It's unlikely the decision was entirely egalitarian. It's more likely an attempt to attract users to the Windows Phone 7 platform, is still struggling to gain traction in a and, to a lesser extent, Apple's iPhone.
The official line is that the application and a corresponding application download site, labeled , are to provide an official way for "home brew" programmers to create and make available Windows Phone 7 apps without to join the Microsoft App Hub developer program.
The ChevronWP7 team for creating an app that gave developers access to secret parts of the Windows Phone 7 operating system, but which also allowed end-users to "sideload" non-approved apps.
ChevronWP7 said the app was to aid the creation of "home brew" applications -- software created by hobbyists more for fun than profit.
The team after Microsoft staff made contact with them, and they subsequently agreed to work with the software giant.