Microsoft to take 30% cut of Metro apps under Windows 8

Misleading title. Quoting the article near the bottom, "Microsoft has not yet spelled out any plans to charge a 30 percent fee on in-app purchases".

So is this implying that there will not be side loading of Metro Apps under Win8? If so then this is a big deal. If not ... not really surprising.

No big surprise there. Metro UI is basically equivalent to tablet apps. It's as if Apple were to make iOS apps work under Mac OS X like they do on the iPad (which they surely will in the near future). So, like Apple, these tablet and kinda-desktop apps will require a 30% fee to Microsoft.

I seemed to remember reading somewhere that Microsoft weren't going to take a cut, as an anti Apple move. Guess I was mistaken or they incorrectly wrote this.

Makes sense. Although Metro apps are HTML5 right? So is this not like the Chrome Web Store?

With all of this news, I wonder what part of Microsoft's tablet strategy is divergent from Apple's (well, other than the fact that the tablets themselves will be manufactured by the likes of HTC and Samsung)?

No legacy apps on tablets? √

Curated App Store with 30% cut? √

Multi-touch tablet-focused UI? √

Somehow merging their mobile and desktop OS? √

Microsoft explicitly stated during one of the early announcement sessions that their Store allows you to release apps for a price of Free, and offer trial modes as well. They also made it clear that they support alternative business models, so if you already have customers through some other marketplace or you make your living off in-app purchases, you can put your app up on their Store for free.