All that software will still work, and even if Microsoft doesn't want it to happen, people will release libraries for desktop apps to look more Metro, to fit in better with the rest of the OS.
How can you be so sure? Plus the problem isn't with the Metro look -- it looks fine from an aesthetic point of view. It's the fact that its functionality is crippled.
As for the fullscreen issue, the Snap feature, allowing a Metro app to use 1/3 of the screen leaving the rest of the screen for another Metro or Desktop app will fit > 90% of peoples needs. Also, all power users I know use more than one monitor.
The 1/3 of the screen works fine for grandmas checking email and weather, but not for serious users. I'm not even talking power users like programmers or anything -- I'm talking about someone who's maybe writing a paper and has their research up in one window while their word processor is running in another, side by side. 1/3 of the screen for one of the other just won't cut it.
Multiple monitors won't help all power users either. For one thing, if you're a power user on a trip with just a laptop, you're not going to be lugging around your monitor with you. For another, what if you're a power user with a more limited budget? The #1 thing you can cut when trying to build a computer is a second monitor as it's a nice luxury but not a necessity.
In the end, you can always use Windows 8 like an updated Windows 7 machine.
So how much Microsoft stock do you own? :P
The fact is Microsoft is actively discouraging people from making desktop apps anyway. You won't be able to get a free (or even cheap) version of Visual Studio 11 that lets you create desktop apps. If you want to create desktop apps, it'll cost you at least $499. That will screw over many the hobbyist and open source programmer.
In the end, you can always use Windows 8 like an updated Windows 7 machine.
So how much Microsoft stock do you own? :P
None, owning individual stocks is a sucker's game. :P
You can get a monitor for less than $200, I don't buy that as a limitation for a power user. As for as laptops, since the desktop and legacy apps will still work I don't see how they're negatively affected.
The fact is Microsoft is actively discouraging people from making desktop apps anyway. You won't be able to get a free (or even cheap) version of Visual Studio 11 that lets you create desktop apps. If you want to create desktop apps, it'll cost you at least $499. That will screw over many the hobbyist and open source programmer.
Since win32 development isn't changing, The VS Express 2010 versions will work just fine.
I think the real issue is that Windows app developers have been lazy when it comes to using new features of the OS. Let's face it, If Microsoft didn't demote legacy apps in some way, they would never update with new versions with the new design paradigm in mind.
Windows needs a huge change to get more excitement from the consumer market. Windows, as is, will not work in a more touch oriented world.
With a new look and an app marketplace, I think you'll be surprised with the amount of activity that will come in app development with Windows 8.
You can get a monitor for less than $200, I don't buy that as a limitation for a power user.
Privileged as fuck. I'm sorry I'm in college and have to think about food and rent before I can even consider buying a second monitor. Doesn't change the extent to which I use my computer.
You can get a monitor for less than $200, I don't buy that as a limitation for a power user.
Privileged as fuck. I'm sorry I'm in college and have to think about food and rent before I can even consider buying a second monitor. Doesn't change the extent to which I use my computer.
Exactly...
Since win32 development isn't changing, The VS Express 2010 versions will work just fine.
Until Microsoft discontinues them...
I think the real issue is that Windows app developers have been lazy when it comes to using new features of the OS. Let's face it, If Microsoft didn't demote legacy apps in some way, they would never update with new versions with the new design paradigm in mind.
Nothing wrong with demoting/deprecating legacy apps, provided that you don't cripple functionality in order to do so. Metro apps are inherently less functional than desktop apps in many, many ways.
Windows needs a huge change to get more excitement from the consumer market. Windows, as is, will not work in a more touch oriented world.
Touch isn't the best way to do everything. Ever try typing a long paper on a tablet with a touch keyboard? Microsoft seems to be working under the impression that one interface works across everything, whether touch-based or keyboard/mouse-based. They made this same mistake years ago with their earlier tablets, where they thought shoehorning the keyboard/mouse-based interface that desktop Windows had onto a tablet was a good idea. Apple, so far, as gotten this right by keeping the iOS and MacOS X interfaces separate and optimized for their primary input methods, despite sharing (more or less) the same kernel and infrastructure underneath. I can take issue with their walled garden moving forward, but at least they got the UI aspects right up until now.
With a new look and an app marketplace, I think you'll be surprised with the amount of activity that will come in app development with Windows 8.
Oh, I won't be surprised. I'm sure there will be a lot of activity because, well, it's Windows. Saying that there will be a lot of activity in app development for any version of Windows is like saying it's going to rain in Seattle.
With a new look and an app marketplace, I think you'll be surprised with the amount of activity that will come in app development with Windows 8.
Oh, I won't be surprised. I'm sure there will be a lot of activity because, well, it's Windows. Saying that there will be a lot of activity in app development for any version of Windows is like saying it's going to rain in Seattle.
Activity wasn't the right word, I should have said excitement. I think their new WinRT/Metro stack + Marketplace will bring a level of excitement to Windows that I haven't seen for years.
Activity wasn't the right word, I should have said excitement. I think their new WinRT/Metro stack + Marketplace will bring a level of excitement to Windows that I haven't seen for years.
Perhaps, but it's all going to be crap like Twitter clients, Angry Birds knockoffs, weather widgets, and things like that. Nothing at all useful for serious work.
Activity wasn't the right word, I should have said excitement. I think their new WinRT/Metro stack + Marketplace will bring a level of excitement to Windows that I haven't seen for years.
Perhaps, but it's all going to be crap like Twitter clients, Angry Birds knockoffs, weather widgets, and things like that. Nothing at all useful for serious work.
That's what you'll see at first because they're easier to make, but the companies that want to make real money will make "serious" apps as you describe them. Why wouldn't they?
I just heard someone today saying they had to use three different apps to turn a song into a ringtone... sometimes I wonder if some people exist in a world where single-purpose apps comprise their entire way of interacting with technology.
I just heard someone today saying they had to use three different apps to turn a song into a ringtone... sometimes I wonder if some people exist in a world where single-purpose apps comprise their entire way of interacting with technology.
This is the kind of thing we talk about when we say don't install shady apps. It takes exactly one app to make a ringtone, and that is an audio editing app like Audacity, Audition, etc. Use that to cut the audio to the right size. Then just rename it and drag it to iTunes or whatever. Ringtone related things are some of the shadiest stuff on the net.
Activity wasn't the right word, I should have said excitement. I think their new WinRT/Metro stack + Marketplace will bring a level of excitement to Windows that I haven't seen for years.
Perhaps, but it's all going to be crap like Twitter clients, Angry Birds knockoffs, weather widgets, and things like that. Nothing at all useful for serious work.
That's what you'll see at first because they're easier to make, but the companies that want to make real money will make "serious" apps as you describe them. Why wouldn't they?
Because Metro won't let them. As in the APIs used to program Metro apps lack the functionality needed to write serious apps. As I stated earlier, Metro apps can't do any background processing, so that rules out a whole class of serious apps there that require background processing to efficiently do their work. Say good buy to video editors that render video in the background, for example -- Metro won't let you do that. They are also full screen apps, so any application whose UI requires multiple windows to be effective is also a no-go. A lot of the APIs to access the file system are gone -- so anything that requires non-trivial file system access won't work. The APIs needed for custom control of memory allocation are gone. Multithreading (not just background processing as in another process, but within the same process) is gone. Along with multithreading, the APIs used to query the hardware to even know what the ideal number of threads would be (i.e. determine how many cores you got and so on) are gone. A lot of the functionality needed to write serious apps is honestly missing in all the Metro APIs. Oh, and if you're running Windows 8 on an ARM device, it's even worse. The APIs necessary to implement just-in-time (JIT) compilers are gone. This is a serious problem since every modern browser uses a JIT for its JavaScript engine. Of course, MSIE is given an exception to allow its JIT to work, but no Firefox or Chrome on ARM.
I don't quite understand coming to a movie half-an-hour late, and then standing in the lobby for another 10 minutes to look at posters. Your movie is currently playing, why don't you go watch it? Why did you buy a ticket? What are you?
He's still standing there. We're leaning on 20 minutes now.
2) Steam is having a special this weekend: Ticket to Ride is $9.99 (maybe that's regular price?) with Europe map DLC free. If anybody wants to play Ticket to Ride sometime, find me there as jtvhoffman.
Comments
Oh, who am I kidding? I saw this:
Multiple monitors won't help all power users either. For one thing, if you're a power user on a trip with just a laptop, you're not going to be lugging around your monitor with you. For another, what if you're a power user with a more limited budget? The #1 thing you can cut when trying to build a computer is a second monitor as it's a nice luxury but not a necessity. So how much Microsoft stock do you own? :P
The fact is Microsoft is actively discouraging people from making desktop apps anyway. You won't be able to get a free (or even cheap) version of Visual Studio 11 that lets you create desktop apps. If you want to create desktop apps, it'll cost you at least $499. That will screw over many the hobbyist and open source programmer.
You can get a monitor for less than $200, I don't buy that as a limitation for a power user. As for as laptops, since the desktop and legacy apps will still work I don't see how they're negatively affected. Since win32 development isn't changing, The VS Express 2010 versions will work just fine.
I think the real issue is that Windows app developers have been lazy when it comes to using new features of the OS. Let's face it, If Microsoft didn't demote legacy apps in some way, they would never update with new versions with the new design paradigm in mind.
Windows needs a huge change to get more excitement from the consumer market. Windows, as is, will not work in a more touch oriented world.
With a new look and an app marketplace, I think you'll be surprised with the amount of activity that will come in app development with Windows 8.
He's still standing there. We're leaning on 20 minutes now.
Get that Nobel Prize ready.
The secret ingredient is friendship.
2) Steam is having a special this weekend: Ticket to Ride is $9.99 (maybe that's regular price?) with Europe map DLC free. If anybody wants to play Ticket to Ride sometime, find me there as jtvhoffman.
"le petit mort toys"