Windows Store is the iOS App Store Done Right
The Windows Store will enable devs to hawk their apps to any nation where Windows is sold
Taking a well-targeted jab at Apple’s draconian iOS App Store, Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows Store, which comes with Windows 8, will as sensible, steadfast, dependable, and transparent as possible. There will be absolutely no capriciousness on behalf of Microsoft — every app will be equally and fairly considered — and the process for getting an app certified and listed in the Windows Store will be as painless as possible.
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Windows Store is the iOS App Store Done Right
This is in stark contrast to the iOS App Store where developer submissions disappear into the electronic ether while Apple decides, in its infinite wisdom, whether your app makes the grade or not. Ostensibly there is a set list of rules and best practices that apps must adhere to, but in reality there is no guaranteed, just-follow-this-recipe way of getting apps into the App Store. With Windows 8, however, the entire process of submission, certification, and promotion will be laid bare. If you fulfill the publicly-available criteria, your app will be swiftly welcomed into the Windows Store; that’s all there is to it.
Getting apps into the Windows Store begins with clicking a button that’s front-and-center in Visual Studio itself. You are then prompted to run a battery of technical tests that ensure that your app is crash-proof and secure — though, curiously, Microsoft has said that if you submit a crashy app they will take on the responsibility of debugging the code and communicating to the developer what needs to be done. Once an app is submitted, developers will be able to follow the process of certification, from pre-processing, to security tests, to technology and content compliance checks. Microsoft is claiming that the entire process will take less than 24 hours — a damn sight faster than iOS, and almost as fast as Android, which is rather impressive given the extra diligence.
For Developers
The Windows Store is the ideal target — and it plays perfectly into our theory that Windows 8 is primarily a vehicle for producing as many tablet- and touch-friendly apps as possible — but whether Microsoft’s open approach is ultimately beneficial to users remains to be seen. The fact that apps can be made from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript will certainly usher in a new age of thousands, and perhaps millions of apps — but at what cost? Will they drown out the good apps — will high-quality apps be able to shine through the cruddy crust of homebrew, copy-and-paste-from-a-tutorial HTML apps?
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