Like it or not, Windows 8 is here to stay and Microsoft wants to make sure developers are ready to provide users with all the apps they desire. To that end, the company has announced a series of online and in-person developer camps in an effort to increase the population of the Windows Store.
In an email sent out recently by Microsoft, the company brags that its new OS allows developers to "code once and have a great app experience that scales across devices from tablets to all-in-one PCs". The company attempts to further entice coders with the fact that the new Windows Store offers a "higher profit potential" than other app stores, which amounts to an 80% revenue share if you reach $25,000 USD or more in total sales. Indie software developers who oppose the new centralized Windows software distribution ecosystem are unlikely to take much comfort in that fact. Analytics firm VisionMobile recently did a survey which found the average monthly take for a centrally-distributed app was between $1,200 and $3,900 per month, depending on the platform. The new Windows Store, however, is a new frontier for this type of app store.
So what do you, the developer, need to do to get in on this free training and make your fortune? Microsoft has a list of upcoming in-person events.
Locations and Dates
- Scottsdale, Arizona 11/26, 11/28, 12/10 and 12/12
- Mission Viejo, California 11/26, 12/03, 12/10 and 12/17
- San Diego, California 11/28
If you can't make it to these camps, there will also be multiple "hands-on" labs online (HOLO) events which you can register for.
Both the online and in-person events will be run by members of Microsoft's technical team and everyone is welcome to register, although it is developer-centric and the in-person events have limited seating available.
All of this is designed to goose sales of the operating system which have been rumored to be somewhat weaker than the company had expected. An ever-growing ecosystem in the form of the Windows Store should make Windows 8 more enticing. Oh, and also the fact that anyone buying a non-Apple computer these days will be getting this OS.
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