Notch Won't Certify Minecraft For Windows 8

MojoKid writes "The backlash against Windows 8 from various developers continues, but this time a game's creator isn't just expressing discontent. Notch, the developer behind smash hit Minecraft, has declared that he won't be working with Microsoft to certify Minecraft for Windows 8. Note that this doesn't mean Minecraft won't run on Windows 8. The certification process in question is Microsoft's mandatory rules for submitting content to the Windows game store. In order to be listed there, an application must be Metro-compatible and conform to a laundry list of other conditions. The real problem with Windows 8 is that it locks ARM users into a second class experience. If you buy an x86 tablet, you can download programs from SourceForge, GitHub, or any file mirror. If you're an ARM user, you can download programs from the Microsoft store and that's it. The bifurcated permission structure is the problem, and it makes WinRT tablets categorically impossible to recommend for anyone who values the ability to install whatever software they please."

Comments

Well...

[p0p0]

Windows being Windows, I don't forsee any real future issues with getting your own apps on the ARM version. Just the nature of Windows will probably make it much easier to work around, and if the userbase grows enough it will move along that much faster. Microsoft is trying the walled garden technique the Apple has going, but I don't foresee it being as effective or foolproof as Apple's.

Sometimes I feel like Microsoft si kind of flopping around like a fish on land when it comes to tablets. Even though they technically had a headstart, they've only just started their move to tablets and it feels rushed. The current release cycle of good > bad > good > bad will most likely continue and Windows 8 will flop. At least I hope it does and it will force them to rethink their stupid Start menu removal, amongst other things.

Re:Well...

[wonkey_monkey]

I can't type "shop" into the Windows 7 Start Menu and have it open Photoshop, although it does manage to offer me "Microsoft Visual C++ Express 2010" when I type "vi" in the hope of running Virtualdub. Having selected Virtualdub, it still puts VC++ at the top of the list next time I type "vi". Launchy, on the other hand, has already learned that "VC" means Visual C++, "V" means Vuze, and "vi" or "dub" means Virtualdub.

I personally don't use Launchy to open Firefox - "f" shows me Filezilla. I have to type "fir" before Firefox even shows in Launchy's list, but once I've done that once, it then shows up in the list when I type "fi". If I then launch that, it will show up in the list when I type just "f", and after that it becomes the first choice for "f". But I don't want that, so I just type "f", select Filezilla before pressing enter, and I'm back to how I like it.

Launchy's also a lot quicker than the Start Menu - on my machine anyway - because it's not trying to search through my Messenger conversations or stuff like that (or, potentially embarrassingly as I have just discovered, my recently opened files!)

Launchy is also, thanks to its plugin support, a very convenient calculator.