If you were MS, how would you do it?
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Not yet, no. Hoping they'll gain some traction.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
The main gripe people seem to have with WP8 compared to Android and iPhone is the lack of apps. In other words, you and I are holding WP8 back. :-O [Like you I have only installed Win8 on a test box so far] Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
How I would have done it is, create a tiled Metro-ish look and feel right on top of the existing desktop. I mean, come on, when you do a new install, most of the screen is totally empty! Why not use that space more effectively, putting in some of the cool features you can find in products like Fences, but that doesn't create the schizo mind jarring shift that occurs with W8. And the taskbar is hideable anyways, so you could have the full Metro experience without the psychotic effects. And for goodness sakes, get rid of those annoying hotspots!!! There is nothing worse than a full screen app, shoving the mouse to the upper right or bottom right corner because that's where the scrollbar buttons are, and having some ridiculous icons show up, many of which (like search) don't even work for whatever app has focus!!!
Christopher Duncan wrote:
If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
I'd be the one shouting "usability! usability! usability!" Marc
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How I would have done it is, create a tiled Metro-ish look and feel right on top of the existing desktop. I mean, come on, when you do a new install, most of the screen is totally empty! Why not use that space more effectively, putting in some of the cool features you can find in products like Fences, but that doesn't create the schizo mind jarring shift that occurs with W8. And the taskbar is hideable anyways, so you could have the full Metro experience without the psychotic effects. And for goodness sakes, get rid of those annoying hotspots!!! There is nothing worse than a full screen app, shoving the mouse to the upper right or bottom right corner because that's where the scrollbar buttons are, and having some ridiculous icons show up, many of which (like search) don't even work for whatever app has focus!!!
Christopher Duncan wrote:
If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
I'd be the one shouting "usability! usability! usability!" Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
I'd be the one shouting "usability! usability! usability!"
Catchy! :-D
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
My feeling is that they're doing it right. But then, I actually like Windows 8. So does my wife. We also both have Surface RT's and use them heavily. You're correct that they're playing the long game (as was the case with Vista, if you think about it). I've installed Win 8.1 preview on a machine and, though I haven't used it much, I can see a lot to like in the update for people who aren't fans of 8.
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I totally enjoy Win8. Actually, I have a hard time understanding what people are bitching about. So I'll probably end-up re-employing Steve.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
It's not that I think it's bad, it just doesn't do anything for me. On a PC, I use the desktop. Metro adds no value to that equation. If I'm on the Surface, I have to bypass Metro to do many things, which is clumsy. Neither one really makes my life better.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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Years ago there was an embedded OS that was very modular in that it allowed the developer to add things to the OS that it needed. Need a GUI drop it in, need a touch capability drop it in,... It's not impossible. I don't think a Desktop PC should look and have same functionality as tablet or a phone they are completely different beasts. I don't need or want touch on my desktop and I wouldn't want a tablet without touch.
VS2010/Atmel Studio 6.1 ToDo Manager Extension You're about to exceed the limitations of my medication.
Maybe that's the ticket. Stop trying to put Windows on a tablet. Come up with something completely new for tablet and leave Win on the desktop.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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The main gripe people seem to have with WP8 compared to Android and iPhone is the lack of apps. In other words, you and I are holding WP8 back. :-O [Like you I have only installed Win8 on a test box so far] Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
My biggest gripe about developing for Metro is the whole "store" thing. Let me install my apps without MS in the middle. Thought that was a really bad move, but of course they're just emulating Apple and Android.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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My feeling is that they're doing it right. But then, I actually like Windows 8. So does my wife. We also both have Surface RT's and use them heavily. You're correct that they're playing the long game (as was the case with Vista, if you think about it). I've installed Win 8.1 preview on a machine and, though I haven't used it much, I can see a lot to like in the update for people who aren't fans of 8.
I will probably get more out of Surface when the app ecosystem matures a bit. For instance, Microsoft's Mail app doesn't support POP (seriously?) and there's not much else out there. Tons of RSS readers, most of them bad. I thought the killer aspect of Surface was the keyboard, which I still think is brilliant.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Microsoft’s problems are self inflicted. They are their Ego and Greed. The greed: They have been slowly divesting themselves of their “Free” software in favor of “Paid” versions and buying up the competition. Look at Winternals, they bought them up and scrapped their offering and put some of the technology into their products so they would get the money instead of someone else. Skype with all of the paid add-ons, they bought Skype and scrapped windows messenger. Office 360, they scrapped the free small business model (That I was in on from the beta) in favor of the paid version. Windows 8 and the new “App” store. Get developers to build lots of apps and give you a small portion of the money, while they set back and collect on all sold there. How many more I can’t think of offhand? Ego: They are trying to dominate in every arena, PC and Server OS, Productivity, Mobile Phone, Cloud, App store, Gaming, Music ….. I believe I have read somewhere that they were going to try and get things to market quicker. Just because something is new doesn’t mean everyone will Want or Needs it. They “Needed” Windows 8 to help drive the “App Store” to compete with Apple’s store. I was in on the beta test of Windows Vista and hated it, but now (that I use a Quad core system) prefer it to Windows 7 because it is closer to what XP was. Windows 7 has several more cool things in it but some things are harder to find and parts of the UI were starting to turn ugly. Those that wrote the menu items for Windows 8 must have been some of the same people that wrote the menu items for windows 7. Stop burying the common items. Like shut down?? So why does windows 8 run faster? Less intense graphics like Windows 3.1? They suspend (some) processes instead of stopping them. Possibly better optimized base OS or less things running in the background? BTW buy up your Win 7 Licenses before they stop selling them : ) you may dislike 9 even more. What would I do different?? Stop ticking of the people that make the company what it is today. They start things off as a beta test and then dump them for a paid version that is totally different or if it was paid Didn’t make “Enough” money after getting a following. People will stop wanting to keep trying new things if they keep getting dumped. It is easy to armchair quarterback and second guess the decisions made. Without being on the inside and knowing what the real driving force is then a real answer could not be formulated
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I will probably get more out of Surface when the app ecosystem matures a bit. For instance, Microsoft's Mail app doesn't support POP (seriously?) and there's not much else out there. Tons of RSS readers, most of them bad. I thought the killer aspect of Surface was the keyboard, which I still think is brilliant.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Touch cover or type cover? I've got the touch cover (64GB Surface RT) and love it. I can't go as fast on it as on a regular keyboard, but I do pretty well. :) The lack of POP support in the mail app doesn't bother me as my email accounts are all on outlook.com or are hosted gmail (don't get me started on google's decision to kill off EAS support).
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Why did they try to break into iPhone/iPad market place with hardware that has a higher price tag? I would lose money on the hardware for an iteration or two, until you win over the user (and developer) base (Isn't this how they did it with XBox?) Entering the market with a new unproven product that costs more than the beloved competition is how they ended up with a warehouse full of Surfaces that they can't unload, and hardware mfg's bailing left and right... Windows 8.1 should bring the causal PC users back on board, but it's probably already too late to try and win over the tablet/phone market with this product
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one.
Not really. Phone will always be different from a desktop computer. One is small, the other is big. The usability in business of tablets versus phones depends on the work being done. A tablet is unsuited for the sort of work that desktop computer is - despite what techno enthusiasts might claim. A phone might work as well as a tablet but that is probably actually a case of where one or the other should have been used in the first place and the alternative is a less than ideal stand in. Not to mention of course that the vast majority of businesses are not going to invest in all three just because they can. They will pick one and that is what the employees use regardless of their personal preferences. Once you move outside of business needs then you are in the realm of consumer fads. So for example although someone might read a book on either phone or tablet they are more likely to prefer one or the other. So it isn't interchangeable and they wont interchange them (excluding again fads and techno enthusiasts.)
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Maybe that's the ticket. Stop trying to put Windows on a tablet. Come up with something completely new for tablet and leave Win on the desktop.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Good idea! They could call it DanDroidOSi so as not to get sued...
This message is manufactured from fully recyclable noughts and ones. To recycle this message, please separate into two tidy piles, and take them to your nearest local recycling centre. Please note that in some areas noughts are always replaced with zeros by law, and many facilities cannot recycle zeroes - in this case, please bury them in your back garden and water frequently.
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Good idea! They could call it DanDroidOSi so as not to get sued...
This message is manufactured from fully recyclable noughts and ones. To recycle this message, please separate into two tidy piles, and take them to your nearest local recycling centre. Please note that in some areas noughts are always replaced with zeros by law, and many facilities cannot recycle zeroes - in this case, please bury them in your back garden and water frequently.
:laugh:
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
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Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
You're hired. :-D
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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I bought the Surface RT when it came out. While I get more use out of the iPad mini and before that the Motorola Xoom, the Surface does have its moments, particularly where remote desktop is concerned. I have Win 8 installed on a test box but don't use it. All my boxes run 7. Win 8 is the new Vista, the OS people love to hate. I don't use it beyond the Surface because it doesn't really do anything for me on a PC or laptop. Sure, I can zip past Metro and go into the desktop in Win 8, but it doesn't give me anything that Win 7 isn't already doing. It also bears a striking visual resemblance to Win 3.1. Yuck. I see 8 more as a bridge OS than a right now endeavor. In another year or two, that's the OS average people will be running since that's what they'll get on their new boxes. At which point Metro will seem normal. That's where I think MS is playing the long game, which I hope will benefit both Windows Phone and tablets. A massive installed base will lead to familiarity and the possibility that people will want their computer, phone and tablet to have a common look & feel. It's not a killer strategy, but it's a reasonable one. Personally, I don't know any other way MS could do this beyond the schizophrenic creature that is Win 8. You have to have the desktop. There are too many apps out there, and a great many of them would be diminished by a phone UI (I'm going to write a book, produce a feature film, mix an album or sling code on a tablet or my phone? Unlikely.) So, if you want to get in the tablet game, you have to have a second UI suitable for mobile, and somehow try to munge them together. MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
MS is trying to bring Windows into the mobile era, but it's no small challenge. If they fired Balmer and hired you, how would you approach this problem?
- Add to the right swip bar, a real help system. Once you get used to the swip controls they do make controlling the phone / rt easier. It's just a matter of figuring out where they hid everything. 2) The way the tiles work on my Nokia, I can easily move them around to my liking on the phone. For some reason on the RT, they pretty much do not do move where I want them. grrr 3) Move the right side swip bar to the bottom, I think more poeple would be able to figure it out if the location was in a more natural place. At least a place that people are used to. 4) Over the weekend I installed Server 2012, the new UI when used through a RDP session really makes navigating difficult. Admins every where are going to go nuts when they see the UI. 5) Maybe a double tap of the windows button to bring up the search? That would realy be handy prety much bypass the whole thing then :) 6) Some of the people at RT hardware support are good, others........Fire them. Send them back to McDonalds. (I've had to call in a couple of times due to patching breaking WIFI)
Common sense is admitting there is cause and effect and that you can exert some control over what you understand.
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It's a good idea but you're still faced with the same fundamental problem. How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street? Windows desktop is tedious beyond belief on the Surface. Metro would be a challenge to port a full featured desktop app to without it being equally tedious. Not an easy problem to solve, to be sure.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone ...
The question I would ask is Why? The two operating systems are used in different contexts (I think on different CPU hardware?) and I see no need to force them to be the same. Making desktop/laptop and phone the same to me is like forcing MS Word and Excel to be the same program. It could be done, but things are just fine with them separate. Windows 8 is the second coming of Microsoft Bob. The only thing they left out is the Fisher-Price logo.
-- Harvey
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It's a good idea but you're still faced with the same fundamental problem. How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street? Windows desktop is tedious beyond belief on the Surface. Metro would be a challenge to port a full featured desktop app to without it being equally tedious. Not an easy problem to solve, to be sure.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
How do you make one OS work for both desktop and phone without sacrificing usability for apps on either side of the street?
You don't. They are completely different devices that are only related by the fact that they have an operating system. So does a TV. So does a DVD/BluRay recorder. So does a microwave oven. So does a one-armed bandit. So does everything else that contains computer technology. Forcing a wrong OS/user interface onto a wrong device is a mistake that only a complete idiot could make. "Hey! Computers and microwaves and phones all have numeric keypads! Let's give 'em all TV remote controls!" [edit] For some peculiar reason, I had typed "keyboards" instead of "keypads".
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Just thought about this last night. I'd drop Windows 8 entirely and roll many of the kernel changes back to Windows 7, releasing Windows 7.1. For tablets, I'd move Windows Phone OS (which is just CE with a skin.) I'd also stop making tablet hardware unless it is as good as the iPad in every way. While at it, I'd port Visual C++ 6.0 to 64-bit, add tabs and Intellisense (pretty much what Visual Assist does), the new compiler/linker and several of the other features of VS 2012/2013, and make the compiler/linker not hard linked to a version of Visual Studio IDE. Or just add all the icons from VS 2010 back into VS 2013.
Sounds about right.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
