Windows 8: Windows Phone SDK (7.1.1 update) Ready to Go!

Cliff Simpkins: I’m pleased to announce that the Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 Update is now available for your download; it’s the final version of the CTP we released last month, and enables Windows Phone developers to do two things:

• Develop apps that work well on the new 256 MB devices
• Use the WPSDK 7.1 to develop on machines running Windows 8

While I’ll circle back to these two points in a moment, I’d like to take a moment and highlight what’s actually in this update.

The 7.1.1 Update is really just that – it’s an update to the existing WPSDK: it doesn’t add much in the way of new features to your WPSDK installation; it updates your existing install to do a few new tricks:

• The Visual Studio IDE is patched to enable selection from a list of emulators, and launching it (note that the WPSDK can only support connecting to one at a time, though)
• The Windows Phone [512 MB device] emulator image is updated to use build 8773
• A second, new emulator device image is included, allowing you to emulate running your app on a 256 MB device
• The Microsoft Advertising SDK is updated to the latest version (previously only available as a separate install), which fixes some issues devs were encountering at runtime
• IntelliSense now supports specifying the 512 MB device requirement in your manifest file, should you choose to opt your app out from running on the new 256 MB devices
• Language support is again consistent both in the IDE (the 7.1.1 Update supports all 10 of the WPSDK 7.1 languages) and in the emulator OS (Malay and Indonesian have been added)

Read the whole article here.

Windows 8: Moving Metro Around

So many people didn’t enjoy the love that the Windows key gave in Windows 7. To them, the Windows key was a useless key. To them, they simply didn’t know.

Now with Windows 8 there is even more love! Will you make the most of it or are you “one of those users”? My mom, by the way, is holding a user group next Thursday for those users – BYOB (bring your own bengay). ;)

Actually: my mom isn’t holding a user group next Thursday – if you are one of those users, then you are on your own!

Windows 7

My favorite use of the Windows key in Windows 7 was to use Windows key + Shift + the Left/Right arrows. This keystroke combination effortlessly relocated the current window from one monitor to another.

Nokia files Patent for “Phone in a Tattoo”

Unwired View is reporting on a recent Nokia patenting looking into haptic tattoos to help you feel who is calling.

Not satisfied with just getting its own flavor of slide-to-unlock patented, Nokia wants to take haptic feedback to a level you haven’t previously encountered. Haptic tech is employed, for example, when your phone vibrates as you type on its touchscreen. Haptics deal with appealing to your sense of touch by applying forces or vibrations to your skin.

Which is exactly what Nokia wants to do, proposing the application of tattoos with ferromagnetic inks, that will vibrate based on commands from your phone.

Read the whole article here.

Windows 8: Good news for XAML developers

Windows development has been the prevue of CPP and managed developers (like C# and VB.Net). With the advent of Windows 8 metro applications, there’s continued support for CPP and managed code, but there’s new support for HTML5 developers for to write first-class, native applications.

This is exciting for Microsoft because it gives us opportunity to offer this large class of developers, who likely don’t consider themselves Windows developers, a bridge to leverage their existing skills to build real Windows applications. But Microsoft is not the only winner.

Windows 8: 1,000 Metro icons you already have installed

Windows 8 metro applications have a few things in common. One of them is typography. Segoe (pronounced “se-go” not “see-go” or anything else), specifically we’re talking about the Segoe UI font (or a derivative of it), is the standard san serif font in Windows 8 metro applications – and more.

Preview Segoe UI

What does Segoe UI look like? Take a look:

This is the Windows 7 version, the Windows 8 version has a different Q!

Windows 8: Semantic Zoom versus Optical Zoom

Windows 8 is full of groovy nuggets of innovation. One of my favorites is the Sematic Zoom. This control is a container of two other controls – usually list controls. The first declares the UI when zoomed out. The second declares the UI when zoomed in. Simple.

Easy and Intuitive

To use Semantic Zoom, users performs a standard two-finger pinch-zoom. This manipulation is the natural gesture for touch users desiring to drill in or back out. The two-finger pinch-zoom originated in image applications, but there it was performing an Optical Zoom.

What about the mouse?

Everything that works for touch in Windows 8 works for the keyboard and mouse. This is a common concern when users see a touch demo – and it’s a great answer to offer them back, there’s a no-compromise experience for keyboard and mouse. Semantic Zoom is CTRL + Mouse Wheel.

Windows 8: At last! Expression Blend for XAML, Metro

Holy frakin’ awesome! The silence around Blend has been slightly lifted. Will there be Expression Blend for Metro XAML like there is for Metro HTML5? Oh yeah!

Joanna Mason: In this post I’ll give you an inside view into some of the implementation details and prioritization considerations that we employed so we could light up support for Windows 8 Metro style apps using XAML in Blend.

There are a few features that you may have gotten used to creating when creating SL, WPF and Windows Phone apps in Blend that are not available when creating Metro style apps. Rest assured that our goal is to provide the same level of rich functionality and visual authoring capabilities for Metro style apps as you currently have for Windows Phone, Silverlight and WPF applications, we just have not had the time to get there with this first version of authoring support for Metro style apps.

Read the whole article here.

Windows 8: Metro Smooth Streaming Client SDK (Beta)

At last! The IIS team recently announced that their Smooth Streaming Client SDK for Windows 8 has been released to Beta. This is great new for those partners wanting to have a high-fidelity video client in Metro applications.

On Wednesday, February 29, Windows division proudly unveiled the Windows 8 Consumer Preview release to the world. As of Friday March 9, we are excited to announce a beta of the new Smooth Streaming Client for Windows 8, which provides capabilities to integrate Smooth Streaming to video element in Windows 8 Metro style apps. Aligned to this release is the release of Player Framework for Windows 8 that makes it easy for you to build rich apps that consume video and provides player controls that you can use in your Windows Metro Style Applications.

Read the whole article here.

Is Google fundamentally broken?

I have a new colleague, James Whittaker. He recently left Google to come here – to work for Microsoft. In response to the overwhelming curiosity that asked “How could you leave Google?”, he responds.

As it turned out, sharing was not broken. Sharing was working fine and dandy, Google just wasn’t part of it. People were sharing all around us and seemed quite happy. A user exodus from Facebook never materialized. I couldn’t even get my own teenage daughter to look at Google+ twice, “social isn’t a product,” she told me after I gave her a demo, “social is people and the people are on Facebook.” Google was the rich kid who, after having discovered he wasn’t invited to the party, built his own party in retaliation. The fact that no one came to Google’s party became the elephant in the room.

The old Google was a great place to work. The new one?

-1

Read the whole article here.

Windows 8: Does Metro even make sense to Microsoft Developers?

Metro is Microsoft’s design language. It is our specification for applications written for the Metro environment in Windows 8. But, fundamentally, it is our design language. What does that mean?

There is more to Metro than sharp edges and clean typography. Metro is a design language based on real design concepts, principles, and theory. Most of the documentation on the internet is explaining “what” Metro is – they are specifications. But there is very little on the “why”.

In a recent discussion with a colleague, we were discussing this. He started from a design point-of-view, understanding Metro’s core intents. I was trying to explain why engineers (like Microsoft developers) don’t necessarily understand why Metro is advantageous.

Windows 8: a bootable USB

We all know and are very excited that the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 is available (as of February 29, 2012) for download from http://preview.windows.com. It’s brilliant.

There are 2 options:

1. Download the web installer – this is intended for updating your current operating system. It can clear your system back to metal or preserve your current documents and settings. Pretty nice.
2. Download the ISO – this is intended for you to create a bootable USB or DVD from which to install Windows 8 on a real or virtual machine. Note: the Windows 8 team wants you to experience Windows on a non-virtual machine. But, do what you can.

Windows 8: Why push from Azure?

Have you discovered WNS? Windows Push Notification Services, it is a Microsoft service for pushing items to Windows 8 Metro-style applications. WNS is free.

WPNS is the similar service for Windows Phone applications. WNS is specifically for Windows 8 metro style applications.

Push what?

WNS pushes Toasts, Tiles and Badges. The best example of toasts is Skype toast indicating an incoming call. The best example of tiles is Weather showing current conditions. The best example of badges is Email showing your unread count. Each of these allows you to deliver value to users. None of these require your application to be running.

Sorry, Google Chrome is not supported

It’s Back to the Future. Browser wars are so passé. Yet here we are. No so long ago, Netscape went head-to-head against Internet Explorer. Netscape lost. Not so long ago, Firefox went head-to-head against Internet Explorer. Firefox lost. Not so long ago, Safari even tried to say they were the fastest HTML rendering engine on the block. Safari lost.

Game Developers Conference

Welcome to the 26th iteration of the Game Developers Conference^® (GDC), the world's largest professionals-only game industry event. From March 5-9, 2012, GDC serves as the headquarters for learning, networking and inspiration for the digital games industry.

Microsoft Developer Day: Entertainment Reimagined

The primary audience for this Developer Day is professional developers who build games and entertainment applications for Xbox 360 and Kinect, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and the web. Developers will learn about the new Windows 8 Metro style application platform and new Xbox LIVE services that deliver breakthrough entertainment experiences across all of Microsoft's entertainment platforms.

Room 2022, West Hall 2nd Floor and Room , West Hall 2nd Floor

At this event, Microsoft introduces developers to the future of games and entertainment. With technology deep dives focusing on Xbox LIVE and Windows 8, learn about how you can build great experiences by capitalizing on Microsoft's vision for connected entertainment.

Join us, and seize the opportunity to be in the first wave of games and entertainment applications that unleash the power of Xbox LIVE services across Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and the web.

I’ll be there, will you?

Read more here.

Really?! OneNote vs. EverNote

Leonardo da Vinci gave us a different note-taking paradigm. His notes started in the middle of the page, not the top, where he wrote or illustrated the core theme of that particular page of notes. From there he drew branches out to various main topics, which he then divided visually down into subtopics, drawing illustrations as needed, and drawing connections between ideas where connections needed to be made. His notes illustrated not only the information, but the relationships between different pieces of information. Had he not written everything backward as a mental exercise, it would be easy for anyone to see the "big picture" in his notes.

As new device types become ubiquitous, it's time to rethink how we take notes. While there are more cutting-edge products out there, Evernote and Microsoft OneNote provide forward-looking, highly productive options for multiple devices and the cloud. Each has its advantages.

The two most prevalent examples of note-taking software are Microsoft OneNote and Evernote, from Evernote Corp.

Read the whole article here.

Broken: Windows 8 and the Windows Phone SDK

We know many of our software developers are excited and eager to get started using the consumer preview on a daily basis, but Windows 8 is still a preview release, which means that there are going to be instances of software incompatibility. One of these incompatibilities is unfortunately with the current Windows Phone SDK.The good news is we are working to address these issues and should have more information for you in the coming weeks.

There are three issues with running the Windows Phone SDK on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview:

• XNA Game Studio. On an attempt at installing the Windows Phone SDK, the user will receive error messages with regard to components of the XNA tool chain. These components will fail to install on Windows 8; the workaround for this has been blogged about by Aaron Stebner.
• Windows Phone Emulator. Windows 8 cannot currently run the Windows Phone emulator, which will make it very difficult to debug your code. There are two issues in addition to the simple fact that the emulator does not run on Windows 8, having to do with specific emulator functionality.
• .NET 3.5. Capability.exe and slsvcutil.exe will not run on Win 8 unless you separately install .NET 3.5.

Read the whole article here.

WP7 Sample: a Settings Page in 5 Minutes

One of the things that distinguishes great Windows Phone applications is the ability to configure to the preferences of the user. Let’s pretend the user wants to enable or disable a feature – how do they do that?

The best way to provide this custom experience is through a settings page. In this article we will create a reusable setting framework you can use in all your Windows Phone applications.

Note: This is going to be one of the those blog posts that is just freaking handy. Every single application (practically) needs to do this. And without explicit guidance anywhere else, it will be nice to have something to base your solution. I’m not saying this is the only way, but it’s a great way.