Microsoft closes the door to Windows

Microsoft's primer for Metro yields lots of interesting information. What I find most interesting is that Microsoft is "closing the door" for Windows development. And by that, I mean that Microsoft is exerting more control over the market. I see two limitations:

• Microsoft becomes a gatekeeper, evaluating and approving those apps that become available in the Windows App Store
• Microsoft limits the languages for development

Gating apps for distribution is possibly a mistake. The great strength of Windows was its open market. Anyone could develop and sell (or give away) a Windows application. The entry price was not free (one needed the tools and the knowledge) but the market was open to all comers. Microsoft made some attempt to ensure quality, with such things as "Ready for Win95" requirements, but always let anyone develop and distribute software.

The approval process is limited to the Metro side of Windows 8; I believe that classic Windows apps which run under the Desktop app will follow the old model. Yet I believe that the Desktop app is a transition device, akin to the "DOS box" that was in Windows 95 and later versions. The Desktop becomes the place for "legacy" apps, apps with a limited life span. Metro is the future, and Microsoft will build tools and support for the brave new Metro world.

Enterprises and developers will be able to create and install their own apps without going through the Windows App Store. I'm guessing that Microsoft will limit this capability, requiring developers to sign their apps and allowing them to install only their own apps -- they won't be able to install an app from a different developer. (I'm guessing the same will hold for enterprises, too.)

So as a Windows developer, I can build and test my app on my hardware -- but I cannot give it (or sell it) to you, unless I go through the Windows App Store.

And I'm guessing that the ability to install self-signed apps will come for a price: a developer license, or maybe a signing license. (Probably multiple levels of license, from developer to enterprise, with different price tags.)

Microsoft also limits the languages for Metro apps to a few: C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Javascript. This is an interesting development, given the genesis of .NET. The announcement of .NET emphasized the plurality of languages (some from Microsoft and some from third parties) which contrasted .NET against Java's "one language for everyone" design.

With these two changes, it becomes clear that Linux is the only open platform, allowing choice for development languages and an open market. Microsoft joins Apple and Google/Android in the closed and controlled market for apps.

If we define the beginning of the PC revolution as the IMSAI 8800 (from 1977) with its totally open architecture, we can mark today as another step towards the end of that revolution.