• TechCrunch, Friday, November 14, 2008 11:45 AM

Microsoft, the undisputed king of packaged software, "quietly drove another nail into the coffin" of the business that built its empire by launching a new software download store aptly named the "Microsoft Store." After initially testing the online service in Europe and Korea, the U.S. version of the store was opened up on Thursday. The Microsoft Store sells downloadable versions of all Microsoft software, from Office to games for the Xbox 360. Unlike, say, the Apple App Store, the Microsoft Store does not distribute mobile applications or third party software.

Curiously, Microsoft didn't make a big deal about yesterday's launch. TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld surmises that the software giant probably didn't want to "alienate" its retail distribution partners by doing so. Instead, Microsoft left it to program manager Trevin Chow to explain the benefits of electronic software distribution on his personal blog.

The obvious benefit to ESD is that once your payment is confirmed, you can immediately download and install the product to your computer. No need to wait several days or pay added shipping costs-all it takes is the download time of the product, which varies. One fear for users buying ESD products is not having the software on physical media to re-install it late, but the Microsoft Store guarantees support for re-downloading purchased items for five years, or until mainstream support for the product ends. In theory, Microsoft Store downloads could be even cheaper than retail product sales, because they eliminate packaging costs, but Chow makes no mention of this in his blog post.

Read the whole story at TechCrunch »