Check out Windows 8

Question

Vulpes · Answer

Here's another article from someone apparently in the know to cheer us up a bit :) http://peteohanlon.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/so-where-do-we-go-from-here/

Sam Hobbs · Answer

If my speculation is accurate and Microsoft uses Mono / Xamarin then as far as I know they can't charge for it. So it seems unlikely that that will happen. Yet the silence from all of them can be explained by the explanation I speculated and if that happens then the question of finances becomes relevant.

Vulpes · Answer

I can't see MS offering Windows 8 for free but with Apple's Lion OS costing only $29.99 ( http://www.itproportal.com/2011/06/07/mac-os-x-lion-cost-2999/ ) it'll need to be cheaper than Windows 7.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

Yes I think the only thing that is accomplished by reacting to the rumors is more business for the doctors. I don't think there is anything any of us can do until an official announcement. One thing no one has said anything about is if Microsoft will continue to sell Windows. Is there any chance it will be free? That is of course just wild speculation but if Microsoft does go with Mono whatever it is called then that much at least would be free. I look forward to the day when Mahesh and Suthish have many things to party about.

Vulpes · Answer

There might actually be something in your speculation Sam because - before the Windows 8 preview burst on the scene - I'd been wondering what project Redhawk and the System Language Runtime might be going to bring to the party. This was mentioned in one of Mary Jo's earlier articles ( http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-codename-redhawk-lives-in-windows-8/9233%20target='_blank' ) and she gives some interesting links. Whilst we're waiting to find out I think Mahesh and Suthish might need to take one of their pills ;)

Sam Hobbs · Answer

There is a big difference between marketing people and technical people (the truly technical people that are real developers). I think it is marketing people that make bad decisions that developers would not make if they were allowed to make the decisions. I wonder if it is totally coincidental that there is also silence from Xamarin and Attachmate. It is said that it is a mistake for Microsoft to show support of Mono and related projects so that might be why Microsoft is remaining silent about the future. They say wait until September but we know that there will be big news in July at the Monospace conference . My speculation (guess) is that after that is done Microsoft will announce that they will support the new .Net or at least the new Silverlight that will be ported to many platforms. That might be the missing pieces that will put everything together even better than most people currently imagine. Windows 8 might support .Net or at least Silverlight better than before and the applications will be supported by most other operating systems too. Of course I have been quite disappointed by past speculations that I have had.

Suthish Nair · Answer

ha ha... am getting mad.. Above thread.. i can't believe my eyes.. i need to study Java now.. skip MS.Net... grrrrrrr...

Mahesh Chand · Answer

This is a f****d up news. Why would I write in HTML while I have been writing in Silverlight for years? Also Windows Phone development totally rely on Silverlight. Decision makers at Microsoft are so stupid (besides the Visual Studio team :) ) and they do not know the shit. They just follow other companies while there are so late in the game. They need to come up with their own ideas. I just looked at Office 365. The Mail component is freaking exactly look like Gmail. Why the f** I would move to Office 365 if is nothing but Gmail? I hate Gmail interface.

Vulpes · Answer

There might be one or two in this lot ( http://forums.silverlight.net/forums/t/230502.aspx ).

Mahesh Chand · Answer

I didn't know many .NET developers are thinking to migrate to Google and Apple. I am not :)

Vulpes · Answer

I thought at first that the concentration on HTML5/Javascript would mean that .NET (and Silverlight in particular) would be relegated to a legacy technology. However this article by Mary Jo Foley ( http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-needs-to-tell-windows-8-developers-now-about-jupiter-and-silverlight/9608?tag=mantle_skin;content ) suggests that things may not be quite that bad. However what this does show is that Microsoft has little regard for its developer community and there's no wonder that many .NET developers are seriously thinking of migrating to the Apple or Google stacks!

Sam Hobbs · Answer

I don't know about others but I don't want touch screen for my desktop. There are many other things that I would consider improvements but if Windows 8 is designed around a touch screen interface then it is going in the opposite direction from what I consider to be productive. A touch screen interface is good when desktop style interfaces are not practical. A touch screen is useful when a regular keyboard is not available but I sure don't want to use a touch screen as a keyboard as is shown in that demonstration.

Mahesh Chand · Answer

I think touch is next new things coming - Surface and Grid computing finally start showing in the market.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

The majority of that demonstration uses a touch screen; yes a touchscreen for a desktop system. I think that is going in the opposite direction from what I want. I assume there will be many more improvements in Windows 8 but that demonstration sure does not impress me. I wonder what is on the wall in the right side of that demonstration; they blurred it out.

Jaganathan Bantheswaran · Answer

Expecting 2012..