Curated Xbox One apps from both sides
Well, it seems like it is finally going to happen, eventually. More new apps on the Xbox One.
One of the reasons I bought the Xbox One (among many) was the development community. Sony may have more pure games developers in their pocket, but Microsoft has a richer diversity of developers. And with the switch to running the same kernel as the rest of their platforms (at least at some level), it meant it was highly likely we would see some sort traction in this area at some point.
So, the two major sides I think are, consumers and developers complaining about curating causing restricted content and from Microsoft's side protecting its consumers.
Lets start with the consumer and developer side of things. These concerns are very real for these groups. For consumers it means the selection of apps will probably never get big enough to truly be a game changer. It should get larger and better than Sony's offering in theory. And for developers it means additional risk if you want to target that platform. Universal apps mitigate this to a degree, since you are basically assured of getting your app published in the Windows or Windows Phone stores. But if your primary target was going to be the Xbox One, this might hold you back.
And that is all I have for that side really. I'm not dismissing these as trivial elements. The complaints are legitimate. But, I think after you hear why I think Microsoft has to do this, you'll agree the trade off is worth it.
For Microsoft, Xbox apps represent a unique problem. Privacy. For a number of VERY legitimate reasons, security on a gaming console is much less useful than on a computer or tablet or phone. For instance, I don't want to prompt for my password for everything. The giant onscreen keyboard does very little to protect that information. And if someone gets my password, it isn't just access to my account on my Xbox One that they have access too. They also have access to my email and all of my other Microsoft services. It might also mean if I have a payment option associated with my account that I can hit a financial liability.
For these reasons, I tend to not bother securing my account on my console. I remove payment methods from my account when not needed. And while they don't need my Windows Account password to get into my Xbox One, it also means that they don't get access to anything else along with it.
And I think this is true for most people.
Now add apps to mix. Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc... Oops. Now if I failed to secure my account, any Xbox One I've ever logged into presents anyone using it the opportunity to snoop into my personal data. Or even impersonate me.
Still don't want Microsoft curating the apps?
There are apps where these concerns don't exist. And where personal data isn't really needed, and the app need not even be tied to an account. A news or weather app for example can be tied to the machine rather than the account. Or it could be tied to an account while compromising little or nothing in terms of personal security/information.
I would love to see Microsoft add a new password mechanism for the Xbox One. Like picture or pin based passwords on Windows 8, I need to supply my password to create them, but it means I'm not entering and potentially exposing my account password every time I log in. And a sequence of controller based actions need not even show on the screen while being entered. And, like with Windows 8, if I share Xbox One login password with others, or they figure it out, my entire Microsoft Account would not be compromised.
While I think that would go a ways to helping deal with the privacy concerns, it certainly doesn't eliminate them. And even if Microsoft implemented such a feature, I would still be a lot more comfortable with a curated app store for a device that most often sits in a communal area and is typically unprotected.
One of the reasons I bought the Xbox One (among many) was the development community. Sony may have more pure games developers in their pocket, but Microsoft has a richer diversity of developers. And with the switch to running the same kernel as the rest of their platforms (at least at some level), it meant it was highly likely we would see some sort traction in this area at some point.
So, the two major sides I think are, consumers and developers complaining about curating causing restricted content and from Microsoft's side protecting its consumers.
Lets start with the consumer and developer side of things. These concerns are very real for these groups. For consumers it means the selection of apps will probably never get big enough to truly be a game changer. It should get larger and better than Sony's offering in theory. And for developers it means additional risk if you want to target that platform. Universal apps mitigate this to a degree, since you are basically assured of getting your app published in the Windows or Windows Phone stores. But if your primary target was going to be the Xbox One, this might hold you back.
And that is all I have for that side really. I'm not dismissing these as trivial elements. The complaints are legitimate. But, I think after you hear why I think Microsoft has to do this, you'll agree the trade off is worth it.
For Microsoft, Xbox apps represent a unique problem. Privacy. For a number of VERY legitimate reasons, security on a gaming console is much less useful than on a computer or tablet or phone. For instance, I don't want to prompt for my password for everything. The giant onscreen keyboard does very little to protect that information. And if someone gets my password, it isn't just access to my account on my Xbox One that they have access too. They also have access to my email and all of my other Microsoft services. It might also mean if I have a payment option associated with my account that I can hit a financial liability.
For these reasons, I tend to not bother securing my account on my console. I remove payment methods from my account when not needed. And while they don't need my Windows Account password to get into my Xbox One, it also means that they don't get access to anything else along with it.
And I think this is true for most people.
Now add apps to mix. Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc... Oops. Now if I failed to secure my account, any Xbox One I've ever logged into presents anyone using it the opportunity to snoop into my personal data. Or even impersonate me.
Still don't want Microsoft curating the apps?
There are apps where these concerns don't exist. And where personal data isn't really needed, and the app need not even be tied to an account. A news or weather app for example can be tied to the machine rather than the account. Or it could be tied to an account while compromising little or nothing in terms of personal security/information.
I would love to see Microsoft add a new password mechanism for the Xbox One. Like picture or pin based passwords on Windows 8, I need to supply my password to create them, but it means I'm not entering and potentially exposing my account password every time I log in. And a sequence of controller based actions need not even show on the screen while being entered. And, like with Windows 8, if I share Xbox One login password with others, or they figure it out, my entire Microsoft Account would not be compromised.
While I think that would go a ways to helping deal with the privacy concerns, it certainly doesn't eliminate them. And even if Microsoft implemented such a feature, I would still be a lot more comfortable with a curated app store for a device that most often sits in a communal area and is typically unprotected.
Comments
Post a Comment