No-cost desktop software development is dead on Windows 8
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
Unfortunate decision for sure, the Express editions were/are excellent products and I thought were more of a 'grab'em young, keep'em forever' strategy. But I can see that MS knows Metro will die/survive based on its apps, and they need Metro to survive if they can continue to modernise the Windows platform and drag its from its nasty legacy roots. This move *will* increase the amount of support resources for Metro dev (which is also required) and the apps. And given that they are free, we can't really complain! The 2010 editions will still work on Windows 8, and if need be coexist with the 11 editions. Also given that better Metro design relies on MVC/MVVM patterns, it would also mean that more younger devs have exposure to the core ideas that will help them later.
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
-
Unfortunate decision for sure, the Express editions were/are excellent products and I thought were more of a 'grab'em young, keep'em forever' strategy. But I can see that MS knows Metro will die/survive based on its apps, and they need Metro to survive if they can continue to modernise the Windows platform and drag its from its nasty legacy roots. This move *will* increase the amount of support resources for Metro dev (which is also required) and the apps. And given that they are free, we can't really complain! The 2010 editions will still work on Windows 8, and if need be coexist with the 11 editions. Also given that better Metro design relies on MVC/MVVM patterns, it would also mean that more younger devs have exposure to the core ideas that will help them later.
cjb110 wrote:
I thought were more of a 'grab'em young, keep'em forever' strategy.
No, that's what Dreamspark is. Students can get VS Professional, the Expression suite, server OS's, and more for free. I can get multiple copies of most of those because my school also has a program with MS to offer a bunch of software free to its students (including the desktop OS's, the only thing Dreamspark really lacks). That's the real 'grab'em young, keep'em forever'.
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
Microsoft can "want" for me to write "Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications" but I suspect it will be a while before I actually do so, and even longer before I do so without being paid for it. For example, I will probably keep writing OpenGL applications for Windows, and compiling them with MinGW, until Microsoft completely removes support for this mode of development. What's going to compel me to change my ways? Guilt over not using the very latest thing? I'm over that. I suppose it's possible that the new technology will just be so awe-inspiring that I'll switch over despite the availability of existing, free development tools that I really like. Windows 8 / "Metro" would have to be very good indeed for me to feel this way, though, especially after the way WPF turned into a non-event. The credibility of these Earth-shattering pronouncements from Microsoft is at a low ebb right now, in my estimation.
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
are they going to give everyone touch-screen monitors? no? screw them.
-
Unfortunate decision for sure, the Express editions were/are excellent products and I thought were more of a 'grab'em young, keep'em forever' strategy. But I can see that MS knows Metro will die/survive based on its apps, and they need Metro to survive if they can continue to modernise the Windows platform and drag its from its nasty legacy roots. This move *will* increase the amount of support resources for Metro dev (which is also required) and the apps. And given that they are free, we can't really complain! The 2010 editions will still work on Windows 8, and if need be coexist with the 11 editions. Also given that better Metro design relies on MVC/MVVM patterns, it would also mean that more younger devs have exposure to the core ideas that will help them later.
cjb110 wrote:
And given that they are free, we can't really complain!
If it doesn't do what I need it to do then free doesn't matter.
-
The current SharpDevelop 4.2 release is already ready for .NET 4.5 and async/await, just install .NET 4.5 and it'll appear in the target framework list. Yes I guess this might boost our user numbers a bit :) Though I'm not too hopeful that that will translate into increased contributions - Windows developers tend not to think about contributing :( Unfortunately the reduced Windows SDK will also screw us over in some aspects, e.g. the XML documentation files (documentation in IntelliSense) for the .NET 4.5 BCL are no longer available without Visual Studio (previously these were part of the .NET/Windows SDKs).
-
Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.
Pay to play.
No-cost desktop software development is not really dead on Windows 8[^]
Quote:
Two packages were used in this mindblowing revelation: Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express (C++ compiler and toolset) Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8 Consumer Preview (for Win32 headers) Wiring this up to the ‘Express UI is a trivial exercise for the developers out there. (In response to Peter Bright’s story.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP