Microsoft installs new Win8 evangelism boss – weeks before launch Microsoft has dipped into its OEM executive pool for a new head of Windows 8 developer evangelism on the eve of the operating system's launch. The company’s reported to have named Steve Guggenheimer as corporate vice president of Microsoft’s developer and platform evangelism division. Guggenheimer had served as corporate vice …
> Windows 8 will run all Android apps anyway, so hardly a big difference versus Apple.
LOL!
The reason that Metro is compulsory on Windows 8 is because MS sees its future with users having the same UI and apps on all their computers: Desktop, tablet, phone, TV, car, washing machine. WP7 has failed (in that it has yet to get any traction in the market and has less share than WM6.x had) because, experts tell them, the UI is unfamiliar. The plan is to make TIFKAM "the most familiar UI then users will demand it on the phones and tablets".
If, however, as you say, users can get Android apps on their desktops (including on XP and W7), phones and tablets then Windows 8 will have failed before it was released.
Of course MS may yet be able to build into Windows 8, and even on XP and W7, as an urgent 'security' update, a means that stops BlueStreak running. They have done this before with AARD code in Windows and with Win32s that prevented it running on OS/2. They once had a jingle "The job ain't done 'til Lotus won't run".
The downfall of OS/2 was when it included 'a better Windows than Windows'. It really was better than 3.11, but the problem was that developers (including me) decided that it was more useful to develop for Windows than for OS/2. The programs would then run on both. So few continued to develop for OS/2.
So I don't know why you think it a good thing that Windows (from XP to 8) will run Android apps. Perhaps you are too young to remember*. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.
* This is a dig at your childish optimism over all things Microsoft.
Better operating systems through marketing, yeah right. No matter what PR man they use Windows 8 will probably be the biggest stinker of an OS since Vista.
Microsoft please realize that we want tablets AND proper desktops or notebooks, and not some cobbled together freak show of an OS that looks like a tablet crashed into my desktop and fused together some terrible abomination of an OS.
No matter what they call metro or whatever they say about device convergence, its still in my book as a failed experiment even before we see a final version. However the sooner that they realize how bad of a job they did on this UI the better since we might actually see some real innovation, instead of a rehash of a mobile OS that is pretty much one of the more unpopular platforms that is really overshadowed by iOS and Android.
Perhaps the WinMo people at Microsoft were the only ones loud enough in the room when they thought of a new direction to take, but not all ideas are good ones and that sucks if you're a developer but its the cost of admission really. As time has showed in previous releases of Windows, the next iteration will be better and probably be released sooner than we think like windows 7 over vista.
Let's just hope that Microsoft doesn't make the same poor decisions again when they release 9.
The guy ought to take a look at the buy Visual Studio page.
I went there to cost up Visual Studio 2012 development price for a possible project this morning only to read "For an overview of the Visual Studio 2012 product line, including MSDN subscriptions, and the licensing requirements for those products in common deployment scenarios, download the Visual Studio 2012 and MSDN Licensing white paper." This 29 page white paper has little of interest to small ISVs, the majority of people who produce applications for iOS and Android.
Then Click on a buy link to discover the US price for Visual Studio Professional with MSDN is $1,199.00 (UK £1013 ) for first year, $799 (UK £675) per year after. I don't think VAT is included but not clear. Prices go up to Ultimate at $13299 (UK £11,237). Professional without MSDN appears to be £502.00 + VAT, I don't think this has an annual charge, no indication of any upgrade discount if you have VS 2-010.
In short, licensing is a real mess. Not the way to encourage VS 2010 users to upgrade or developers for other platforms to move to MS toolset.
Win8 Customer Preview was great - a culture shock from Xp, but once I found how to start on the desktop and forget the UI (my mouse is still alive and my fingers still work) Windows 8 is absolutely fine.
Now the downside, Windows 8 Release installs fail miserably.
Seems Windows 8 Customer Preview had some tweaks to ignore certain hardware specifications and WORK anyway, MISLEADING the Dev, Consumer whatever.
This despite the hardware meeting Windows 7 criteria (NX bit or not)
Microsoft removed the 'workarounds' now forcing a great deal of perfectly useable hardware redundant as far as Win8 goes.
CIO's are going to have fun with this one!
Would love to find a workaround. The hardware is sound.
Given we are all being 'poked' and 'prodded' to be efficient (the greens tell us the planet is dying and we have used up all the resources) Microsoft COULD have allowed Windows 8 to continue on Windows 7 compatible hardware.
After all it is an OPERATING SYSTEM and isn't software supposed to work on multiple platforms?
I guess to have done this Intel and MS have also run out of resources (£'s to you and me!) and need to refill the coffers!
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