For most, the word App is synonymous with the Apple brand and for good reason. Apple offers its customers a selection of over 700,000 apps, some free and others for sale and have made these popular over their hand-held media players and computers, and more recently their cell phones and tablets.Google Play and Apple have been competing since 2008 on not only who could offer the largest selection of apps but who would reign supreme, touting the highest number of apps downloaded by users. Both launched with modest offerings below the 1,000 mark and both have experienced tremendous growth over the past four years, Apple recently hitting the 700,000 mark and Google not far behind at 675,000 available apps.Apple has a distinct advantage over its competitors, it actually produces the devices that use the apps it sells and the popularity of iPads is evident as approximately one third of their apps are designed for use with these devices.Competition is always good from a consumer perspective and it looks as if Microsoft has a new strategy in place that may make a dent in some of the market share that Apple and Google have been so successfully at obtaining.The recent launch of Windows 8 also brought with it Windows 8 RT, designed for tablets and what they hope will result in an awakening of sorts among app users. Their previous lack of interest in app development seems deliberate, as they waited to see how app use fit into their market and the success of the iPad was the event they have long awaited.Microsoft is about to create a revolution of their own and has big brand PC makers such as Dell, Acer, Samsung and others already on-board with a series of new devices that will assist Microsoft in their bid to scoop up potential market share now owned by the iPad.Get ready for hybrid PCs that can act as laptops or quickly convert into tablets using clever flip hinges that facilitate the transformation in a matter of seconds, all of which come loaded with Microsoft’s latest and greatest.Windows 8 and RT provides customers access to their new app store where they will find apps designed specifically for Windows 8 driven devices and although the selection may be limited at first, it is obvious that there is significant effort being expended to expand the selection quickly.Microsoft is offering development camps, free online resources and never ending support for developers and aspiring developers in an effort to increase their output. It is thought that by January 2013, they hope to offer close to 100,000 apps for use which seems a bit ambitious based on the historical data of Apple and the like, but they are Microsoft, so I’ll wait to place my bets.Next week we’ll take a closer look at Windows 8 and some of the new and innovative features it has to offer.Winners from last week’s challenge were: Michelle Kemp, Renee Dill and Karthika Chelvam. The correct answer was Microsoft Movie Maker- create movies using video footage, photos, music and more.They each received a Coby Snapp Digital Camcorder.Let us know what topics you’d be interested in by e-mailing TechBuzz@btc.bm.