Windows Marketplace: Microsoft's new online software and hardware store

Microsoft is poised to launch Windows Marketplace a new online store whose tagline is "A world of products that work with Windows." Formerly codenamed Agora, Windows Marketplace appears to be an everything-for-Windows store to be tightly integrated with Windows Vista. Blogger Ed Bott stumbled across Marketplace when using Vista's Windows System Assessment Tool, a program that divines your system's capabilities when you install Vista. When WinSAT gives your system a score based on its components, it also provides a "View software for my base score online" link that takes you to Windows Marketplace and reports your system's specs in the process, presumably so Windows Marketplace can off your softwawre and hardware that will work with you system. Overall there's nothing stunning about Windows Marketplace, though for an online store it's very clean and uncluttered, owing more to the Apple Store web site than, say, Newegg.com. One unique feature is the "Digital Locker," which lets you "find, purchase, download and store software titles from numerous retailers." Windows Marketplace features focuses mainly on desktop software and hardware, but also has PocketPC apps and even Internet Explorer add-ons. It also has RSS feeds for new offerings in its major categories.

Tags: marketplace, microsoft, store, windows, windowsmarketplace