I have recently been working on a very simple version of the game “Simon” in C# and XAML. The following screenshot shows the game running: I initially had developed the application without support for orientation. As a result, when the...

Yesterday I was struggling to figure out how to turn on / turn off the device simulator in the Windows 8 developer preview after discovering an orientation bug in a Metro style app I have been working on. The trick is to click the icon in the build/run...

In coordination with the Windows developer preview release for the Build conference, we quietly have added a few new page types across our content sets and today I’ll talk about two very important ones: Quickstarts How-tos These are...

Viewing the Windows Developer Preview documentation offline As many of you have pointed out, the developer experience is a rather significant departure from what has been the traditional documentation approach for Windows. The documentation on the...

We talked previously about the new look and feel, content integration, and controls for the Windows Dev Center. Also new is what we’ve referred to as “applications” that are components of the dev center. The three key applications are...

This week, we launched the Windows Developer Preview at the BUILD conference. This release shows the new user interface of Windows 8, adds functionality for developers, and also introduces a new programming model and language enhancements. Needless to...

So we've talked a bit about the new look and feel as well as the library. These additions to the Windows Dev Center have been part of a "bring up" that creates a more integrated experience that matches the look and feel of Metro style apps. We've also...

In our first What's new post, we discussed the new look and feel of the Windows Dev Center. This experience would only be partially complete if all the documentation was presented in an older style. So, we worked closely with MSDN to improve the way that...

I'm sure that a number of developers have been downloading the Windows developer preview . With the preview comes new (unofficial) shortcuts. The following list are the ones we're aware of: Key Action Windows logo...

Today, we launched the new version of the Windows Dev Center . This is a major release that includes a number of very awesome updates: New look and feel Content integration with the library New forums New samples gallery New download...

We're currently getting ready for the upcoming content releases but we do have a few new things to share. Social and Windows Developer Communities We recently integrated with all up Windows group on Facebook . To access and like the Developer pages...

Some people spend their time and money on cars, fiending after the new models and tweaking their existing vehicle to ink a few more HP out of it. I don't much care about cars, I drive a Lincoln TownCar that I bought for $800 at auction, but I run and...

Looking back We wrote a post summarizing updates to the Windows Desktop developer center in 2010-2011 . The Building Windows 8 Blog The Windows team has started a dialog with developers and customers to talk about how we are creating Windows and how...

It's been a little over a year since I started working on the Windows Desktop developer center and boy has it been hard work! We have delivered a number of exciting changes to the center and as I have referenced these changes rather randomly, I thought...

This week, we launched our new Facebook pages and we made a few tweaks to the forums. We're working hard on some updates that we can't discuss in detail yet for a number of reasons but understand that we have big plans for the center in the coming months...

We have just released our new Facebook page that fits into the larger Windows branded Facebook presence. There are two tabs for developers, the More Social tab and the What’s New! tab. The following mockup shows how the More Social tab looks...

This week we have had a couple minor updates to the center and have some updates to the forums on the way along with a new Facebook page that is hopefully coming next week. Forum Updates We have been working on making some updates to the Windows...

I just recently read a post by Programming Zen on 10 recent books that will make you a better developer . I have a few books to add to the list although these may not be as recent and that are focused to C++... making my list really 10 classic books that...

Use This Not This We wrote a brief post on APIs that have changed since Vista that may affect applications . This post was created based on input from our support team around common gotchas that they are seeing from developers and is really targeted...

The recommendations this week have come in from the support team and the following list is things that aren't recommend for targeting versions of Windows later than Vista but that developers occasionally will use. Internet Connection Sharing APIs ...

Over the course of this week, we have been working hard on some new social developer content that may or may not be launching next week :) A reminder, we make announcements to the Windows Developer Twitter Account and Windows Developer Facebook Page follow...

After publishing a recent post, I got some feedback from developers that I have seen a number of times. “What is up with the scarce documentation that always shows up when I end up on MSDN?” This is the common plight of the Microsoft developer...

This week, we made some progress on reorganizing the developer center and we had some great discussions with developers about what is and isn't working with MSDN documentation. Upcoming Updates to the Learn Tab content From a post earlier this week...

We're moving right along with updates to the developer center and it seems like a good time to share the reorganized learn structure: The following is an intermediate revision to the TOC, there will be more to come as we keep getting better at this...

This week, we have the following changes / updates on the center: We released a translation of the Windows Touch Developer guide in Spanish. New changes coming soon to the developer center home and learn tabs, finally :) The ratings control...