Is free regestration option available?

Question

I'm currently a student an India and i have been working on a Windows 8 Meto Style Utility App, but now I've realised that the Developer would have to register with 2250 INR in order to become a Windows Store Developer and publish Apps in Store

This is completely fair for people who want to commercially sell apps but for hobby programmers or begginers like me this would be discouraging. Please allow a perticular type of account without any registration fee. You may impose a condition that such a type of account can be used to publish only Free APPS(Without any commercial motive).

Answer 1

Hi Pranav,  thanks for your suggestion.  For the Windows 8 Store, the account types are announced in this post (under "Economics of the Store") and a free / no commerce option isn't available.  Sorry if this is discouraging, and I hope you continue to develop your skills so that at some point the Windows Store might be feasible option for one of your projects. 

Answer 2

I think Microsoft are making a huge mistake here. Forcing non commercial developers to pay a 'microsoft' tax just so others can install apps that they write will cut out a huge amount of useful software from the platform.

As a previous employee of microsoft I am saddened and disappointed by this decision. To date I've been keeping an open mind about windows 8 and metro - and the underlying OS is looking very good. However, metro is still half baked - it could be good but decisions like this will steer developers away from the platform. As such I can't see myself recommending metro from a professional perspective and will now be considering looking at other options. These will likely include shunning metro completely to looking at other platforms which offer a better degree of openness.

Why should I invest my time and money in learning metro if I can't even distribute apps I write. I understand the rationale behind the walled garden from a security perspective but this is just MS showing its greed.

You might argue that the costs involved are small - but for non-commerical apps built by students, hobbyists, and professionals in a pro bono fashion even small costs will be discouraging. This is even more so if the costs are year on year.

Not all software is about making money and I think Microsoft have lost sight of this with Metro.

Answer 3

Thats is what even i'm telling.... hobby app development has sometimes resulted in some great apps..

Answer 4

Really?

You know the thing I hate,... when everyone around is screaming sense and the pro is calmly speaking nonsense.