Re: I will decide what I run on my computer thank you very much.
They've already done it with DEVICE DRIVERS, under the excuse that it's "for your protection" or similar. Devs who do drivers, which is especially important for those who want to create a "software only" device (from MIDI loopback to a userland mountable file-system-within-a-file driver, let's say), *MUST* *NOW* pay the Micros~1 toll to get their drivers "signed" or else the end user must run in a "developer" mode (that's not obvious to get into, requires some power shell magic) and THEN see the watermark in the corner as punishment for having done so... [this started with Vista, but was optional for 32-bit until Win-10-nic, then it became mandatory, and now 32-bit is dying].
Point is this is a model Micros~1 put into place as a TOLL BOOTH for driver developers. Now it appears they're getting ready to put a TOLL BOOTH for APPLICATION developers, first by making it INCONVENIENT, and eventually, make it IMPOSSIBLE, to run a "not blessed by Micros~1" "app" that's not from "the store" - like Apple does. [and how many malwares have been 'missed' in their vetting processes, Apple, Micros~1, Android, all of 'em? False sense of "security" indeed]
At least with Android the steps to install a dev-signed APK aren't that difficult, but they still exist [which can still be problematic since the somewhat well known steps are different for several different Android versions].
What THESE "you must have US sign it and pay the toll" policies do, ultimately, is HARM INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS and HARM OPEN SOURCE.
From the article: "The cost is trivial for commercial or well-sponsored projects, but can be a problem for small developers."
Exactly!
And you know, it's ONLY going to get WORSE. This article has made it clear, in my bombastic opinion.
I suppose Micros~1 could add a few extra steps to be even MORE irritating, not unlike those Mac vs PC ads that were often played on TV after Vista released... "Cancel or Allow" etc.. Only THIS time it would be "No, seriously, are you REALLY sure? We think you should re-consider this VERY carefully..." with a progressively more aggressive and panicky tone each time they pop up...
[The steps described by the article to install an un-blessed "app" appear even WORSE than the steps you must go through to add a non-microsoft-logon user to your Win-10-nic computer, something you probably DO want to do, by the way... [it helps protect against malware to surf the web as a non-priv user only, for example] and, worth pointing out, back a couple of years when THAT anti-non-microsoft-login policy first started, I often referred to the hoop jumping as "strong-arm tactics" - so what is THIS then, for application signing?]