Microsoft to devs: Don't ruin Win 8 launch with crap code Microsoft has urged developers to only use approved Windows 8 software interfaces to avoid spoiling the launch of its new operating system with dodgy code. In a stark warning this week, the company said third-party programmers should “resist the temptation” of invoking APIs that aren’t included in the official Software …
Basically they haven't been able to clean up yet the carcasses of abandoned APIs in their desperation to rush Win8 before it's obvious even to the dumbest of the dumbest that it's already too late. So you can bet that Win8 in terms of security is like a drug-addict whore telling anybody "come and get me..."
Wouldn't calling undocumented APIs that don't work fall under devs ruining windows 8 with Microsoft's own bad code?
If they'd just document all their APIs, this wouldn't be a problem! But of course, they won't do this, because then they wouldn't get an unfair advantage over third party developers....
The only difference between some random DLL and an API is the documentation. And official API may be designed to be easily consumed but that is subjective. So are you suggesting that they document how to use every piece of code in Windows?
"So are you suggesting that they document how to use every piece of code in Windows?"
In a word - yes.
Or remove them completely so their own developer's don't have something special to play with.
Remember its not just IE that gets special treatment on WOA/WinRT, but they also have a special rule to allow Office to run without the dreaded metro interface. Why not allow LibreOffice this access?
Yes, I know, that was a rhetorical question...
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I imagine their thoughts are along these lines: The money we'll get from Windows 8 in the enterprise wouldn't be enough to feed an anorexic Ethiopian on hunger strike (for that matter it probably wouldn't be enough to feed an anorexic Ethiopian mouse on hunger strike), owing to the fact there is no productivity and little security gains.
So, we've got to make money from consumers. But wait. there's very few apps available, and those that are are hastily cobbled together ports from Windows 7 that don't really work. Quick lets make a shiny front end, force it on everyone and hope consumers suddenly go ooh, shiny stuff.
Good luck ms, you'll need it.
It's been about the volume market PC builders being obliged to pay for a Windows licence on every PC they sell in order to get the best deals from MS.
That tactic won't work with ARM, so they have to motivate the manufacturers (and end users) in other ways. After all, the last thing the Wintel crew want is a range of competitively priced ARM hardware coming on to the market and running a Linux of the end users choice "out of the box". That's not been an option in the past because of the variations in the various ARM platforms. But the MS-specified platform for Windows 8 delivers immediate compatibility across a wide range of compatible hardware systems (same way as PocketPC did for, er Pocket PCs, eg iPAQ etc). This time round, anything that would run on the specified platform for Windows 8 would also run an appropriate out of the box Linux.
Talk about shooting themselves in the foot. So they've got to find a way to prevent that. Hence the attempted total lockdown in hardware and software on the ARM side of Windows 8.
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"It comes back to what we've said before on Windows 8: just like the first Windows Phone, Microsoft is keeping the ARM platform closed to third parties, whose apps could cause application crashes and ruin the consumer launch."
Microsoft is keeping the ARM platform closed to third parties to avoid unwanted competition on their own platform. They will hand wave about APIs and robustness to avoid people considering their actions as their old monopolistic tendencies.
Mozilla are not cowboys, they have made a solid product for years. Most of those years their product was a lot less cowboy than the Microsoft one.
"Mozilla are not cowboys, they have made a solid product for years"
Ignoring that I've had Firefox crash on my numerous times., if you say one third party software writer can bypass all the restrictions, how do you say whether any other can or can't? Are you just going to say anyone with a big enough brandname like Firefox gets a free pass? I don't think that's good.
The point is the OS should provide the appropriate restrictions for ALL applications, and regulated by only a few permission levels depending on what an app needs to do.
The beef here is MS want to play with APIs for IE and Office that others are not allowed to, a bit like the old Word vs. WordPerfect anti-trust case where MS, due to its inner knowledge of its own OS, could out-perform other software by using undocumented features (OK WordPerfect had other issues, but the API tricks are known).
Or the same tactic, used more sneakily, to break DR-DOS + Win3.0 etc.
Knowing M$'s history, I think I will be skipping this version of Windows anyway. A bad version always follows a good version of Windows. 3.11: Good, Windows 95: Bad, Windows 98: Good, Windows ME: Terrible!, Windows XP: Good, Windows Vista: Blows chunks!, Window 7: Good. With a pattern like that over the years, could you blame a person for being skeptical?
"you obviously haven't learned anything since the last time they tanned your hide!"
Record-breaking fines were announced, but was any money ever actually paid, or was it all suspended pending yet another round of inter-lawyer duelling and delaying?
Why bother with Win 8 with its dubious interface and benefits, to say nothing of the draconian measures stifling developers.
Course I s'pose it may be slightly harder to run viruses on it, but still I expect it to end up so irrelevant that it makes people that are still clinging to XP look radically progressive...
This whole Windows 8 thing has stank to high heaven since day one.
I applaud Microsoft for coming out with a version of Windows for ARM devices, but I quickly retracted that applause when they tool the Apple style walled garden approach. If I wanted to get reamed by the walled garden I would see the professionals in this field, Apple, I don't want the same restrictions from Microsoft (who should know better)
I was shocked at the introduction of Metro in the desktop space, it looks like a steaming pile and is utterly useless, the mixed Desktop/Metro UI is (as our UK friends would say) a load of bollocks.
I have done dev work with touch interface apps on the PC, I have even been overseas to a conference because of this work. Touch on a desktop PC makes no sense at all, the keyboard and mouse are much more useful and you don't need to reach across your desk to get to the screen then back to your keyboard and mouse. In the Tablet/Phone space touch completely makes sense and the desktop/keyboard/mouse paradigm doesn't work, here Metro and Touch work and work well. Pick the scheme that works best for the device and use it and it alone, you can't mix UI types.
The fundamental idea behind WinRT is great, Win32 is so old and broken that a line in the sand needs to be drawn and a whole new API developed at the bottom layer with modern systems in mind; Many cores, large ram, large and varied storage, etc. Unfortunately in keeping with current trends, it's another layer of crap piled on top of Win32, adding yet another round of abstraction, processor and ram use, os bloat, and latency only to have the whole thing forgotten about when Microsoft dump it along with Metro when they finally realise how bad they screwed up.
Microsoft in its grand unification of the platforms scheme just refuse to see that Windows 8 is going to suck, even though their customers and developers are screaming at them it will.
I am sitting in the camp of sticking with Windows 7, I will run Windows 8 in a VM but only to ensure my apps work for the poor suckers who buy a new PC with the steaming pile pre installed.
Mac is currently moving in this direction as well, so there will be only one solution. Linux. With valve already porting steam and Left 4 Dead to Ubuntu, I see that making Linux and its many variants quite appealing.
Windows was "great" because it always stayed roughly the same. But if M$ go and release this then all those years of providing a solid backbone in the OS market will have been for nothing.
I know Ubuntu is doing the whole "tabletification" thing to, but it's only 1 or 2 terminal commands away from being exactly what windows should be. And the Ubuntu software centre is great, it doesn't get any special access, AFAIC it's just a pretty front end to apt-get.
As for mac, it's pretty and easy to use, but if keeps heading in this direction, it'll be Ubuntu all the way, with a fedora on top.
"sudo apt-get remove unity-3d"
Installed Ubuntu on a friend's box a couple of days ago, and added KDE, Xfce and Gnome. I am only really familiar with Xubuntu right now, and Lubuntu. First time I saw current Unity, Gnome and KDE while I was trying to understand how they work before showing him. Hoping he could settle for at least one of those. I didn't hate any of them to be honest.
He liked them all, but he adored and is now using Unity. Guess Canonical got it right?
Anybody else had a similar experience with a non techie? Or completely different?
`Guess Canonical got it right?`
NOT by me.
AFAIAC, Unity is a complete FAIL - for a desktop. Unity plain sucks!
NOT being a tablet/smartphone user, I offer NO opinion, but I do see its potential.
I will concede that Unity is easier for n00bs; but, as an accomplished desktop user, I can not stand it. There are times when I need 5 or 6 windows open as I go about the daily grins, and that is a royal pain with Unity.
Now, I will concede one thing the Unity people `got right`, and that is the screen switcher, and the way you can get the multiple desktops open in a screen. WROK PLACE is trying that (enhanced screen switcher) out on some RDP sessions for server control.
These scholors can explain it far metter the I can. I like the second one better although the title of the first talk is better, but your milage may vary.
http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose.html
"I'm just curious, why is it that I can have my pick of half a dozen desktop environments on Linux, selecting one at log-on, but each Windows version only offers one desktop? It would seem an obvious advantage for Microsoft to offer choices as well, so why don't they?"
Because Windows users are already rolling on the floor in confusion over Profesional, Ultimate, Starter or Home Premium. I've used all 4 and the only difference I noticed was between starter and every thing else over wifi issues and desktop background. Which I think is disgusting, even the shitiest of OS's don't force you to look at there logo the whole time.
But windows 8 will let you choose between the Metro interface and the normal desktop, once you've logged in.
Who the fuck are Microsoft to say I can only install apps I get through their Windows Poundshop Market Place or whatever the heck its called! If I have brought a bit of software than as far as I am concerned I can do what the frig I want to it mate! The effing cheek! I'm guna have to start drinking real ale and using Linux at this rate!
You can only install *metro* apps through the marketplace, much like you can only install iPad apps through their marketplace. Any of your other apps you can install on an x86 PC just like you always did. Seriously, people like you really need to get informed before ranting your ignorance about the place.
Those undocumented APIs, which we are telling you not to use, allow applications to run faster by cutting some corners and therefore are only for use by Microsoft apps so our code looks good and yours looks like a turd..
We're back to the 1990s folks.. all we need now is someone to analyse all the undocumented API calls Microsoft used and document them, and then we can have a nice court case.
... to cling onto life of as long as Windows XP, but only for developers, office use and diehard PC gamers.
For all other usage - Consumer, entertainment, gaming - mobile, console, set-top - the old PC or lappie banished to the home office for accounts, homework etc. ...
And it will be iOS and Android that rule the digital roost.
The only way Microsoft has any chance of catching up is:
a. An incredible take on a mobile OS
b. Massive amounts of marketing
We know they can do b. - unfortunately, so far, they've failed at a.
It's not the usual "undocumented APIs are subject to change" story. The final reason given by MS for why we shouldn't use the APIs is:
"Finally these APIs may undermine customer confidence by accessing resources or data that Metro style apps would not normally interact with."
In other words, the current (Win8) implementation of Metro is full of security holes and we'd prefer if all the malware vendors didn't use them, thanks. Otherwise the early adopters of Metro-based devices will get shafted and our marketing department will be sad.
"Microsoft is not innovative with anything at all and simply copies by buying and destroying other innovators."
MS had tablets out many, many years before the iPad and Android tablets.
MS had smartphones out many, many years before iPhone and Android handsets.
HTC made their name with Windows smartphone hardware.
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