Microsoft pledges to live up to 10 principles, "to promote choice, fairness and innovation" with its app store

[Delicieuxz]

 

10 app store principles to promote choice, fairness and innovation

Quote

 

For software developers, app stores have become a critical gateway to some of the world’s most popular digital platforms. We and others have raised questions and, at times, expressed concerns about app stores on other digital platforms. However, we recognize that we should practice what we preach. So, today, we are adopting 10 principles – building on the ideas and work of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) – to promote choice, ensure fairness and promote innovation on Windows 10, our most popular platform, and our own Microsoft Store on Windows 10:

1. Developers will have the freedom to choose whether to distribute their apps for Windows through our app store. We will not block competing app stores on Windows.
    
2. We will not block an app from Windows based on a developer’s business model or how it delivers content and services, including whether content is installed on a device or streamed from the cloud.
    
3. We will not block an app from Windows based on a developer’s choice of which payment system to use for processing purchases made in its app.
    
4. We will give developers timely access to information about the interoperability interfaces we use on Windows, as set forth in our Interoperability Principles.
    
5. Every developer will have access to our app store as long as it meets objective standards and requirements, including those for security, privacy, quality, content and digital safety.
    
6. Our app store will charge reasonable fees that reflect the competition we face from other app stores on Windows and will not force a developer to sell within its app anything it doesn’t want to sell.
    
7. Our app store will not prevent developers from communicating directly with their users through their apps for legitimate business purposes.
    
8. Our app store will hold our own apps to the same standards to which it holds competing apps.
    
9. Microsoft will not use any non-public information or data from its app store about a developer’s app to compete with it.
    
10. Our app store will be transparent about its rules and policies and opportunities for promotion and marketing, apply these consistently and objectively, provide notice of changes and make available a fair process to resolve disputes.

 

 

While some of them set a higher standard than what some digital stores have been doing, I think that a bunch of these points are things most people just expect. But declaring them as a principles they will abide by means that Microsoft plan to live-up to their word and expect to be held accountable to their word.

 

It's a good list - though, it would be made about perfect with an included declaration of acknowledgement that software purchasers own their digitally-purchased software.

 

 

Is this public move by Microsoft a dividend from Epic Games' fight, which Microsoft has give its support to, against Apple's app-store policies?

 

Tim Sweeney has given the move praise. Though, a few years ago he lambasted Microsoft for attempting to create a walled-garden ecosystem with UWP (a format which has now been all-but abandoned).

 

 

The Coalition for App Fairness website is worth checking out.

 

 

 

If Microsoft would join GoG and EGS' Universal Ownership partnership, that would be great, too.

 

 

[Guest]

Looks great. I’m still not getting anything from the Microsoft store. 

[suicidalfranco]

inb4 MS store, in a hypothetical fifth dimension, becomes big and retracts on all of those.

Never trust corporations, especially US based ones. They're in it for the greed

[IrshaadH]

If only they could also make the MS store worth using from the technical standpoint. It is an absolute nightmare to download games off of it.

[startrek03]

Honestly, I just appreciate, that at least one big tech company promotes something like this.

[RejZoR]

My biggest issue with Microsoft Store is that it's just awful to use. The interface is terrible to use, finding apps is terrible, there is just nothing that would attract me using it. It's just too clunky and weird. Only reason I partially use it is because it auto updates MusicBee and Paint.NET for me, two apps I use regularly and at least Paint.NET gets updates regularly enough that it's more convenient than doing it manually. But other than that, I'd never consider it for anything.

[Arika]

App stores don't make sense on Windows though... 

[TempestCatto]

This seems like a jab at Apple. I like this.

[Bombastinator]

I believed a pledge from a company once.  Google pledged to “not be evil” and I used their mail system.   I currently regret it.  My new attitude is to not view corporate pledges as being worth a thing.

[Tenelia]

13 hours ago, RejZoR said:

My biggest issue with Microsoft Store is that it's just awful to use. The interface is terrible to use, finding apps is terrible, there is just nothing that would attract me using it. It's just too clunky and weird. Only reason I partially use it is because it auto updates MusicBee and Paint.NET for me, two apps I use regularly and at least Paint.NET gets updates regularly enough that it's more convenient than doing it manually. But other than that, I'd never consider it for anything.

Here in Asia, the Microsoft Store is choked full of "free" apps that ask for personal details before use, "free" apps that look suspiciously like other apps, games that are blatant copies of other famous games, and a whole mess of non-functional crap.

 

Anarchy is not freedom, fairness, or justice. These companies are simply out for a free lunch.

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, Tenelia said:

Here in Asia, the Microsoft Store is choked full of "free" apps that ask for personal details before use, "free" apps that look suspiciously like other apps, games that are blatant copies of other famous games, and a whole mess of non-functional crap.

 

Anarchy is not freedom, fairness, or justice. These companies are simply out for a free lunch.

This too. And I'm in Europe. So many just straight up shady looking apps that mimic other famous apps to a point you don't even know if it's safe to use it. Not to mention bunch of brand names that are published on Microsoft Store by someone not even affiliated with the original company/brand. It's just so weird I avoid it entirely and just download apps from official webpages. For some apps I even prefer to use PortableApps "repository/store" which auto updates my apps and they are always well known apps repackaged as portable apps and readily available there. How can that be so polished and trustworthy where Microsoft Store is just a wild wild west.

[Doobeedoo]

Well that's good and all though. Weird for Windowa to have another app store. What they do need to do is i improve their own, function wise and better control wise that there's no crap, iffy apps and vendors. Also digital ownership. But yeah interesting movea to see. 

[Master Delta Chief]

Microsoft should work further on improving the Store first instead of making these pledges. On many occasions the Store itself doesn't function properly (ex. download unresponsive, random errors...). Not to mention the support behind it being rather lackluster, these pledges aren't exactly a priority imo. I'm not saying that the standards they want to present are bad, however if your app store isn't working properly as intended, why even bother with this?

[RejZoR]

30 minutes ago, Master Delta Chief said:

Microsoft should work further on improving the Store first instead of making these pledges. On many occasions the Store itself doesn't function properly (ex. download unresponsive, random errors...). Not to mention the support behind it being rather lackluster, these pledges aren't exactly a priority imo. I'm not saying that the standards they want to present are bad, however if your app store isn't working properly as intended, why even bother with this?

I'd be totally for Microsoft Store if it had most commonly use verified apps on it and less of UWP junk. Like, having MusicBee and Paint.NET on it was such a nice thing. Installed through Microsoft Store and then it's automatically updated. If there was Mozilla Firefox on it too and OnlyOffice or LibreOffice and stuff like that. But most is competing with MS own products and I can see why they are avoiding that. But if you're making pledges like this, they should welcome it with open arms. But firstly, they need to make it less clunky and faster, more direct and more reliable. As in just making it better experience than what mess it currently is. Just installing an app is such a slow and lengthy process with progress bar jumping all over the place. It's like they gave Microsoft Store in hands of their most rookie dev team. It just feels that way.

 

I usually take a piss at Linux, but while their repositories are often overwhelming, they are fast and functional. You pick the stuff and it gets installed quickly. That's what I want from Microsoft Store too. Make it fast and functional, not this fat slob that it is now.

[ausham]

11: Microsoft may issue a update that inadvertently bricks your 3rd party apps and app store. 

[Mark Kaine]

Also they forgot something:

 

11. we will bribe developers of essential apps that they make their apps exclusive to the Microsoft "app" store so consumers have to use it, if they want or not...  

 

4 hours ago, ausham said:

11: Microsoft may issue a update that inadvertently bricks your 3rd party apps and app store. 

well, that's a given... 

[Mark Kaine]

On 10/9/2020 at 8:25 PM, RorzNZ said:

Looks great. I’m still not getting anything from the Microsoft store. 

I hope you don't use Nvidia drivers..........

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Hey Sweeney:

[Sauron]

On 10/9/2020 at 8:45 PM, suicidalfranco said:

Never trust corporations, especially US based ones. They're in it for the greed

Double that for Microsoft who has taken every single opportunity to screw over everyone they come in contact with as soon as it's economically convenient

[jagdtigger]

Like anyone is stupid enough to think MS still has any credibility lol......

[Bombastinator]

On 10/9/2020 at 1:45 PM, suicidalfranco said:

inb4 MS store, in a hypothetical fifth dimension, becomes big and retracts on all of those.

Never trust corporations, especially US based ones. They're in it for the greed

Any of them.  Anywhere.  When the number is zero location no longer matters.  This is why I find it hard to get overly angry at Chinese corporate hacking.  It’s nothing an American or European or whatever country wouldn’t do.  Capitalism is capitalism.

[Intergalacticbits]

11 hours ago, RejZoR said:

How can that be so polished and trustworthy where Microsoft Store is just a wild wild west.

I feel this way about the app stores in general.

I stick to apple because to me they seem to control and police their store more then the others.

It is like the whole app stores thing is built on the hope of killer popular apps to come out of no where from unknowns.

How often is that really going to happen though while the whole time I'm feeling completely put off by the no brand name, low budget feel of many of the apps. 

I know it is weird but I felt better about buying software when everything came on disks. 

 

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

I hope you don't use Nvidia drivers..........

No I own a Mac. No Windows store to get stuff from lol.

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, jagdtigger said:

Like anyone is stupid enough to think MS still has any credibility lol......

 

You'd be surprised...!

 

 

53 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

No I own a Mac. No Windows store to get stuff from lol.

 

Dodged a bullet there!

[Delicieuxz]

3 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

I hope you don't use Nvidia drivers..........

Nvidia has their drivers available to download from their website. I use Windows LTSC, which doesn't contain any UWP programs or functionality, so I don't have Microsoft Store even though I use Windows.