Maybe it's a new feature, but in Windows 10 build 11102 the calculator is resizable. At its smallest size, in Programmer mode, a button is 50 x 39 px. The window itself is 300x500px which doesn't take up very much screen area on my 2560x1600 px monitor. In Standard mode it is even smaller.

I've been programming professionally since 2000. I've always used the latest version VS and I've always found the new versions to be improvements over previous versions. VS 2012 being no exception. Performance has never been an issue for me because I've always kept my computers up to date with Moore's law. Not that any version has ever been perfect. And there are some annoyances which persist through all versions. But VS is a tool, nothing more. And a good craftsman knows his tools and how to get the most out of them. Regarding VS 2012, if gray isn't your thing, then use the Color Theme Editor extension to get some color back. I did this for a while, but have since switched back to gray. After getting used to the IDEA of it, I find it is true what they say - that the gray is less distracting of what I am actually trying to do, which is get some code written.

I have been running Windows 8 as my main Development machine since Consumer Preview. Not a single issue. Haven't needed to boot into Win 7 since. I do full time, professional development, half time WPF for desk top, half time WinRT for Metro. Desktop is same as it was before, with certain cosmetic changes and some nice additions like ribbon for Explorer which I think is really nice. Navigating between desktop and Metro start is a non-issue. I like the contrast between Metro and desktop when I make the switch, it is not jarring. Rather, it is refreshing. Learn the short cuts and things like Control Panel (yes, the Win 7 version) are easier to get to than they ever were.

I love the Ribbon and one of my favorite things is that I can minimize it making more room for UI than with traditional menu, while keeping the menu items within easy reach.

Hello, If I create a style and set OverridesDefaultStyle to true, or if I create a new control were I am defining the default style myself, it seems that FocusVisualStyle is always null (by default). Which means the I need to set it in the style, which is Ok. My problem is, I want to use the same FocusVisualStyle that the current theme is using, as is the recomendation, and I believe that it should be available through the static property SystemParameters.FocusVisualStyleKey. However, when I try to use it, nothing happens (no focus rectangle is displayed). I believe I am writing this correctly:

<Setter Property="FocusVisualStyle" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemParameters.FocusVisualStyleKey}}" />

If I define my own FocusVisualStyle and use it, it works, but then that defeats the purpose of the Theme. Does anyone have any insights into this? Thanks in advance.