Microsoft planning app store for windows 8

Published August 20, 2011 9:33am

Yes, Microsoft is indeed planning its version of an app store for its upcoming flagship operating system Windows 8. Microsoft Windows division president Steven Sinofsky said the app store is one of the features that some 35 teams are working on for the next version of Windows. "We organize the work of Windows into 'feature teams,' groups of developers who own a combination of architectural elements and scenarios across Windows. We have about 35 feature teams in the Windows 8 organization. Each feature team has anywhere from 25-40 developers, plus test and program management, all working together. Our teams are all focused on building a global product, and so some of our teams are located outside the US and are also delivering globally," Sinofsky said in a blog post. Sinofsky said the teams are organized into seven larger groups that pull related teams together. These are fundamentals, devices and networking, core OS, developer experience, user experience, web services, and the engineering system, he said. He added the Windows Live group handles Hotmail, Messenger, Skydrive, Photos and LiveID, while Internet Explorer group has some teams of its own. Sinofsky listed the initial batch of features as:

App Compatibility and Device
Compatibility
App Store
Applications and Media Experience
App Experience
Core Experience Evolved
Device Connectivity
Devices & Networking Experience
Ecosystem Fundamentals
Engineer Desktop
Engineering System
Enterprise Networking
Global Experience
Graphics Platform
Hardware Developer Experience
Human Interaction Platform
Hyper-V
In Control of Your PC
Kernel Platform
Licensing and Deployment
Media Platform
Networking Core
Performance
Presentation and Composition
Reliability, Security, and Privacy
Runtime Experience
Search, View, and Command
Security & Identity
Storage & Files Systems
Sustained Engineering
Telemetry
User-Centered Experience
Windows Online
Windows Update
Wireless and Networking services
XAML

A separate article on tech site CNET said the app store confirms rumors that have been around for more than a year. It cited a series of Windows 8 documents leaked in June 2010, where Microsoft has reportedly been eager to match Apple's app store. CNET added Microsoft has also been working hard to keep Apple from winning a U.S. trademark for the phrase App Store. â€” LBG, GMA News

Tags: microsoft, microsoftupdates