Microsoft bans 'Metro' name from own Windows Store
updated 06:56 pm EDT, Wed August 15, 2012
Apps will 'fail certification' if Metro name used
Microsoft has effectively banned the use of the word "Metro" from its Windows Store. Developers that submit a Windows 8 app to the store using the word will "fail certification," in a move that follows the company's efforts to eradicate its own use of the name. A recent change to the "Naming your app" instructions appears despite prominent use by Microsoft of the term elsewhere.
A number of developers now face rebranding their apps in order to pass the new requirement. For example, Windows-based Twitter client MetroTwit already has a significant following, and risks alienating their existing client base by having to suddenly change their name.
The change from using the word "Metro" could be related to a potential legal dispute with another company using the name. Microsoft confirmed the change in branding earlier this month, saying "we have used Metro style as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines," and as Windows 8 gets closer to launch, the company "will use our commercial names."
MarkedUp, a startup that helps others develop Windows 8 apps, originally noticed the change in guidelines. It queried why Microsoft decided to abandon the name in the face of a legal battle so quickly, and likened the change to if Apple banned every application that began with a lowercase "i."
