Microsoft is reportedly developing an innovative means of delivering application software to personal computing devices: Leveraging a technology called the Internet, best described as "a series of tubes," end-users will be able to download programs directly to their Windows-compatible machines, thus not having to rely on installing software from such media as floppy discs -- or the newer, slicker compact discs that are all the rage. Given the complexity of this sort of project, don't expect to see it until the company releases Version 8 of its popular Microsoft Windows operating system.
Sarcasm aside, it's tough to get too excited about the leaked information regarding a forthcoming Apple App Store-like application for Windows 8. The most surprising part to me, in fact, is that Microsoft won't be rolling this out until the next version of Windows, which is a couple of years away.
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I'd attribute the delay to Microsoft's continued commitment to a heavily desktop-based computing model (case in point: Redmond's lackluster foray into a Web-based Office suite). Hence, an app store for Windows won't be out until 2012 -- while Google adds new Web-based apps to its App Marketplace regularly. I'd be remiss not to mention that, similarly, Apple and Google also make available third-party apps for their respective mobile platforms on a regular basis, whereas Microsoft doesn't even have a significant rival yet in that space.
The idea behind Microsoft's app store is to provide a one-stop shop from which parties will be able to download trustworthy apps, searchable via the Web or locally on a Windows 8 devices. "Trustworthy" presumably means stable and secure -- but I'd wager there'll be fine print.
