For Windows users who constantly seek more power, flexibility, and efficiency, the Microsoft Store simply isn’t enough. While the Store has made strides—it’s cleaner, broader, and more trustworthy than a few years ago—it still misses out on a host of vibrant, robust applications that live far beyond its curated walls. Power users, developers, and productivity fanatics continue to rely on independent gems that not only enhance Windows but can truly change the way you work, organize, create, and secure your data. Here, let’s dive deep into five exceptional apps—none available in the Store—that exemplify what you can only get by looking off the beaten path.
The first stop on this tour of indispensable tools is “Everything”, a file search engine so quick and so efficient that once you’ve tried it, the thought of going back to Windows Search feels almost painful.
Why is Windows Search, even with its improvements in Windows 10 and 11, still not enough? For one, it often gets slowed down by continual indexing, and its results can be unpredictable or cluttered with web results. Everything takes a no-nonsense approach: it creates an index of every file and folder on all local NTFS drives, enabling sub-second search across terabytes of data. You type, and results appear instantly.
Beyond speed, Everything offers intuitive filtering and sorting, helping you drill down to exactly what you want—be it a dusty old spreadsheet or a freshly downloaded video. The lightweight UI is both stark and powerful, and advanced users can utilize regular expressions or complex search strings, making it as useful to developers as it is to everyday users.
But what really distinguishes Everything is its ethos: power should be accessible, not hidden behind cloud layers and unnecessary visual candy. Yet despite—and perhaps because of—its no-frills philosophy, you’ll never spot it in the Microsoft Store. It’s a must-download from the developer’s site, and one that immediately changes your relationship with your own computer.
What are the risks? As with all third-party tools that operate outside the Store’s ecosystem, users need to be vigilant about downloading from authentic sources. Everything is widely vetted and trusted, but the open-web method of distribution is always a point where caution—and regular updates—are warranted.
Why use VeraCrypt? Its core function—creating encrypted volumes or even encrypting whole system partitions—empowers users to take control of their privacy. For those who carry sensitive documents, family records, or proprietary business plans, VeraCrypt’s algorithms are considered robust and peer-reviewed, having survived years of scrutiny from experts.
One standout feature is the “hidden volume” capability. This ingenious approach allows you to create a decoy encrypted volume inside another, making it nearly impossible for prying eyes to prove the hidden data even exists. To a casual or coercing observer, the outer volume looks legitimate and complete. Only with the correct password does the true hidden data surface. This technique provides plausible deniability—something even most premium encryption apps lack.
It’s important to note that VeraCrypt, like all cryptography solutions, relies on user discipline. Forgetting a password or mishandling encryption keys can result in permanent loss of access to your own files. The app’s complexity can also intimidate new users, and while many experts audit the code, no software can be considered truly “bulletproof.” Nonetheless, compared to commercial alternatives with questionable backdoors and obscure policies, VeraCrypt’s transparency and proven track record are significant advantages.
Why isn’t it in the Microsoft Store? The Store’s stringent requirements, especially for security or low-level system tools, often preclude apps like VeraCrypt. Plus, open-source projects might not have the resources or desire to navigate the Store’s bureaucracy for listing and updating. For users who take security seriously, the trade-off is worth it.
What makes Notion different from the glut of note-taking apps, many of which are Store regulars? Its real magic is in nested pages, linked databases, and the ability to embed virtually anything—from spreadsheets to images to code snippets. Notion isn’t just about notes. It’s about creating a digital operating system for your brain. Want a knowledge base, project tracker, or collaborative portal for your distributed team? Notion does it, and with a library of free templates, you can start with minimal effort.
Yet, Notion isn’t perfect. Power users sometimes prefer Obsidian for local-first notes or Outline for more secure team documentation. The web-first design also means it’s not the best fit for those seeking ironclad offline support or local-only storage, though its desktop app (only available via direct download) blurs the line between web and local operation.
Its absence on the Microsoft Store is perplexing but highlights a persistent gap in Microsoft’s marketplace: Not all cross-platform, Electron-driven apps are Store-friendly, often due to packaging requirements or limitations on background activities. For now, users need to go directly to Notion’s own site to get the app—and that hasn’t seemed to slow its meteoric growth.
HandBrake’s legacy stretches back over a decade, consistently providing users with a way to compress and convert video across countless formats. Whether you want to optimize a 4K movie for streaming, convert legacy DVDs, or shrink a video for email sharing, HandBrake delivers. Its support for nearly every codec (H.264, H.265, AV1, MPEG-4/2, VP8, VP9, and beyond) means that incompatibility is never a showstopper. For non-experts, built-in presets for platforms like Android, Apple, or streaming services take the guesswork out of conversions.
Another strong point is transparency: HandBrake is open-source, meaning anyone can verify how it works and contribute to its ongoing development. This is critical for a category that, historically, has been plagued by bundled adware or “freeware” with hidden costs.
Why remains HandBrake perpetually absent from the Microsoft Store? The answer again comes down to technical and philosophical constraints: HandBrake operates close to the system’s hardware, interacts with media libraries, and integrates custom codecs. The Store’s sandbox wouldn’t allow the freedom HandBrake demands—not to mention the lag Store distribution would introduce for this fast-moving open-source project. For users, going direct to the source is a minor inconvenience compared to the freedom and performance they gain.
Comparison with Windows’ default Notepad is almost unfair. Notepad++ brings everything into play: syntax highlighting for almost every language, advanced search and replace (with regex for those who need it), tabbed document management, and perhaps most beloved, a clipboard history that means never losing track of your copy-paste adventures. For coders, tools like macro recording and code folding feel indispensable; for regular users, even something as straightforward as viewing a text file becomes more powerful.
A huge part of Notepad++’s popularity is how extensible it is. Plug-ins unlock spell checking, file comparison, auto-completion, and integration with FTP/SFTP and more. This is a world away from the frozen, one-size-fits-all apps of the Store.
Yet, despite its popularity, Notepad++ remains only obtainable from its own website or GitHub. The developer has cited reasons from technical hurdles (Store-packaged apps run in restrictive sandboxes not conducive to low-level text editing) to ideological stances about software freedom and bloat. For dedicated users, its unofficial status only adds to the aura.
There are, however, tangible risks with living outside the walled garden. Malware, supply-chain attacks, and spoofed download sites lurk among the genuine treasures. Power users, who thrive on the flexibility and control these apps deliver, must also adopt a posture of skepticism—verifying hashes, seeking digital signatures, and trusting only direct channels.
For novices, the trade-off can seem daunting. The Store’s model of security and discoverability—download everything from one place, with consistent update mechanisms and tighter security reviews—has real benefits, especially as software threats proliferate.
But the Microsoft Store isn’t perfect. Many power-oriented apps struggle with Store packaging constraints, limited access to system resources, or licensing requirements. Some developers are simply too small, or too philosophically opposed, to maintain a Store presence. Paradoxically, this means some of the very best Windows apps—the ones that define the OS’s legendary flexibility—will never show up on the official marketplace.
The upside? Users get to build an operating environment that feels uniquely theirs—quick, intuitive file searches with Everything; bulletproof encryption and plausible deniability via VeraCrypt; a personal and team-centric information system through Notion; one-click video mastery via HandBrake; and infinite text editing power with Notepad++.
Updates, too, become a manual chore for most apps outside the Store, though some have built-in updaters. For casual users, this friction can be a deal-breaker. For advanced users, though, it’s the price of admission for extraordinary capability.
There’s also a cultural point: the Store favors mass-market, safe, and simple. The off-Store ecosystem, in contrast, is where the passionate, the daring, and sometimes the subversive software projects flourish.
For those willing to accept responsibility for vetting sources, handling their own updates, and learning from great communities beyond Microsoft’s own, the rewards are worth it. Far from being second-rate portals, these apps often define what it means to truly customize and control a PC. They’re reminders of a time when users, not walled platforms, determined the course of their own digital experience.
If your Windows setup still feels generic or sluggish, investigate these tools. Download from their official sites, read their documentation, and savor the satisfaction of running software built for power, not just for profit. The next time you open the Microsoft Store and come up short, remember: the very best Windows apps are sometimes just a search away—but only for those who know where to look.
Source: XDA https://www.xda-developers.com/great-apps-youll-never-find-microsoft-store/
The File Search Engine That Redefines Fast: Everything
The first stop on this tour of indispensable tools is “Everything”, a file search engine so quick and so efficient that once you’ve tried it, the thought of going back to Windows Search feels almost painful.Why is Windows Search, even with its improvements in Windows 10 and 11, still not enough? For one, it often gets slowed down by continual indexing, and its results can be unpredictable or cluttered with web results. Everything takes a no-nonsense approach: it creates an index of every file and folder on all local NTFS drives, enabling sub-second search across terabytes of data. You type, and results appear instantly.
Beyond speed, Everything offers intuitive filtering and sorting, helping you drill down to exactly what you want—be it a dusty old spreadsheet or a freshly downloaded video. The lightweight UI is both stark and powerful, and advanced users can utilize regular expressions or complex search strings, making it as useful to developers as it is to everyday users.
But what really distinguishes Everything is its ethos: power should be accessible, not hidden behind cloud layers and unnecessary visual candy. Yet despite—and perhaps because of—its no-frills philosophy, you’ll never spot it in the Microsoft Store. It’s a must-download from the developer’s site, and one that immediately changes your relationship with your own computer.
What are the risks? As with all third-party tools that operate outside the Store’s ecosystem, users need to be vigilant about downloading from authentic sources. Everything is widely vetted and trusted, but the open-web method of distribution is always a point where caution—and regular updates—are warranted.
VeraCrypt: Encryption with Layers of Secrecy
Data privacy is no longer a niche concern; it’s a central aspect of digital life. VeraCrypt, the spiritual successor to TrueCrypt and one of the most respected open-source encryption projects around, stands as proof that community-driven security can rival, and often exceed, commercial offerings.Why use VeraCrypt? Its core function—creating encrypted volumes or even encrypting whole system partitions—empowers users to take control of their privacy. For those who carry sensitive documents, family records, or proprietary business plans, VeraCrypt’s algorithms are considered robust and peer-reviewed, having survived years of scrutiny from experts.
One standout feature is the “hidden volume” capability. This ingenious approach allows you to create a decoy encrypted volume inside another, making it nearly impossible for prying eyes to prove the hidden data even exists. To a casual or coercing observer, the outer volume looks legitimate and complete. Only with the correct password does the true hidden data surface. This technique provides plausible deniability—something even most premium encryption apps lack.
It’s important to note that VeraCrypt, like all cryptography solutions, relies on user discipline. Forgetting a password or mishandling encryption keys can result in permanent loss of access to your own files. The app’s complexity can also intimidate new users, and while many experts audit the code, no software can be considered truly “bulletproof.” Nonetheless, compared to commercial alternatives with questionable backdoors and obscure policies, VeraCrypt’s transparency and proven track record are significant advantages.
Why isn’t it in the Microsoft Store? The Store’s stringent requirements, especially for security or low-level system tools, often preclude apps like VeraCrypt. Plus, open-source projects might not have the resources or desire to navigate the Store’s bureaucracy for listing and updating. For users who take security seriously, the trade-off is worth it.
Notion: A Workspace for Everything—Except a Place on the Microsoft Store
Modern productivity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Between work, personal projects, and general life chaos, an agile, searchable, and cloud-ready note tool is essential. Notion has, in a short time, become a staple for individuals and teams who want to weave together notes, wikis, to-do lists, calendars, and databases—all in a single, beautifully flexible workspace.What makes Notion different from the glut of note-taking apps, many of which are Store regulars? Its real magic is in nested pages, linked databases, and the ability to embed virtually anything—from spreadsheets to images to code snippets. Notion isn’t just about notes. It’s about creating a digital operating system for your brain. Want a knowledge base, project tracker, or collaborative portal for your distributed team? Notion does it, and with a library of free templates, you can start with minimal effort.
Yet, Notion isn’t perfect. Power users sometimes prefer Obsidian for local-first notes or Outline for more secure team documentation. The web-first design also means it’s not the best fit for those seeking ironclad offline support or local-only storage, though its desktop app (only available via direct download) blurs the line between web and local operation.
Its absence on the Microsoft Store is perplexing but highlights a persistent gap in Microsoft’s marketplace: Not all cross-platform, Electron-driven apps are Store-friendly, often due to packaging requirements or limitations on background activities. For now, users need to go directly to Notion’s own site to get the app—and that hasn’t seemed to slow its meteoric growth.
HandBrake: Video Conversion Mastery for All
For anyone working with video—be it personal archives, YouTube projects, or business presentations—file size, compatibility, and quality become constant challenges. HandBrake is the Swiss Army knife of video transcoding, celebrated for its versatility, power, and entirely free price tag.HandBrake’s legacy stretches back over a decade, consistently providing users with a way to compress and convert video across countless formats. Whether you want to optimize a 4K movie for streaming, convert legacy DVDs, or shrink a video for email sharing, HandBrake delivers. Its support for nearly every codec (H.264, H.265, AV1, MPEG-4/2, VP8, VP9, and beyond) means that incompatibility is never a showstopper. For non-experts, built-in presets for platforms like Android, Apple, or streaming services take the guesswork out of conversions.
Another strong point is transparency: HandBrake is open-source, meaning anyone can verify how it works and contribute to its ongoing development. This is critical for a category that, historically, has been plagued by bundled adware or “freeware” with hidden costs.
Why remains HandBrake perpetually absent from the Microsoft Store? The answer again comes down to technical and philosophical constraints: HandBrake operates close to the system’s hardware, interacts with media libraries, and integrates custom codecs. The Store’s sandbox wouldn’t allow the freedom HandBrake demands—not to mention the lag Store distribution would introduce for this fast-moving open-source project. For users, going direct to the source is a minor inconvenience compared to the freedom and performance they gain.
Notepad++: The Editor to End All Editors
If you’ve ever edited code, configuration files, or even just juggled text snippets, you’ve probably heard whispers about Notepad++. For developers and system tweakers alike, it’s the text editor of choice thanks to its blend of simplicity, speed, and seemingly endless features—most notably, its support for dozens of programming languages and plugins.Comparison with Windows’ default Notepad is almost unfair. Notepad++ brings everything into play: syntax highlighting for almost every language, advanced search and replace (with regex for those who need it), tabbed document management, and perhaps most beloved, a clipboard history that means never losing track of your copy-paste adventures. For coders, tools like macro recording and code folding feel indispensable; for regular users, even something as straightforward as viewing a text file becomes more powerful.
A huge part of Notepad++’s popularity is how extensible it is. Plug-ins unlock spell checking, file comparison, auto-completion, and integration with FTP/SFTP and more. This is a world away from the frozen, one-size-fits-all apps of the Store.
Yet, despite its popularity, Notepad++ remains only obtainable from its own website or GitHub. The developer has cited reasons from technical hurdles (Store-packaged apps run in restrictive sandboxes not conducive to low-level text editing) to ideological stances about software freedom and bloat. For dedicated users, its unofficial status only adds to the aura.
Critical Analysis: Risks, Rewards, and the Microsoft Store Dilemma
What unites these five powerhouse apps isn’t just their absence from the Microsoft Store—it’s their dedication to function, freedom, and user empowerment. In bypassing the Store, they sidestep limitations on software complexity, distribution, and update frequency. The direct-download model means users always get the latest features and bug fixes, not delayed by platform bureaucracy.There are, however, tangible risks with living outside the walled garden. Malware, supply-chain attacks, and spoofed download sites lurk among the genuine treasures. Power users, who thrive on the flexibility and control these apps deliver, must also adopt a posture of skepticism—verifying hashes, seeking digital signatures, and trusting only direct channels.
For novices, the trade-off can seem daunting. The Store’s model of security and discoverability—download everything from one place, with consistent update mechanisms and tighter security reviews—has real benefits, especially as software threats proliferate.
But the Microsoft Store isn’t perfect. Many power-oriented apps struggle with Store packaging constraints, limited access to system resources, or licensing requirements. Some developers are simply too small, or too philosophically opposed, to maintain a Store presence. Paradoxically, this means some of the very best Windows apps—the ones that define the OS’s legendary flexibility—will never show up on the official marketplace.
The Strengths: Deep Customization and User Responsibility
There’s a reason so many in the Windows community still talk about “the good old days” of software discovery: the era when powerful, borderline magical utilities could be found on forums, through word of mouth, or via a quick Google search. These five apps keep that spirit alive. They represent the best of the independent development scene—tools crafted to solve real problems without concession to lowest-common-denominator design.The upside? Users get to build an operating environment that feels uniquely theirs—quick, intuitive file searches with Everything; bulletproof encryption and plausible deniability via VeraCrypt; a personal and team-centric information system through Notion; one-click video mastery via HandBrake; and infinite text editing power with Notepad++.
The Hidden Cost: Maintenance and Update Vigilance
Freedom comes with responsibility. Downloading and managing off-Store apps puts the onus of security and updates squarely on the user. Is the app’s homepage secure? Are you downloading the latest patched version? What happens if a developer’s site is cloned by fraudsters peddling malware?Updates, too, become a manual chore for most apps outside the Store, though some have built-in updaters. For casual users, this friction can be a deal-breaker. For advanced users, though, it’s the price of admission for extraordinary capability.
Why These Apps Should (But Likely Won’t) End Up in the Store
Would it be better for the broader Windows community if these gems were on the official Microsoft Store? In some ways, yes: discoverability, automatic updates, and trustworthy authentication all improve. But many such apps would lose fundamental capabilities due to Store restrictions, or would be forced to split into “lite” and “pro” versions—something neither users nor developers generally want.There’s also a cultural point: the Store favors mass-market, safe, and simple. The off-Store ecosystem, in contrast, is where the passionate, the daring, and sometimes the subversive software projects flourish.
The Verdict: Download Wisely, But Don’t Miss Out
Power users know that Windows’ real superpower has always been its openness. The Microsoft Store, despite its improvements, remains just one avenue among many. These five tools—Everything, VeraCrypt, Notion, HandBrake, and Notepad++—illustrate why it’s sometimes necessary, even essential, to step outside the curated garden.For those willing to accept responsibility for vetting sources, handling their own updates, and learning from great communities beyond Microsoft’s own, the rewards are worth it. Far from being second-rate portals, these apps often define what it means to truly customize and control a PC. They’re reminders of a time when users, not walled platforms, determined the course of their own digital experience.
If your Windows setup still feels generic or sluggish, investigate these tools. Download from their official sites, read their documentation, and savor the satisfaction of running software built for power, not just for profit. The next time you open the Microsoft Store and come up short, remember: the very best Windows apps are sometimes just a search away—but only for those who know where to look.
Source: XDA https://www.xda-developers.com/great-apps-youll-never-find-microsoft-store/
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