Introduction:
Ever since Windows 8 was announced, it has been a hot topic of discussion primarily due of the fact that it sounded as a bold migration step from Microsoft for many technical and marketing reasons. People were not expecting company like Microsoft to put ASP.Net, WPF, Silverlight on the backseat and give way to open source technologies like HTML 5 and JavaScript. But we all must understand that to bring a revolutionary change, bold steps are a must.
First day of marriage:
I recently downloaded Windows 8 Release Preview as I was planning develop a Metro styled application for one of my clients. Please note Metro-styled applications can only be developed on Windows 8 operating system, there is no virtual or simulator available on windows 7 or prior versions to support Metro styled application development. As expected the first impression was that it has great looks but navigation was a pain, simply because we(including myself) are so accustomed to existing style of windows. But let me tell you that once we get comfortable with the new way of navigation, it will be all fine.
Cultural shock on honeymoon:
Not all honeymoons are pleasant. At times you need to spend some time understanding each other. Since we users are so comfortable with existing layout of windows, it become a bit irritating to find out how to perform some basic tasks like :
Is it a love marriage or arranged marriage:
Now lets us look into the two parties that are getting married: Windows Phone and Windows 7.
A windows phone application run as if they are running on an OS that cannot do multitasking (except for music player and all). If you switch from one application to another, the first one goes to sleep. Similarly on Windows 7 or any other desktop OS, you open several application and each continue to do the task they we performing until its complete, irrespective of the fact that its on topmost window or not. you are downloading, playing game and listening to music at the same time.
Windows 8 is neither a complete smartphone OS nor a complete desktop OS. Its something which is in between of the two and slightly biased towards smartphones. Metro style based application behave the way Windows Phone applications behave and desktop applications behave the way a normal win32 application behave. So in short its an arranged marriage. It supports both Win32 applications (better known as desktop applications) and WinRT (metro styled applications).
Desktop applications are here to stay:
Metro styled application are a good fit for small to medium sized applications that are complete in themselves. It the beginning of metro-styled applications but not the end of desktop applications. Both will continue to be there and live side by side. Big enterprise applications and distributed applications will continue to be desktop applications. Its not easy to imagine a metro styled application replacing them anytime soon. Even Visual Studio 12 RC is not metro styled application. It would make debugging an application using visual studio impossible as visual studio will go into suspended mode when debugging application gets launched.
Conclusion:
Windows 8 is bold but a necessary move by Microsoft. It might not be a hit as it neither a complete smartphone OS nor a complete desktop OS, but it is the soldier who will make the way for next generation. This will make the future of Windows 9 brighter and comfortable. We hope that Microsoft will WinRT more real-time (than runtime).
Ever since Windows 8 was announced, it has been a hot topic of discussion primarily due of the fact that it sounded as a bold migration step from Microsoft for many technical and marketing reasons. People were not expecting company like Microsoft to put ASP.Net, WPF, Silverlight on the backseat and give way to open source technologies like HTML 5 and JavaScript. But we all must understand that to bring a revolutionary change, bold steps are a must.
First day of marriage:
I recently downloaded Windows 8 Release Preview as I was planning develop a Metro styled application for one of my clients. Please note Metro-styled applications can only be developed on Windows 8 operating system, there is no virtual or simulator available on windows 7 or prior versions to support Metro styled application development. As expected the first impression was that it has great looks but navigation was a pain, simply because we(including myself) are so accustomed to existing style of windows. But let me tell you that once we get comfortable with the new way of navigation, it will be all fine.
Cultural shock on honeymoon:
Not all honeymoons are pleasant. At times you need to spend some time understanding each other. Since we users are so comfortable with existing layout of windows, it become a bit irritating to find out how to perform some basic tasks like :
- How to close the application, as my metro styled application doesn't shows the close button?
Solution: You can close your application by holding the application at the top and then dragging it towards the bottom of the screen or by pressing ALT-F4. - Where's the start menu?
Solution: Your start menu is now a complete screen which becomes visible when you take your mouse to the left bottom corner of your screen. In fact all four corners of the screen now have something for you. they are now better known as hot corners. - Why was my application suspended when I just navigated to another application?
Solution: My application was suspended because it was a metro-styled application. A metro-styled application is different from normal desktop application. When the window is not active, it either goes to suspended or closed state.
- Why is my right click not working?
Solution: Since windows 8 is designed to behave more like a smartphone or tablet than a PC, it seems to be a deliberate attempt to replace it with pinning. The items will get pinned when you right click. - How do I shutdown?
Solution: Since windows 8 is designed to behave more like a smartphone or tablet than a PC, simply going to sleep when it’s not being used. If you do want to shut down, or have a need to restart, open the Charms Bar, select Settings, and then the Power button, which will reveal the Shutdown and Restart commands.
Is it a love marriage or arranged marriage:
Now lets us look into the two parties that are getting married: Windows Phone and Windows 7.
A windows phone application run as if they are running on an OS that cannot do multitasking (except for music player and all). If you switch from one application to another, the first one goes to sleep. Similarly on Windows 7 or any other desktop OS, you open several application and each continue to do the task they we performing until its complete, irrespective of the fact that its on topmost window or not. you are downloading, playing game and listening to music at the same time.
Windows 8 is neither a complete smartphone OS nor a complete desktop OS. Its something which is in between of the two and slightly biased towards smartphones. Metro style based application behave the way Windows Phone applications behave and desktop applications behave the way a normal win32 application behave. So in short its an arranged marriage. It supports both Win32 applications (better known as desktop applications) and WinRT (metro styled applications).
Desktop applications are here to stay:
Metro styled application are a good fit for small to medium sized applications that are complete in themselves. It the beginning of metro-styled applications but not the end of desktop applications. Both will continue to be there and live side by side. Big enterprise applications and distributed applications will continue to be desktop applications. Its not easy to imagine a metro styled application replacing them anytime soon. Even Visual Studio 12 RC is not metro styled application. It would make debugging an application using visual studio impossible as visual studio will go into suspended mode when debugging application gets launched.
Conclusion:
Windows 8 is bold but a necessary move by Microsoft. It might not be a hit as it neither a complete smartphone OS nor a complete desktop OS, but it is the soldier who will make the way for next generation. This will make the future of Windows 9 brighter and comfortable. We hope that Microsoft will WinRT more real-time (than runtime).
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