I am a deeply superficial person - Andy Warhol
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Microsoft shows off Windows Store
SOFTWARE FACTORY Microsoft is giving excitable developers their first look at its upcoming apps store for selling Windows 8 applications.
The store, which will work like other apps stores from other companies like Google and Apple, is not open yet, but when it is users will be able to download apps from it and use them on their own hardware. Groundbreaking stuff.
Although it is not open yet, Microsoft has a beta running and has asked a selected group of developers to submit apps to the Metro Store. It said these will appear in the beta version of its apps store. So far there are mocked-up images available to show off the store, and from here it looks like you will be able to download apps by Ebay, Evernote, and Disney, as well as games and the like. 
Developers might be tempted by the store's economics, which will give them an 80 per cent revenue share once sales reach $25,000, while Microsoft also mentioned inducements like a new developer platform, best-in-class developer tools, a reimagined user experience, and support for new chipsets.
Ted Dworkin, partner programme manager for the store, suggested that keeping developers happy - it lets them take in-app payments, for example - and serving customers will be the two main features of the web site, and discussed how it will push up the best content to the top of its front page.
"We designed the landing page to push compelling apps to the surface. We use categories to help organize the apps-the latest, most popular, and fast rising apps all have dedicated lists surfaced here. You'll see personalized app recommendations and also topic pages that promote apps related to editorial themes, helping surface what would otherwise be hidden gems," he said.
"Navigation is simple and consistent with the model of Windows 8. Built-in search supports directed discovery, fluid panning moves you through the categories, and category filters help locate the most relevant apps." µ
Tags: Microsoft
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Windows 8 *will* be a spectacular fail. Microsoft will still be unable to dent Apple iPad's market share.
On the desktop front, users and corporate customers will stick with Windows 7. Sounds familiar?
Long after everyone else has it working, the M$ monster begins to figure out how to imitate. Its huge size makes for a slow-reacting polymorph. And of course keeping control over its market is essential, so takes time to figure the lock-ins.
From the included graphics, they're even dumbing it down to A$ levels, no doubt over-rating the "cute" essential for A$ users for the function that real people need.
And they even got the incentives wrong: should be lower at first, then rise a modest amount once established. But M$ always seeks to stifle upstarts, and their strategy here is to lure in small developers and skim from many, when M$ could just provide the services for free so as to catch up on "app stores".
It's called vendor lock in - people know no different to windows so when they are presented something new comfort in using something familiar scuppers people from using it. Nothing is harder to do on modern linux - just different and often more logical - check out https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UsabilityCaseStudies
If the feature in Ubuntu is so great then why are there not more people running Linux? This whole app store concepts is new for consumers. Just because Ubuntu or Apple had somthing first dose not make it better.
Could they be late to the game because they support 90% of the desktop OS market and a huge percentage of the Enterprise.
Ubuntu has had this functionally for literally years, even apple has it, why is the most popular os also the least functional?