A fringe benefit is that it would now be free to activate Developer Mode on an Xbox One/Series console, so that one could sign their own software and run homebrew and the like.
Free developer registration for individual developers
Starting later next month, individual developers will be able to publish apps to the Microsoft Store without paying any onboarding fees – making it the first global digital storefront to eliminate such charges. Developers will no longer need a credit card to get started, removing a key point of friction that has affected many creators around the world. By eliminating these one-time fees, Microsoft is creating a more inclusive and accessible platform that empowers more developers to innovate, share and thrive on the Windows ecosystem. Visit https://aka.ms/microsoftstoredeveloper to get started.
A fringe benefit is that it would now be free to activate Developer Mode on an Xbox One/Series console, so that one could sign their own software and run homebrew and the like.
It'll be interesting to see the outcome of removing the onboarding fees. In theory onboarding barriers reduce the amount of just plain junk that gets published and acts as a hurdle to ban evasion...
It'll be interesting to see the outcome of removing the onboarding fees. In theory onboarding barriers reduce the amount of just plain junk that gets published and acts as a hurdle to ban evasion (at the very least it makes ban evasion more costly).
Based on the state of most digital storefronts I don't know that said barriers are performing the intended function. But who knows without seeing what actually happens.
As an aside: the Docker quote is oddly hilarious to me. 99% aren't running the latest Docker Desktop, eh? Could it have anything to do with your change in licensing that caused them to either not want to update or drop DD entirely?
My experience on someone trying to do a ban evasion is that registering alternate accounts in Argentina or other places where the dev cost was less than a few USD was the most common practice. So...
My experience on someone trying to do a ban evasion is that registering alternate accounts in Argentina or other places where the dev cost was less than a few USD was the most common practice. So I guess that frees this up, but on the other hand, AI slop isn't necessarily an issue with TOS, and people aren't turning Xboxes into Emulation Stations like they used to, so whatever money they are making from gatekeeping developer privileges is outshone by the potential of having an app store on Windows where anyone can put an app up, I guess.
Windows users are also used to downloading stuff from websites, so having to pay to publish their app somewhere most people won't even look probably wasn't very appealing
Windows users are also used to downloading stuff from websites, so having to pay to publish their app somewhere most people won't even look probably wasn't very appealing
What’s going on with docker desktop? I use orbstack on my Mac, but only because it’s a better program than docker desktop. I haven’t heard about a license change.
What’s going on with docker desktop? I use orbstack on my Mac, but only because it’s a better program than docker desktop. I haven’t heard about a license change.
Oh this happened awhile ago. From their FAQ: So, basically every organization with more than 250 people and more sense than money dropped Docker Desktop. I work for a large public university....
Who’s required to pay for Docker subscription plans?
Each subscription plan clearly defines its features, usage limits, and costs. Customers who want access to any paid products or features must subscribe to a paid plan.
For small companies with fewer than 250 employees AND less than $10M in revenue, Docker will continue to offer free usage of Docker Desktop only under the following terms:
4.2 Specific License Limitations for Standalone use of Docker Desktop.
(a) The use of Docker Desktop without a paid Subscription, is further restricted
(i) to your use for a non-commercial open source project and/or (ii) use in a commercial undertaking with fewer than 250 employees and less than US $10,000,000 (or equivalent local currency) in annual revenue. Government Entities shall not use Docker Desktop or access other Entitlements of the Service without purchasing a Subscription
Docker’s open-source software such as the Docker Engine is accessible for all and supported by the Moby project maintainers and community members.
So, basically every organization with more than 250 people and more sense than money dropped Docker Desktop.
I work for a large public university. Based on their pricing, it would have added another $72,000 line item on our annual budget, or almost $2 per student. A lot of us now use WSL with podman or Podman Desktop.
It is this kind of software cost bloat which causes tuition to rise by a thousand cuts. We're not a business which can translate extra spending into extra profit. The only way to increase budget is to raise tuition or take on more students. Taking on more students is a delicate balance which requires more teaching space and staff.
And the MBA management mentality often ends up getting us to buy tons and tons of expensive software that we don't need. One manager in particular is super keen on migrating us to Azure, despite after running all the numbers it will be far more expensive than maintaining our two data centers.
Thank Microsoft, Amazon, and Google for brainwashing a generation into believing the cloud is your savior and not your captor.
What @vord said. I was joking that 99% of their installs are stale installs from before that change and that the idea that they think it's actually because they aren't in a good enough app store...
What @vord said. I was joking that 99% of their installs are stale installs from before that change and that the idea that they think it's actually because they aren't in a good enough app store is humorous.
https://storedeveloper.microsoft.com/onboarding You're now able to register for free to be a Microsoft developer! It's rolling out gradually, so your account may not be ready yet.
A fringe benefit is that it would now be free to activate Developer Mode on an Xbox One/Series console, so that one could sign their own software and run homebrew and the like.
It'll be interesting to see the outcome of removing the onboarding fees. In theory onboarding barriers reduce the amount of just plain junk that gets published and acts as a hurdle to ban evasion (at the very least it makes ban evasion more costly).
Based on the state of most digital storefronts I don't know that said barriers are performing the intended function. But who knows without seeing what actually happens.
As an aside: the Docker quote is oddly hilarious to me. 99% aren't running the latest Docker Desktop, eh? Could it have anything to do with your change in licensing that caused them to either not want to update or drop DD entirely?
My experience on someone trying to do a ban evasion is that registering alternate accounts in Argentina or other places where the dev cost was less than a few USD was the most common practice. So I guess that frees this up, but on the other hand, AI slop isn't necessarily an issue with TOS, and people aren't turning Xboxes into Emulation Stations like they used to, so whatever money they are making from gatekeeping developer privileges is outshone by the potential of having an app store on Windows where anyone can put an app up, I guess.
Windows users are also used to downloading stuff from websites, so having to pay to publish their app somewhere most people won't even look probably wasn't very appealing
What’s going on with docker desktop? I use orbstack on my Mac, but only because it’s a better program than docker desktop. I haven’t heard about a license change.
Oh this happened awhile ago. From their FAQ:
So, basically every organization with more than 250 people and more sense than money dropped Docker Desktop.
I work for a large public university. Based on their pricing, it would have added another $72,000 line item on our annual budget, or almost $2 per student. A lot of us now use WSL with podman or Podman Desktop.
It is this kind of software cost bloat which causes tuition to rise by a thousand cuts. We're not a business which can translate extra spending into extra profit. The only way to increase budget is to raise tuition or take on more students. Taking on more students is a delicate balance which requires more teaching space and staff.
And the MBA management mentality often ends up getting us to buy tons and tons of expensive software that we don't need. One manager in particular is super keen on migrating us to Azure, despite after running all the numbers it will be far more expensive than maintaining our two data centers.
Thank Microsoft, Amazon, and Google for brainwashing a generation into believing the cloud is your savior and not your captor.
What @vord said. I was joking that 99% of their installs are stale installs from before that change and that the idea that they think it's actually because they aren't in a good enough app store is humorous.
https://storedeveloper.microsoft.com/onboarding
You're now able to register for free to be a Microsoft developer! It's rolling out gradually, so your account may not be ready yet.