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Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

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    Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

    With the Windows 8 release candidate now available, I have started reading about it and where developers fit in. I ran across this article about desktop development in Win 8 and the fact the next version of the Express line of products is being severly restricted. What really took by interest was the fact that all desktop apps will have to go through the the MS store. Note the issue of no 'side loading'. So my question is what will be the impact on products like AlphaFive. I know there is web development but even this article recognizes desktop apps are here to stay for the forseeable future.

    "In practice, you'll probably have to pay even for Metro development. Windows 8 won't, in general, support side-loading of Metro-style applications. Developers won't be able to stick a Metro-style application that they wrote themselves onto their website and let people download it. Every application will have to go through the Windows store, and will be subject to Microsoft's approval. Submitting applications to the store will cost money, even for free applications; private developers will have to pay $49 a year, corporations $99 a year."

    Here is the link to the full article
    http://arstechnica.com/information-t...-on-windows-8/

    So any thoughts about how this will impact what we do? Will AlphaFive provide us the tools to develop the 'Metro- Style' apps now required by MS and Windows? If so when will that be, given Win 8 will soon be released (perhaps August)?
    Regards,

    John W.
    www.CustomReportWriters.net

    #2
    Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

    I've read the article through John.
    One good reason to not buy Win 8.
    See our Hybrid Option here;
    https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


    Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
    You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

      From that article
      Although Windows 8 remains a fully fledged desktop operating system and will be able to run essentially any and every desktop application that Windows 7 can run
      So as I see it the issue will be writing desktop applications that take advantage of the new Metro interface.
      Glen Schild



      My Blog

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

        Ted/Glen

        Knowing Win 8 was coming out I wanted to determine which version provided the most tools or support for developers. Years ago I had incorrectly purchased Win XP Home instead of Pro and did not get IIS or some other things. When Win 7 came out I need to upgrade to Win 7 Pro so I could get XP mode to support some older customers. So I ran across this article and a number of others that were similar. I do admit I am concerned on a number of fronts, it does seem that MS will be at some level taking ownership of their desktop which initially strikes me as being a very Apple business model.

        In truth, I am confused about the impact on non-Metro apps being installed on the Win 8 platform. Its that subtle side - loading comment that makes me wonder if it will be possible. If you also look at the article it infers that desktop apps can be created in Visual Studio 2012 but is silent about how to deploy them. All in all, there are a lot of unanswered questions or at least questions to which I have not yet found the answers.

        Web apps and web developers seem to be safe and beyond the scope of the these restrictions/changes. So in that respect Alpha has done well in staging its web developers for this new cloud based world with it almost singular focus on the web the recent months and weeks.

        For desktop developers who still write applications for the Win 7 and earlier desktops it appears there is change on the horizon. If we use or have used A5 to develop these applications what happens to our customers who want to upgrade to Win 8? Another question will be whether A5 will enable us to develop for all these desktop environments? I am in no way suggesting I have the answers, but once again I am not sure I am feeling the love from Microsoft for developers like me.

        Bottom line is we can be glad we have A5 to develop our software, but in the long term has MS eliminated our ability to sell and support what we build for the desktops?

        I opened this thread in hopes someone who knows more about these changes could add some clarity to what for me is a somewhat cloudy situation.
        Last edited by jkwrpc; 06-04-2012, 11:39 AM.
        Regards,

        John W.
        www.CustomReportWriters.net

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

          I think - in Australia the term "Get stuffed" would be what Microsoft could expect, how crazy is that approach..
          Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
          Albert Einstein, (attributed)
          US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

            Well, no one can stand up to microsoft unless they can come up with a large enough front at them. This may even be a court issue. With apple, it was not as big a problem because they were not the only(or close to it) desktop out there. It did cause me to back off apple.

            I have been aware for some time this may come to pass. Others told me about it.

            It is my(and some friends) opinion that microsoft will back off in this version, but the writing is on the wall for the next or next. We also believe that you will have to register the app and then have a code somehow to let it be installed. That is all opinion, not necessarly fact.

            You may as well prepare yourselves to go web, be it web/lan/wan. it will be html, php, etc for the future of small developers.
            Dave Mason
            [email protected]
            Skype is dave.mason46

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

              I sat in a Microsoft presentation of W8 the other day and I was very impressed by the technical side of it: playing a movie from a USB stick, pull the stick from the PC, video stops & continues when you plug the usb stick back in. They showed even a lot more very impressive stuff like the builtin hypervisor, booting from USB on some machine etc but in the end I wonder who's waiting for this and moreover who's waiting for yet another interface? The tablet market on the other hand is already mature: iPad & Android rule the waves, MS will not be a player: they're too late, Metro is not "sexy" and MS never has had "cool" stuff you'd want to queue for.

              This could very well become a second Vista for MS, not because the product is technically inferior like Vista but because it is complex to use & understand from an enduser point of view without any real added value.
              I think W7 is here to stay for a long time coming just like XP is still around in big numbers. MS's future is not in consumer stuff, that battle is already over & won by others. They should focus on corporate IT leave the toys to others. Just my 2 cents of course...
              Frank

              Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                Hi Frank,

                I agree with your assesment of win8 = vista

                The problem is that Win8 will be on new computers coming out. That is going to happen. I know some will opt for win7, but the vast majority will not. When the vast majority goes to get business or othe desktop software, they can be horribly limited.

                Now, remember when 98 came out, ms tried to take data out of program files. again in se, and pretty much did in xp, even more in vist and almost all in win7. It may be a progression step(or not), but desktop developers are going to be forced to comply or leave. Bet on it! I was a beta tester on win98 and can remember the beta crashing sometimes just by installing an app in program files. MS kept backing off a little when they did service packs.

                I think Alpha sees this too!

                My opinions mean nothing unless they are right.
                Dave Mason
                [email protected]
                Skype is dave.mason46

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                  As it is to be available soon, I thought that I would give Windows 8 a go with the Preview Release.

                  Installed it on my Mac Mini within VMware Fusion 5. All went fine; no burps, no hiccups.

                  First things first ... installed Chrome and set as default browser

                  Then I figured I would come over here to see what has been posted about the upcoming successor to Win 7 and came across this thread. Read it with interest, but got the gist that the thought was that A5 standalone apps would somehow have to "go through the MS store" and also this so-called "side-loading" 'thingy'.

                  Well, I have just the "thingy" to test this out. It's an app that started back in 1999 (with the last revision being in 2001) to get the hang of the development tools. Written using Borland's Delphi 3 and running on Windows 98. If this "old boat anchor" runs on Win 8, I'll be impressed :) Copied the files over, double clicked the .exe, logged in and there it is!

                  Below is a screenshot with the "About" screen showing. And man, does the report ever generate a lot faster! :)

                  PICS.jpg

                  Although I have not done anything for the desktop with A5, I would hazard a guess from the above, that those apps should be just fine in Win 8.

                  BTW, the photo is of a B737 that is undergoing the lap joint mod. Damn, that was a lot of riveting to inspect!
                  Cheers!
                  Lyle Chamney
                  http://www.2ninerniner2.com/
                  Websites rebuilt with WordPress
                  http://goodcheapfastwebsites.com/
                  Complete, ready to install WordPress websites
                  http://snifflevalve.com
                  WordPress training and tutorials

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                    Originally posted by 2ninerniner2 View Post
                    BTW, the photo is of a B737 that is undergoing the lap joint mod. Damn, that was a lot of riveting to inspect!
                    Did you count them Still better than fly it cabriolet style as Aloha found out, innit? Too darn drafty
                    SwissCharles
                    Between the Alps and a comfy place

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                      Did you count them
                      ... yep, and signed off on it too

                      Still better than fly it cabriolet style as Aloha
                      ... which what initiated SB 737-53A1177 and SB 737-53A1255

                      Basel, Switzerland
                      ... so how's things at AMOS?
                      Cheers!
                      Lyle Chamney
                      http://www.2ninerniner2.com/
                      Websites rebuilt with WordPress
                      http://goodcheapfastwebsites.com/
                      Complete, ready to install WordPress websites
                      http://snifflevalve.com
                      WordPress training and tutorials

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                        While we (you) are talking airgraft, I landed a 744/400 at Kai Tak.
                        True
                        It was in the simluator at Heathrow and I didn't crash. Did 2 touch and goes first though!
                        Tiger Moth's are fun, especially a side slip onto the hard stuff from 200 feet.
                        See our Hybrid Option here;
                        https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


                        Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
                        You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                          Originally posted by Ted Giles View Post
                          While we (you) are talking airgraft, I landed a 744/400 at Kai Tak.
                          True
                          It was in the simluator at Heathrow and I didn't crash. Did 2 touch and goes first though!
                          Tiger Moth's are fun, especially a side slip onto the hard stuff from 200 feet.
                          Much better for real though! :-)
                          Glen Schild



                          My Blog

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                            Glen,
                            The Tiger Moth was for real. Can't afford a 747.
                            I have a client interested in a Web 3G/4g app. I'll PM you.
                            See our Hybrid Option here;
                            https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


                            Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
                            You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Windows 8 - impacts on Development Tools

                              Ted - right on with the 747 sim! :) ... almost as expensive as the real thing. I did the F-28 and Dash 8 when on course. The Tiger Moth must have been a blast too! I have never been in an open cockpit ... "chickened out" on an invite in a buddy's Pitts! ... I'd seen him "perform"! ... No Thanks!!!!! The Aztec in my avatar is more "my speed" ... had her for over 16 years :)
                              Cheers!
                              Lyle Chamney
                              http://www.2ninerniner2.com/
                              Websites rebuilt with WordPress
                              http://goodcheapfastwebsites.com/
                              Complete, ready to install WordPress websites
                              http://snifflevalve.com
                              WordPress training and tutorials

                              Comment

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