Facebook app for Windows 8. Facebook has said that we should talk to Microsoft, and Microsoft has directed the questions at Facebook instead. The good news is that Facebook has now arrived on Windows 8 and Windows RT– sort of, okay not really. The app is called Facebook but is actually built by Pearl Apps LLC and in their description they state, “This is not the official Facebook App. We are not affiliated with Facebook in any way.” The clone uses official logos and could certainly confuse people into using it, thinking it is the real deal. That said, it’s layout isn’t wonderful but feature-wise it isn’t that bad. It allows you to look at Facebook news feeds, comment and much more. The big concern here is whether something alleging to be official (through use of official logos and naming) could be a safety concern. Sometimes these kinds of apps have backdoors that spy on users, etc. That said, Windows Store is pretty secure and Microsoft likely would have found any problems and prevented the app from arriving in the first place. Another issue is whether or not Microsoft should allow these kinds of clones into the market. This app could arguably infringe directly on Facebook’s trademark, after all. Odds are, someone at Facebook will take notice, notify Microsoft and a prompt take-down will follow. While I personally like Windows 8 and the Windows Store, it seems to me that more of these ‘low-quality’ apps keep finding their way into the store as of late. App quantity isn’t as important as app quality, at least in my opinion. Have you tried out this so-called “Facebook” app yet? What did you think of it?]]>
