Windows App, which is still in beta, will let you connect to Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services, and remote PCs from, well, pretty much any computing device. Specifically, you can use it from Macs, iPhones, iPads, other Windows machines, and — pay attention! — web browsers.
That last part means you’ll be able to run Windows from Linux-powered PCs, Chromebooks, and Android phones and tablets.
So, if you’ve been stuck running Windows because your boss insists that you can’t get your job done from a Chromebook, Linux PC, or Mac, your day has come. You can still run the machine you want and use Windows for only those times you require Windows-specific software.
So remote desktop in a shinier package and some additional marketing.
Here’s an open source alternative; https://guacamole.apache.org/
I don’t know if it’s feature comparable.
Note you need to run this on a pc that you own or can install it on, so if microsoft offers rentable pc’s in the cloud, then factor that in.
This offering feels like the dying of the light, the last throws of dying opposition as WSL rolls over the opposition. I was cynical about WSL, but it’s surely killed off 99% of these options, you can run the company provided Win machine, and have your Linux Desktop, it’s a cake an eat it scenario, the reverse hardly applies because Win isn’t that lightweight!
Love these ignorant comments from people that never used Citrix/thin clients/etc. and somehow think this is a product for the average end user and not a select groups of companies that already put their eggs in the server hosted desktop basket over a decade ago. It’s just Microsoft going after that market segment that they weren’t going after before, and maybe a few developers.
I agree it is not a new capability. What is new is that Microsoft considers Azure to be a more important business than Windows. Before they wanted to sell Windows licenses and do not care who provided the hosting. Now they want cloud subscriptions and Windows desktops are just one more thing to enable that.
dark2,
Ah yes. This is just the natural progression of moving Windows Server to Azure Cloud.
They already have big items like Active Directory:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/active-directory-ds
Or of course the common ones like file services or even network gateways:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/storage/files
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/azure-firewall
Of course they would also move the others, like App Remoting, which has been around… I don’t know how long but should be several decades now.
For Microsoft, does it make sense more if they sell one time Windows Server licenses and try to bundle them with Client Access Licenses, or go directly to yearly subscription based on number of clients?
All I want is a Linux Subsystem for Windows! Kind of like Winapps or Cassowary, just that it actually works!
I’ve been using this at work, and well, it is as bad as can be.
Just imagine being on a remote desktop using a browser inside it, then pressing ctr + w and closing the tab f the browser in your system that contains the remote desktop session. Same for alt + tab and all other shortcuts.
And the lag, don’t even let me start talking about the lag!