Microsoft on a roll for terrible rebranding with Windows App – If you hadn’t guessed, that’s the artist formerly known as Remote Desktop

https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/microsoft_windows_app/?td=rt-3a

7 Comments

  1. Somebody needs to find whatever group or person is coming up with all theses terrible renaming ideas at Microsoft and do something vaguely terrible to them to make them stop.

    In case the headline didn’t make it clear, they are renaming the RDP client to “Windows app”.

    A Windows app called the “Windows app” would be a terrible idea under any circumstances and renaming an established application to that makes it worse.

    How is anyone supposed to communicate about this to users without it devolving into some sort of “Who’s on first?” routine.

    I am guessing thy will rename a whole bunch of other things to fit a them like putting “One” or “360” or “Live” in the name and will go on to create two version of the “windows app” one of which will be called something like “Windows App for Business” and do something similar an be something completely under the hood and underlying system files will still have names with Terminal server in them, the name from before it was Remote Desktop.

    I can already see myself having conversations about how in order to run an app under Windows you will need to first start the Windows App to connect to Windows and there start the app (before going on about how you need to run it as administrator, but not necessarily as the user called administrator)….

    [Who’s on First? — Abbott and Costello](https://youtu.be/sYOUFGfK4bU?si=H_9Ct-j5liFNv4pC)

    [Police Squad video clip about Shooting Twice](https://youtu.be/9ozCdVIOj-Y?si=E2WJc2L6pabud0yh)

  2. They absolutely didnt make it clear i just wanted to check out the app on my mac at went to the app store.

    „Hm weird it seems to be already downloaded before“ (you have a different icon in the app store for previously downloaded apps)
    „Maybe our IT did do some evaluation shenanigans, who knows“
    „Got a message about „this app has changed“ which ive never seen before“
    „Opened the app“

    Its fucking remote desktop app with an updated look and account switcher to get remote azure resources. Amazing 😅

  3. “There is device redirection, multi-monitor support, as well as dynamic display resolutions and scaling. Pretty much everything a user might have done with a Remote Desktop client…”

    Wait, I’ve never been able to use multi-monitor setups. It just pulls everything to one screen. Is that what they mean? Is there currently a way to switch displays during a Remote Desktop (soon to be Windows App) session?

  4. Renaming from the red arrow icon “Remote desktop” app to more readily distinguish it from the “Remote desktop connection” app that ships with Windows was needed. But this is not the answer…