(On the new touch-UI apps for Windows 8) Distributed through the Windows Store. Apps must pass certification so that users download and try apps with confidence in their safety and privacy. Side-loading is available for enterprises and developers.
This is scary. Or should be. The concept of having to defer to someone else for "permission" to install a piece of software is absolutely outrageous, and is one of the reasons why I'm avoiding the iOS sphere.
About the nearest thing to a positive I can think of (well, not a positive so much as a "might not be as bad as..." thing) is that Microsoft's dominant position pretty much rules out the idea they can screen for content, in the same way that Apple does. If Microsoft uses the concept to screen out, say, compilations of political cartoons (as Apple did) then Microsoft is likely to attract the attention of a lot of anti-trust lawyers again, especially if Windows 8 truly ends up having the devastating affect on the market I think it will.
This, again, really, really, really, underscores the need for Canonical and Google to address the situation. I desperately hope both organizations are discussing this internally. Android doesn't stand a chance as long as it remains a stripped down single user operating system, and Ubuntu doesn't stand a chance as long as its primary APIs have no relevance to touchscreens.
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