Microsoft has made the official announcement on Windows 8. As demonstrated at the D9 conference, Here are the key points:
1. A touch-centric new interface for apps
2. The spartan tile-based Metro user interface of Windows Phone 7
3. Impressive scalability of the apps, you can even pull in an app from the side of the screen and sit it side-by-side with another running app
4. A new Web standards-based development platform built using HTML5 and JavaScript that runs on top of the existing, conventional Windows platform. It will focus on two types of apps:
Classic Windows desktop apps: They will run and look similar to Win 7 today.
HTML5/Javascript apps: Similar to mobile app having more experience including IE10.
Questions:
Now there are some questions from a developer point of view:
1. What does Windows 8 mean for .NET developers?
2. Is HTML5 the main way to write apps for the new shell?
3. Will IE keep supporting Silverlight/flash/WPF?
4. Will Windows 8 support Windows Phone apps?
Why HTML5, Not Silverlight:
They are stressing HTML 5 because they are trying to attract app developers. Today, Most of client-side developers are building HTML apps, another big number are writing iOS and Android apps. Learning XAML/Silverlight technologies is difficult. As they are losing the battle with iOS/Android, going HTML could be their only option to regain the market.
Reactions:
Many Silverlight and .Net developers fear their skill sets may become legacy ones. Microsoft officials have not clarified where .Net fits in the Windows 8 world.
There is a long discussion over on the official Silverlight forum fretting over the demonstrations.
Channel 9, another Microsoft developer forum, has a similar reaction
Conclusion:
Microsoft is turning the Windows desktop into a web browser and is going in the way of Palm webOS.
HTML5 + JS for Windows Apps, Does it mean Windows app using.NET is going to dead? Share your thought in the comment box.
Update:
See following good resources to build Metro style apps in Windows 8:
Learn to build Metro style apps