SleepyEgg

In San Francisco today, Microsoft started talking up the Windows Store, the online marketplace for Metro-style Windows 8 applications. With Apple's Mac App Store and iTunes Store already operational and selling both computer and tablet applications, Microsoft was keen to highlight the differences between its offering and Apple's. Microsoft promised to make an application store that was more flexible, more transparent, and ultimately more lucrative for developers than Apple's.

The Windows Store will support both free and paid applications, with paid applications ranging from $1.99 to $999. As with Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace, developers can offer free trials, with integrated support for converting trials to full versions. Microsoft will provide its own advertising and in-app purchase infrastructure, but these will be strictly optional; if a developer wants to use a different ad network, or its own subscription and billing system, that's not a problem.