Windows 8 Metro Application Development Posts

Why Does It Matter?

Windows 8 Release Preview (formally known as a Release Candidate (RC)) is going to be available early June and you can read about the announcement here.  That means it's one step closer to market, and the necessity of available Metro applications is becoming more of a reality.

Windows 8 brings the Metro design paradigm into full effect.  It's the new next door neighbor of your traditional desktop application.  Are desktop applications going away in Windows 8?  No.  Will they ever go away?  Unlikely.  This is a whole topic in itself, but in brief: Metro adds a new dimension of how users and applications interact.  There will be Metro style applications and there will be desktop applications.  Some desktop applications cannot be Metro style.  My posts will focus on providing the knowledge to build Metro style applications.

Windows is still the largest software ecosystem.  Fan of it or not, in some way, shape, or form, we'll need to embrace it, especially those of us that work on the Microsoft development stack.  Even if you won't be directly affected by it, does it hurt to stay ahead of the curve and learn new skills now rather than play catch up?

Again, my intent is not to convert anyone to Windows 8, Metro application development, or onto the Microsoft development stack.  My intent is to provide those interested or working in Windows 8 and Metro application development with additional knowledge.  Hopefully, if I've done a decent job at communicating my experience, you'll give it a shot, but at the end of the day I'll let the products speak for themselves.

How Will I Help?

The topics that I am choosing to write about, in my opinion, are features or knowledge that will/should be consistent across all - yes I said all - Windows 8 Metro applications, or will be used more often than not in a Windows 8 Metro application.  Additionally, I encourage feedback on what others feel is important and any other areas I can cover.

Some things will be very easy and others will be more complex.  Again, hopefully I do a decent job in communicating.

Again, these posts will not be any particular order, but I will try my best to sequence in the most appropriate order.  As each post is published I will revisit this post and update the topic title to embed the link, and if a topic is broken into multiple posts I will link them as sub items.  Lastly, I am treating this list as alive and will be modified to include or remove topics.

Also, most of my examples will be focused on the JavaScript/HTML5 project templates.  I'll only use the C#/XAML projects when appropriate, I change it up, or anyone specifically asks, but don't push your luck with C++.

Hopefully too, if any of my friends are feeling generous they'll do some celebrity guest appearances on topics.  You'll get to experience a different perspective and expand on topics where I may not be as deep in.  It's a win-win.

Onto the meat and potatoes...

Topics

1. What is Metro & Its User Experience Implications - Post(s) will provide an introduction to the Metro Design language and how it effects user experience.
2. WinRT - Post(s) will provide an introduction to WinRT and how development is streamlined.
3. Windows 8 Contracts: Leveraging Search, Sharing, and Settings - Post(s) will demonstrate how quickly Search, Sharing, and Settings can be integrated into your application and provide a seamless user experience in Windows 8.
4. Building an Application Bar - Posts(s) will explain the purpose of an Application Bar and how to implement one into your application.
5. Roaming - Post(s) will detail how to maximize the user experience of your application by integrating with mobile and traditional web browsing.
6. Leveraging Geolocation & Bing Maps API - Post(s) will demonstrate using Geolocation services to interact with Bing Maps.
7. Live Tiles, Badges, and Toast Notifications - Post(s) will cover how to incorporate Live Tiles, Badges, and Toast Notifications to enrich the user experience and make your application interactive.

What Can You Do?

In the meantime, if you haven't already check out the official development site for Windows 8, dev.windows.com, and download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and development tools.  Test drive the new OS, read up on the Metro principals, and enjoy!

Lastly, as I've mentioned before, if there are any topics that you're interested in please let me know and I will do my best to address them.  And do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.  It would be beneficial for everyone if the comments section is utilized.  In this format questions and answers are open to everyone.

Cheers!

Blog Revival!

Guess Who's Back?

Catching Up...

It's been a while - about two years - since I've posted anything to my blog; a damn shame if you ask me.

A lot has changed in the couple years: I've gotten married, changed jobs, acquired another dog, gained/lost weight, lost more self-shame/dignity, shave with a straight razor - just to name a few.

Why did I go quiet?  Many reasons that can tie back into time.  No excuse, though, there are many more bloggers out there that have the same or less free time that I have and still maintain amazing blogs.  Failing to plan is another.  I never planned out the posts I wanted to write about, and I lost motivation to make the time.

So you're probably wondering, why the change of heart?  I like to share my knowledge and help others; and two, I'm selfish.  Blogging is another medium for documenting.  It provides me another means of referral when I forget something.  Sharing knowledge is crucial in the IT world.  It's constantly evolving and to survive we're pushed into continuing education.  We're one big community and have a lot to learn from each other.

About a year and a half ago I was fortunate enough to have a kind friend refer to me to Microsoft.  After a couple months of waiting, I was given the opportunity to go thru the interview process.  The interview process was successful and I began my consultant career at Microsoft a little over a year ago.

I digress.  Onto the interesting stuff.

 

'Ol Fashioned Revival!

Blog v2.0

Put on your dancin' shoes, bring your singin' voice, and be ready for some fun filled evenings.

My goal - with better planning this time around - is to post a topic once or twice a week.  This blog will still be development focused infused with my humor and sarcasm and a side of pontificating from time to time.

What you can look forward to over the next couple weeks are some intro development posts on Windows 8.  No, I will not be writing dedicated posts on this is Windows 8, blah blah blah.  One, there's plenty of those out there already and I wouldn't do a complete justice.  Two, I really don't feel like getting into flame wars with iOS and Android users in the comments section.  There's a million ways to skin a cat: there's no right or wrong way, some ways are better than others.

The posts will be like my chain of thought: no particular order and random.  For purposes of brevity and preventing information overload I will probably dissect certain posts into smaller ones that build on each other.  Otherwise, there will be no particular order of posts.  Some will be intro topics and others will be advanced.

I'll be posting my preliminary list of topics for Windows 8 development soon.  Not being specific to my Windows 8 posts, but my posts in general: if there are any topics you're interested in and that I might have missed or you'd like me to cover in greater details, please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate.

Most importantly, thank you!

Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: I am the author of this blog and am ultimately responsible for its content.  I am an employee of Microsoft, but the content in this blog is that of my own opinion and creation, and does not reflect the position of Microsoft services and/or products.  Specific to Microsoft services and/or products only publically available information will be shared.  With that said, I welcome questions and will answer as appropriate, but please do not solicit for confidential information.  Thanks and enjoy!