Summary: Enhance the overall user experience for Podman on Windows, focusing on streamlined installation, improved rootless capabilities, and better integration with the Windows environment.

Description:

The Podman experience on Windows is crucial for its broader adoption and usability. This epic aims to address key areas of improvement to make Podman on Windows more accessible, intuitive, and powerful for all users, from new adopters to experienced developers. The primary focus areas include:

• Simplified Installation: Reducing friction during the installation process, particularly by removing the requirement for administrative privileges where possible.

• Enhanced Rootless Operation: Expanding and refining Podman's rootless capabilities on Windows, aligning it more closely with the seamless rootless experience on other platforms.

• Vendor Neutrality: Ensuring that the Podman project maintains a vendor-neutral stance in its branding and default configurations across all platforms.

• Better Integration: Improving how Podman interacts with the Windows operating system, including path management and dependency handling.

This epic will encompass various stories and tasks designed to remove barriers, improve security posture by reducing privilege requirements, and provide a more consistent and user-friendly experience for Podman users on Windows.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Podman can be installed and operated on Windows without requiring administrative privileges for common use cases.

• The Windows installation process is streamlined and user-friendly.

• All Podman components and documentation on Windows are vendor-neutral.

• User feedback indicates a significant improvement in the Windows installation and rootless experience.

• Automated tests cover the new installation and rootless functionalities on Windows.