Windows 8 questions...Metro apps installation and deployment

[FatBoy]

Hi all,

 

I have just got a Acer W510 in the department with Windows 8 to start testing Win8 and getting policies etc ready for any mobile tablet we get in the school. I have a few questions regarding the Metro apps and I wondered whether anyone knew the answers!

 

I found were the apps are saved in a hidden folder called "WindowsApps" in the Program Files folder but I don't see how this works when different people login.

 

1. For example on Windows 7 you install a program its available for everyone. With Win8 I at the moment have a local user on the tablet (for home use) and my domain account (which I logon to at work) and if I install a metro app it's only available to that logged on user. I understand that metro apps are link with their Microsoft account so a purchased app Microsoft wouldn't want every user to have access to obviously, but then how does this save the app in the "WindowsApps" folder as I have looked at the permissions on the app folders and they all seem to be the same. Why can't a different user from the one that downloaded the app, search on the search bar and add free apps to their metro desktop, or it just be in the "all users" metro desktop instead of having to download it again? And if there do download it again does it create another folder for the same app or install other the top of the current one!! How does that work?

 

2. And this slightly links in to the end of the last question, when I installed Win8 all the inbuilt apps needed updating so I updated them on the domain account. I take the W510 home login with the local account and all the same apps need upgrading again, how does this work? Surely the apps update in one folder and shouldn't need updating again?

 

3. Also if the apps are installed in "WindowsApps" in the Program Files folder what happen if a use logs in to a different win8 tablet, will none of their apps be there? Would they have to download them again? Obviously this is a difficult problem to solve as you wouldn't want it saving the apps to there profile making it huge either, but could/can you redirect were the apps are downloaded too?

 

4. Lastly for free or purchase apps is there a way of rolling them out via GP like conventional software? A place you can download them to a central server and deploy so everyone that logs into the tablet gets the same apps if done centrally?

 

Hopefully if I can get answers to these questions I can work out the do's and don't's for staff and better inform then when they start asking questions

 

Thanks

FB

[FatBoy]

For any one asking the same questions as myself I got a reply from Juke Chou on TechNet

 

Hi,

1. Every Windows Store App needs to associate their licence to a user. So the apps are not available for all the users on a device.You need to make it available going to the Windows Store, which means you need to download it again. Actually, if it is already installed by another user, it will just prepare the licence things.

2. Same as above. I guess the local user is created before built-in apps are updated.

3. Yes. You need to download them again. But they will be listed in the installed apps of user's profile.

4. No. You can only deploy the sideloading apps. See the following document.

Sideload Windows Store Apps - Windows 8, Try, Test, Help | TechNet

 

Thanks

FB

[Jamman960]

Thanks FB, won't be deploying W8 for a while so I'm hoping the situation will improve. Metro seems great on tablets but give me a desktop for real work any day.

 

James

[Arthur]

You can only deploy the sideloading apps.

Can you deploy Windows Store apps if you grab the .appx files directly from Microsoft's servers (or re-sign the app with your own certificate and then sideload them)?

 

http://superuser.com/questions/478041/where-is-windows-8s-package-cache-for-store-applications/493129

 

http://i.imgur.com/uHkkFgn.png