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Microsoft Software Windows Technology

Microsoft To Bring Windows 8 Marketplace In 180 Countries 69

Posted by samzenpus from the check-the-list dept.
First time accepted submitter mugi writes "The Microsoft Windows Marketplace was so far only available in 63 countries, and only 38 of those were allowed to submit apps. But now, Microsoft is planning on expanding that list considerably and has announced to bring the new Windows 8 Marketplace to over 180 countries at launch."
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Microsoft To Bring Windows 8 Marketplace In 180 Countries More

Microsoft To Bring Windows 8 Marketplace In 180 Countries

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  • Microsoft (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kthreadd ( 1558445 ) on Sunday July 01, 2012 @01:57PM (#40511799)
    Just for comparison, from how many countries are users allowed to submit from to the Ubuntu Software Center?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      all of them

      • Ah, but that is only 150 and something.

        Microsoft has just created 30 countries on Mars, so that you have more options with the Windows Marketplace.

    • This feels like a loaded question ^^

    • Firehose should have binspammed this (Score:4, Informative)

      by AliasMarlowe ( 1042386 ) on Sunday July 01, 2012 @02:37PM (#40511955) Journal

      Just for comparison, from how many countries are users allowed to submit from to the Ubuntu Software Center?

      All of them, including those which are not generally recognized (Somaliland, etc.) as independent states, provided they have an internet connection.
      BTW, your question (a bit tongue-in-cheek) is just as newsworthy as TFA. Which is to say, not newsworthy at all.

      Slashdot has descended too far down the slippery slope of perdition, and continues to plummet at a depressing speed. In days of yore, commercial propaganda stuff like this "story" would have been stopped in the firehose as binspam.

      • In "Days of Yore," there was no stinkin' firehose, and it wasn't needed. It was two steps up from being Cmdr Taco's blog, and it featured what interested him. I say that not with derision but with fond affection and remembrance.

        Of course, it got a bazillion pageviews, made no money, and then started to be copied by other sites who *wanted* to make money, so it was either take the paid slashvertisements or get steamrolled.

        • ...then he employed his stoner dropout friends as 'editors', they replaced themselves with very small shell scripts, he married his bucktoothed farmgirl and it was happy ever after.

          Honestly, I only come here for the trolls and lulz these days.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ShawnX ( 260531 )
        Wholeheartedly agree with you, is it too late to save Slashdot? The deterioration of Slashdot is no surprise, considering everyone wants click-view revenue more and more, creating a stench of crap.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Sir_Sri ( 199544 )

      Perhaps a better question is how many are capable of doing so and who's definition of a a 'country' do you want to use. Microsoft not making available a store to a country that doesn't exist according to the US or that partially exist through another country (like some of the small pacific island states) isn't an easy comparison.

      The Windows phone website lists the Macau special administrative region of china specifically, but to me that's really just part of the Peoples Republic of China, so is that really

    • 207 [wikipedia.org], or 190 without sovereignty disputes. So Microsoft expanding to 180 is only missing between 10-27 countries in the entire world.

  • 180 marketplaces? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01, 2012 @02:06PM (#40511827)

    That's nice. I will not buy anything in any of them.

    • That's nice. I will not buy anything in any of them.

      I can see why you posted as AC on slashdot with a daring, controversial opinion like that. It makes a real change to see an anti-Microsoft comment here.

  • what about rules that may bar some apps in some Countries?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Then that app won't show up in that country. For example, in the USA, many apps will be banned because they violate some ludicrous 'software patent' such as 'swipe to unlock' or 'searching multiple data sources'. In more reasonable countries there will be more apps available. However, I hope they do a better job of figuring out where people are than Google does. For example, the Google Play store won't let me buy a Nexus 7 as it says it is not available in my country. This is from my work in San Ramon, CA (

  • Who's left out? (Score:3)

    by Mabhatter ( 126906 ) on Sunday July 01, 2012 @02:31PM (#40511927)

    There are only 192-194 countries... Who's left out?

    • I could be wrong, but more than likely the axis of E-vil and other countries MS would be prosecuted for trading with.
    • Given that Microsoft is U.S. based, most likely all countries which have an embargo on them, like Kuba...and if you find a Patent Troll which has a Patent on the Market-thingy, the U.S., too. ;)

  • As much as I dislike... (Score:3)

    by Darkness404 ( 1287218 ) on Sunday July 01, 2012 @03:05PM (#40512089)
    As much as I dislike the "Applization" of Windows 8 and some of their really stupid new "features" I have a feeling it will be one of my more used OSes until a good Linux distro comes out like how Ubuntu was until a few years ago. Mint with MATE comes close, but to be honest I'm not sure how well MATE (and Cinnamon, etc.) development is going in regards to fixing bugs and security issues since many GNOME applications will need the new libraries.

    Someone, please make a Ubuntu for 2012!

    • This is not about Windows 8, actually. TFA is about Windows Phone 8, and the submitter (or the editor?) was clueless enough to confuse the two.

  • The article clearly states that it is not about Windows 8 but about Windows PHONE 8 which is quite different.

  • Why would you localize an internet sales portal? You want it to work the whole world over.

    Accept all payment systems that are in the 21st century from VISA to paypal to whatever. Translate the whole thing into as many languages as you can find.

    It's unforgivable for a company to have a problem accepting a customer's money. This is a darwin award level error.

    • If only it were that easy, but I image the rationale for doing it this way is a mix between accounting/financial reasons and content censorship reasons various countries impose.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by khipu ( 2511498 )

      You'd do it for two reasons.

      First, different countries want to extract different amounts of taxes.

      Second, developers love to extract the maximum amount of money from customers by charging more in "rich" countries and less in "poor" countries.

      • Then we'll pirate.

        This is the 21st century and the consumer has globalized. If they want to treat us like crap then we can return the favor.

        As to taxes... do those apply to online purchases of software? Never paid sales tax in my life for that. And I've run sales through the US, europe, and Japan. I'm well traveled and have lived in different countries. Never paid a tax for a digital download.

        • In a world where some professionals earn $5/day and some earn $500/day, it seems quite fair to price software accordingly.

          Do you also get upset at child and senior discounts?

          • Put paper chains around my wrists and watch how they hold me.

            You can adapt to the 21st century or go the way of that which fails to adapt.

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by Exrio ( 2646817 )
              Ah, you have no idea how refreshing it is to see (read?) someone who gets it. Both this and your comment on the CLI article are spot-on. :-)

            • Put paper chains around my wrists and watch how they hold me.

              You can adapt to the 21st century or go the way of that which fails to adapt.

              It's nice to know that, whatever century you're in, there are always smug, self-satisfied, over-entitled fucktards around to try to fuck things up for everyone else.

              • I'm not a sniveling cringing peasant. If you want to kowtow before any fool in a big hat that's your own business.

                I'll just remember that when you're getting oppressed it isn't my business to help you. After all, you apparently like getting mud kicked in your face. I'm not a peasant. I'm a coequal member of my society. Anyone that wants to treat me otherwise will find the result. I'm clever enough that I can walk through most rules without breaking a single law. There are loopholes bored through these syste

          • In a world where some professionals earn $5/day and some earn $500/day, it seems quite fair to price software accordingly.

            The lack of fairness there is that the same skills are rewarded with different salaries, and the cause of that is trade barriers and restrictions on mobility of workers; if products could be traded freely and workers could move freely, then those differences would go away.

            If you want to allow price discrimination, you need strong trade barriers, because otherwise people would just buy in

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by cnettel ( 836611 )
          Sales tax most certainly does apply for digital downlaod transactions within the EU. However, there have been disputes regarding which tax should be applied. Stating that the app store vendor is in e.g. the U.S. will not necessarily hold water, either. That's precisely the kind of issues that MS needs to handle in some way.

          • is it within the eu?...

            See, the issue here is that you don't need to localize payments at all.

            You put up a portal where people can pay. If the money clears the transaction goes forward. Why is it my responsibility to tell the host nation what people bought and sold on my site?

            No doubt countries pass laws to this effect all the time. But then they've past laws to declare pi equal to 3.

            Laws that are inherently unenforceable are stupid. If physical goods are coming into the country maybe you can track that. Bu

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by khipu ( 2511498 )

              Laws that are inherently unenforceable are stupid. If physical goods are coming into the country maybe you can track that. But digital downloads? Hopeless.

              But they are not "unenforceable". Microsoft has plenty of seizable assets, and they are being held responsible for their business practices.

              • yes, against large companies that centralize their payment system... you are right. But against any entity that isn't of their profile it isn't. And by punishing people for using centralized systems you create a powerful incentive for people to do things in other ways.

                Increase the tax and see what happens. You'll just be increasing the incentive to do things in other ways.

                If you make it clear that you'll punish people for doing things in a traceable and comprehensible manner then people will just do things

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by khipu ( 2511498 )

                  I don't know what you're trying to argue. The discussion is about why Microsoft is restricting this by country, and I told you why: both because they can maximize their profit and because they want to comply with local tax laws. What's so difficult about that?

                  • Nothing as far as it goes. it's one way of dealing with a problem based on a taxation and legal frame work that is extremely antiquated at this point.

                    I frankly find the whole thing to be due a savage update.

                    I also question whether MS or the buyer should be liable for the taxes at all. The whole code needs a reboot.

            • Why do you think digital sales have some special status that puts them outside the realm of being taxable? The fact that criminals may find it possible to avoid doesn't prove anything. People still smuggle guns, drugs and teenage prostitutes despite there being laws against them. That doesn't mean that we should just abandon the idea of countries, governments and the rule of law entirely.

              Except in the minds of whacked out libertarians, I suppose.

              • Strawman much?

              • It's an international transaction. In what way does it have anything do with their country? If I go to a foreign country and buy a sandwich do I owe taxes in that country or my country of origin? You would say in that country because I'm there. But on line I'm not in my country either am I? No. I'm in their country. So if you should be paying sales taxes to any country it should be to the country that hosts that servers. That is after all where it is being bought.

                And guess where all the servers will move th

  • Nice to see those hard core folks up in Redmond doubing down and keeping themselves super busy. I guess it's good for some comic relief.

    • Nice to see those hard core folks up in Redmond doubing down and keeping themselves super busy. I guess it's good for some comic relief.

      Seems there are microsofties with too much time on their hands keeping super busy spinmodding Slashdot.

  • Coordinating payment from different institutons in different currencies is a profit opportunitty.

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