Windows 8

[ricardo]

Is there any important change in windows 8 (important in the developer point of view)?

It will be compatible with XP, Vista, W7 API and software?

[IdeasVacuum]

Biggest change is the 'Metro' tiled (Mobile Phone Style) GUI. This can be switched off to reveal a Win7 - like GUI.

You can download Win8 free for testing: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516

[ricardo]

Thanks for your answer.

I knowe about the metro (which looks just like a widget stuff, right?).
But other than that, everything will be almost the same in the developer point of view, i guess.

The registry and UAC will be the same?

[sphinx]

Yes, it is almost identical to Windows 7.
My old VB6 database applications works as expected.

[Rescator]

MicroSoft has stated that your program will work exactly the same on Windows 8 as it does on Windows 7.
So if your program is buggy in Windows 7 it will still be buggy on Windows 8. *laughs*

[Kwai chang caine]

So if your program is buggy in Windows 7 it will still be buggy on Windows 8. *laughs*

Aaaah !!!, am reassured now, even with windows 8, my programs will run also bad as before ....
Good !!!, I do not feel so lost

Thanks to this good news RESCATOR

[Kuron]

Is there any important change in windows 8 (important in the developer point of view)?

It will be compatible with XP, Vista, W7 API and software?

If I am remembering what I read correctly, much like Windows 7 included XP mode, Windows 8 will include a Windows 7 mode.

[idle]

Windows 8 sounds like another oportunity to choose your flavor wisely

[IdeasVacuum]

An interesting view of programming Win8:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/wha ... -container

[Polo]

Microsoft should really stop introducing a new API system for each Windows version.

[IdeasVacuum]

Another interesting view of Windows 8: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/f ... ag=nl.e539

[idle]

Another interesting view of Windows 8: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/f ... ag=nl.e539

kind of sums it up nicely

[c4s]

Another interesting view of Windows 8: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/f ... ag=nl.e539

The author is known for making anti-Microsoft biased posts all the time. I for example don't see why Metro is "ugly" or why it doesn't have a "single significant new improvement": http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/

[IdeasVacuum]

There are at least two things that make it an ugly GUI for desktop PCs, apart from the overall gaudy appearance. You cannot size the app Windows. The manipulation of the tiles is really designed for touch screen, an ergonomic no-go which we learnt the hard way about 25 years ago.

In terms of sales success, I believe the author is correct - XP is still being used by a huge amount of Microsoft's potential market, that owes much to the Vista debacle. Windows 7 lacks some of the slickness of the XP GUI but you can put that back in with 3rd party add-ins. I can't see anything about Windows 8 that is going to persuade a company to upgrade thousands of PCs just to have it, which was one of the main problems Vista had during a much better economic climate.

Microsoft is in danger, great danger, of losing their legacy. Over the years it often happens to the fattest cats of any industry - once lost, it's rare to get back to the top again - as Nokia are the latest to discover. I want Microsoft to succeed but they seem to have developed a habit of shooting themselves in the foot -perhaps Mr Ballmer is not the right person to turn the company's fortunes around.

[Danilo]

@IdeasVacuum:
Why should Microsoft always stay at the top, dominating the market with 95% marketshare?

All things change. IBM was the leader many years before, if you remember. IBM is still there.
It would be no problem if Microsoft would only have 30% of total operating system market share for desktops -
they still would make billions. Every year. Billions.
Now there is a new market, tablet computers and other devices. Microsoft has a market share of 0%
for tablets now, but that does not mean anything. MS has also 0% market share for cars. They don't make cars.

I hated MS 15 years ago. But today their products are very good, imo. It is quality.
They don't jump on every hype and they take their time to make a good tablet now.
They come a bit late to the new tablet market now, but that does not mean it's too late.
We have cars for 100 years now and we have many different car manufacturers now,
so in the long run it does not always mean something if you are the first one with a new thing.
This new devices will last for quite some time, in my opinion, so in the long run it is possible
to catch up if the quality satisfies the customers.

The 'Microsoft world' for developers is awesome. They provide so much and at very good quality.
You just have to look around a bit on their site, it can be overwhelming what is available if you didn't know.
Many people think only about Windows and Office if they hear Microsoft, but it is a little bit more.

I looked at Apple MacOS and it wasn't for me, but i don't say anything bad about Apple. They are just there, it's fine.
I used Linux for serveral years, every day. It was quite nice, but at the end it could not give me the
professional quality software i have on Windows. Every professional level software i have is only Windows and MacOSX,
nothing similar available on Linux.

So at the end Microsoft is not that bad. When it comes to operating systems for desktops,
it is still the best and most widely used.
For the other markets we will see in some years. Windows, XBox, WP7 and Win8 tablets are
nice things, and if you decide to go with Microsoft's stuff, you will have a nice life.
Microsoft is one of the best in business and they provide very good tools for developers, for evolving platforms.