Comment by mbrubeck | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mbrubeck | Hacker News Reader

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First, note that the project was cancelled before the first version shipped. This would have changed if it had made it all the way to release.

Second, some details about the store... "Windows Store apps" can use the IE rendering engine to browse the web, but can't use other existing libraries like Gecko or Blink. "Metro-enabled desktop browsers" like Firefox and Chrome and IE (the terminology comes from an old Microsoft white paper [1]) can take advantage of a special exception to the restrictions placed on most "Metro" apps, but only if they are set as the default browser for both desktop and Metro mode. And they can't be installed like Windows Store apps; you have to install them through the desktop.

Metro-enabled desktop browsers (like other desktop apps) can be listed in the Windows Store, but can't be installed there. Instead, the Windows Store page will just contain a link an installer on the developer's web site. Chrome links to their installer from the Windows Store, and we'd have done the same if we shipped the Metro app in a Firefox release. (We could still list desktop Firefox in the Windows Store, subject to the same restrictions.)

[1] http://www.zdnet.com/firefox-for-windows-8-adds-a-touch-of-m...

> Second, some details about the store... "Windows Store apps" can use the IE rendering engine to browse the web, but can't use other existing libraries like Gecko or Blink. > > Metro-enabled desktop browsers (like other desktop apps) can be listed in the Windows Store, but can't be installed there.

I don't understand why it is legal for Microsoft (AND Apple) to do this! How is this different from what Microsoft did with IE vs Netscape? Why doesn't this violate anti-trust or competition laws?

What monopoly are they abusing? iOS has something like 30-40% of the mobile marketshare and Android is a strong competitor. The restriction is only in place for Windows RT apps, of which Microsoft has a rather negligible marketshare of the tablet market.

It doesn't violate anti-trust laws because you have a very viable option of using Android or any other tablet OS.

> The restriction is only in place for Windows RT apps, of which Microsoft has a rather negligible marketshare of the tablet market.

The restriction against using browser engines other than IE's Trident applies to "Windows Store Apps" for desktop, too.

Mozilla and Google managed to claw out a half-hearted concession for the browsers themselves on the desktop (though not RT), but even then the other restrictions that mbrubeck noted still apply: the browser needs to be installed outside the Windows Store and only the default browser is allowed to present a touch interface. I'm not sure what purpose is behind the latter restriction, other than making switching or experimenting with browsers slightly more of a hassle.

IIRC there is no such rule in Windows Store (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh69408... ), just there is no browser engine which would satisfy technical requirements of sandbox (no executing generated machine code means no JIT, all GUI must be implemented trough WinRT APIs or DirectX and probably many others).

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