.microsoft.com/ignite-2023-book-of-news/
[9] https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/home
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZVafHgFh00uT8YLD7QDW5wAAABQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-app/get-started-connect-devices-desktops-apps
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/07/microsoft_likens_mfa_to_1960s/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/03/microsoft_365_copilot/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/30/windows_insider_mvp_ends/
[15] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/announcing-windows-365-gpu-enabled-cloud-pc-public-preview/ba-p/3982952
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Great. So this is the fiftieth attempt at some nonsense unification application to turn everything separate into one thing.
We already have this. It's called a bloody Operating System where we can pick and choose the appropriate and available tool for what we want to do and use our choice (rapidly diminishing) of web browser to access whatever hosted services we want to.
It's Microsoft Bob level stupidity all over again, just a different generation or marketing-tards.
Unfortunately the hosted services are often different to what we want, or only hosted when we'd rather have actual control.