Microsoft to reveal details on its Windows 8 app store next week
The company is expected to spill the beans on its upcoming Windows 8 app store at a two-hour event on December 6.
Microsoft will share more information about its Windows 8 app store at a special event Tuesday.
Slated to take place in San Francisco, the two-hour Windows Store preview event should provide the latest details about the Windows Store to the invited developers and members of the press.
Microsoft has been mum about the Windows Store lately, but it did reveal some facts at its Build conference in mid-September.
Trying to outdo Apple's Mac App store, the Windows Store will let users download free trial copies of Metro-style apps to check out for a limited time. So developers won't have to cook up both paid and "lite" versions of their applications. Beyond that, both free and paid apps would be available. Microsoft will also run security checks and other tests to certify each app.
Traditional Windows desktop and Metro-style apps would both be accessible through the Windows Store, according to Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet. However, Windows desktop apps will not be directly downloadable but instead would be offered through a link to the third-party developer. Microsoft's demo at Build showed a link to download Quicken, as one example. Metro-style apps would be available only through the Windows Store.
Developers will also be able to promote their Windows 8 Metro apps via their own Web site, according to WinRumors. From the developer's site, users could click on a download button that will bring them to the Windows Store where they can grab the application directly.
Foley also posed the question of whether there might be any tie-in between the Windows Store and Microsoft's Xbox 360 because Tuesday is the day that Xbox users will see a new dashboard.
In July, CNET sister site GameSpot cited a rumor claiming that Windows 8 users would be able to play Xbox 360 games directly from their PCs and other Windows devices.
CNET will cover Microsoft's event Tuesday, so we'll be able to share more about the Windows Store at that point.