In the past few days, there has been some controversy over the new Windows 8 certification process. As you probably know, Windows is an open platform. The software you install is completely up to you: if you want to install mods to popular videogames, you can do that. If you accidentally set up some malware instead, Microsoft lets you do that too. However, Microsoft appears to be taking a step away from their current model with Windows 8's app certification. They've been contacting different software developers, asking them to pass a certain amount of quality control to become certified windows apps, presumably to be sold in an app store hosted by Microsoft. Some people, like Markus "Notch" Persson, the developer of Minecraft, aren't too thrilled, but what does that mean for the future of the operating system?
To understand Notch's position you need to know a little bit about his game. Minecraft is probably the most heavily user-modified game you can play. Users have released free mods that do everything from changing the graphics, to adding incredibly large new areas to the map. In my opinion, the mods are undoubtedly the best part about the game. However getting every single one of the thousands of user-created modifications for the game certified would be practically impossible, meaning to use the new app store they would need to release a new version with modding disabled - not something they want to do.
If you're on a PC right now, you probably already know where Microsoft is coming from. Countless casual users have turned their computers into a lump of scrap metal by installing some faulty software they thought would get them a smiley face for their cursor. Windows 8's verification process could solve this problem, the casual users could make it so they only install certified apps, while the more experienced users can turn this setting off and use the computer just like they're using it already.
You are probably thinking "well, what's Notch's deal? He can just sell the game like he does already, and not use the app store." You might want to blow it off as a non-issue, but the fear here is that to remain competitive you will need to be a part of the app store. You see the same thing with smartphones. For androids, the default setting is to only let people download from the app store, installing whatever you want requires changing the settings, and the majority of people I've met just haven't bothered. Because of this if a developer wants to make any money off of his app, he's practically forced to sell it in the app store. Will this be the case for computers as well? Maybe, but whether or not it's worth it is completely up to you.
