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denem

(11,045 posts) Thu Oct 18, 2012, 03:31 PM Oct 2012

Up go the Walls: Windows 8 Metro & 'Surface' Tablet "is as locked down as an iPad" (Ars Technica)

Microsoft has adopted the Walled Garden for Metro apps in all versions of Windows 8. For ARM powered tablets, that means every app.

Microsoft's decision to limit Metro apps to the Windows Store is the wrong one.

Windows RT is as locked down as an iPad. There is no option to install traditional desktop applications. Only the ones pre-loaded by Microsoft, specifically the built-in applets that come with Windows, and Office Home & Student 2013, are available. Developers can distribute Metro apps to Windows RT, but only through the Windows Store—which can only include apps that don't fall afoul of Microsoft's restrictions on content and behavior. ...

"We're going to ensure that the Windows 8 Store is the only place that Metro style apps can be distributed," Microsoft's Ted Dworkin said a year ago when introducing the store. Microsoft's public statements on the matter have not changed since. There are exceptions for developers to sideload apps for testing, and for businesses to distribute custom apps for employees (just as on the iPad), but developers can't distribute Metro apps to a general audience without going through the Windows Store.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/10/oped-if-microsoft-adopts-apples-app-strategy-its-better-to-follow-os-x-than-ios/

And, Microsoft have followed Apple with a full slate of family/corporate friendly content restrictions:

5.1 Your app must not contain adult content, and metadata must be appropriate for everyone
... Your app may contain only content that would merit a rating of PEGI 12, ESRB EVERYONE, or Windows Store 12+, or lower.
5.2 Your app must not contain content that advocates discrimination, hatred, or violence based on membership in a particular racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, religious, or other social group, or based on a person’s gender, age, or sexual orientation
5.3 Your app must not contain content or functionality that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes illegal activity
5.4 Your app must not contain or display content that a reasonable person would consider to be obscene
5.5 Your app must not contain content that is defamatory, libelous or slanderous or threatening
5.5a Corporations are people my friend

5.6 Your app must not contain content that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes excessive or irresponsible use of alcohol or tobacco products, drugs or weapons
5.7 Your app must not contain content that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes extreme or gratuitous violence, human rights violations, or the creation or use of weapons against a person or animal in the real world
5.8 Your app must not contain excessive or gratuitous profanity

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx

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Highlight:

Up go the Walls: Windows 8 Metro & 'Surface' Tablet "is as locked down as an iPad" (Ars Technica) (Original Post) denem Oct 2012 OP

Can anyone imagine where the state of computing would be today, if the IBM PC had been locked down? RC Oct 2012 #1

RC

(25,592 posts)

1. Can anyone imagine where the state of computing would be today, if the IBM PC had been locked down?

Reply to denem (Original post)

Thu Oct 18, 2012, 03:58 PM

Oct 2012

And IBM went after anyone that tried to write programs for them?
Think of all those after market programs you have loaded on your desk top or laptop. How many of companies that developed and wrote those programs would even exist? Would XP even exist, let alone Win7, 8, etc? If we were lucky, we'd be on some flavor of Windows 2000.

Unix/Linux on Intel PC's could still be outlawed OS. Z-80, AT&T 3B2 descendents anyone?

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