Windows 8 metro applications have a few things in common. One of them is typography. Segoe (pronounced “se-go” not “see-go” or anything else), specifically we’re talking about the Segoe UI font (or a derivative of it), is the standard san serif font in...

Cliff Simpkins : I’m pleased to announce that the Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 Update is now available for your download ; it’s the final version of the CTP we released last month, and enables Windows Phone developers to do two things: Develop apps that work...

Windows 8 is full of groovy nuggets of innovation. One of my favorites is the Sematic Zoom . This control is a container of two other controls – usually list controls. The first declares the UI when zoomed out. The second declares the UI when zoomed in...

Leonardo da Vinci gave us a different note-taking paradigm. His notes started in the middle of the page, not the top, where he wrote or illustrated the core theme of that particular page of notes. From there he drew branches out to various main topics...

Metro is Microsoft’s design language. It is our specification for applications written for the Metro environment in Windows 8. But, fundamentally, it is our design language. What does that mean? There is more to Metro than sharp edges and clean typography...

Windows development has been the prevue of CPP and managed developers (like C# and VB.Net). With the advent of Windows 8 metro applications, there’s continued support for CPP and managed code, but there’s new support for HTML5 developers for to write...

So many people didn’t enjoy the love that the Windows key gave in Windows 7. To them, the Windows key was a useless key. To them, they simply didn’t know.

Now with Windows 8 there is even more love! Will you make the most of it or are you “one of those users”? My mom, by the way, is holding a user group next Thursday for those users – BYOB (bring your own bengay). ;)

Actually: my mom isn’t holding a user group next Thursday – if you are one of those users, then you are on your own!

Windows 7

My favorite use of the Windows key in Windows 7 was to use Windows key + Shift + the Left/Right arrows. This keystroke combination effortlessly relocated the current window from one monitor to another.

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It’s Back to the Future. Browser wars are so passé. Yet here we are. No so long ago, Netscape went head-to-head against Internet Explorer. Netscape lost . Not so long ago, Firefox went head-to-head against Internet Explorer. Firefox lost . Not so long...

Unwired View is reporting on a recent Nokia patenting looking into haptic tattoos to help you feel who is calling. Not satisfied with just getting its own flavor of slide-to-unlock patented , Nokia wants to take haptic feedback to a level you haven’t...

Have you discovered WNS? Windows Push Notification Services, it is a Microsoft service for pushing items to Windows 8 Metro-style applications. WNS is free. WPNS is the similar service for Windows Phone applications. WNS is specifically for Windows 8...

One of the things that distinguishes great Windows Phone applications is the ability to configure to the preferences of the user. Let’s pretend the user wants to enable or disable a feature – how do they do that? The best way to provide this custom experience...

Windows Phone SDK not working in Windows 8 We know many of our software developers are excited and eager to get started using the consumer preview on a daily basis, but Windows 8 is still a preview release, which means that there are going to be instances...

Welcome to the 26th iteration of the Game Developers Conference ® (GDC), the world's largest professionals-only game industry event. From March 5-9, 2012, GDC serves as the headquarters for learning, networking and inspiration for the digital games industry...