The Windows 7 Blog for Developers : Microsoft

Windows 7 Blog for Developer Is Moving!

yochayk — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:50:48 GMT

That's right folks, we are moving to a new location, becoming part of The Windows Blog. As part of The Windows Blog, we will join the greater Windows messaging community and will be better able to ensure developers are up to date with both the latest news on the Windows 7 Development story and the Windows 7 User Experience story. The Windows Blog hosts several “satellite” blogs, including:

· Windows Vista Team Blog – to stay updated with news about Windows Vista

· Windows Experience Blog –to read about the amazing user experiences you can have with Windows 7

· Windows 7 Team Blog – to learn about all the important Windows 7 news and announcements

· Windows Security Blog –to become aware of all the things that go into having a secure Windows environment

· Windows for your Business – to discover ways Windows 7 benefits commercial customers

And, of course, the new Windows 7 for Developer Blog, which is our Windows 7 developer-focused blog. Our focus here will remain on topics of special interest to the Windows 7 developer community and we will continue to provide both native and managed code examples and insights.

I will still post to this blog, but about more general topics and ideas.

See you all at the new blog location - http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/developers/default.aspx

Make sure you update your RSS feeds to the new blog RSS feed.

It used to be “write once - deploy anywhere”

yochayk — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:54:03 GMT

Not so long ago, there was a catchy phrase we used in regards to developing, “write once – deploy anywhere.” Regardless of your programming preferences - .NET, Java, C/C++, this statement continues to be challenged as it is not really that easy to write once and deploy anywhere, it is more like, “write once – test everywhere…” But now, instead of targeting a specific OS such as Windows, Mac, or Linux, when people says “write once - deploy anywhere,” what they really mean is write once and deploy on every available browser. As announced at the Mix 09 Day 1 Keynote, with the new Expression Web SuperPreview (one of the coolest features announced for Web Developers), this statement seems to be true for both standard html as well as Silverlight applications. Code your markup, and compare it to Firefox, Safari, IE6, and even to your PhotoShop comps to make sure that your design is pixel-perfect! Indeed, these are truly exciting times. You can download the SuperPreview trial here and can find a more detailed session on from Mix 09 here: Microsoft Expression Web: No Platform Left Behind.

Windows 7 Beta – Go Get It!

yochayk — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:24:15 GMT

Today during CES, Steve Ballmer announced and presented Windows 7 Beta and by this Friday it will be publicly available for download from Windows 7 homepage. If you are MSDN Subscriber, you can download Windows 7 Beta right now! Here are the instructions on how to download and install Windows 7 Beta.

By making Windows 7 Beta publicly available we are hoping developers and enthusiasts will download it and the SDK, and will start testing this new Microsoft OS – Windows 7. Now that the beta is out and available, we can start engaging developers and can provide them with technical content so they can test and experiment with Windows 7.

You already found this blog, the Windows 7 Blog for Developers, so you are on the right track. Another awesome place to get great content is Channel 9, and specifically, Windows 7 on Channel 9. Obviously, Windows Development Center on MSDN is also a good place for Windows 7 technical content. You can also go to DevReadiness - a developer community site dedicated to assisting the Windows ISV ecosystem develop high quality applications for new versions of the platform.

We are also starting a series of Channel 9 videos, and posts on specific topics such as the Windows 7 Taskbar, Windows 7 Ribbon, Sensors, and Location Platform, but this will have to wait for another day.

Windows 7 at PDC – Part 2 (post Windows 7 announcement)

yochayk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:10:18 GMT

With Windows 7 unveiled during PDC Day 2 keynote we update few of Windows 7 sessions that had a TBD abstract as well adding two new sessions. Hereunder is the list of updated sessions and the new session.

PDC full session list can be found here

PC16 Windows 7: Empower users to find, visualize and organize their data with Libraries and the Explorer (updated session)

Presenter: David Washington

Learn how you can enable a familiar experience for users and light up your application by using the Windows Search API and Library API and File Dialog. Also learn how you can integrate your web service with Windows search by using the OpenSearch standard without writing any client code. Master how to provide a rich experience for your data type in the Windows 7 Explorer with metadata, thumbnails, verbs and previews.

ES20 Developing Applications for More Than 64 Logical Processors in Windows Server 2008 R2 (new session)

Presenter: Arie van der Hoeven

Windows 7 will support more than 64 logical processors with improved kernel scheduler mechanisms that enable efficient scaling. Learn how to use new system software affinity APIs to aid application scalability beyond 64 logical processors through the use of "Kernel Groups." Kernel Groups allow for legacy processor affinity aware applications to perform well while applications and drivers using new APIs can take advantage of all processors on the system.

PC25 Windows 7: The Sensor and Location Platform: Building Context-Aware Applications (updated session)

Presenter: Dan Polivy

Windows 7 introduces a platform for using sensor devices, such as light sensors or GPS sensors, to create environmental or location awareness in programs. In this session, you will learn how to use sensors to make your programs more functional, easier to use, and more aware of the surrounding environment

PC14 Windows 7: New Shell User Experience APIs (Updated session)

Presenter: Nicolas Brun

This session dives into new APIs that enable integration with the latest Windows desktop features. Learn about new extensibility methods to surface your application's key tasks. Discover how enhancements to the taskbar, Start Menu, thumbnails and their desktop elements provide new ways for you to delight your users. This talk is a must for application developers who want to provide the best user experience for their applications on Windows 7.

PC13 Windows 7: Building Great Audio Communications Applications (Updated session)

Presenter: Larry Osterman

Using the PC as a phone is central to the future of communications, and this session will provide you with the essentials to build the end to end experience. Windows 7 provides APIs for integrating communications capabilities into your applications. This session covers attenuating and muting sounds during a phone call, receiving a phone call using a Bluetooth headset, improving the latency of a phone call, and selecting the appropriate communications device.

ES26 Windows Server 2008 R2: Using Classification for File Lifecycle Management (New session)

Presenters: Nir Ben Zvi, Matthias Wollnik

Windows File Server 2008 R2 provides a new extensible infrastructure to manage files based on classification. These capabilities can be leveraged by backup products, archival and workflow management software, and tools that help prevent information leakage. See how both on-premises software and software plus services developers can take advantage of these new capabilities to deliver end-to-end solutions with integrated classification capabilities.

Windows 7 Developer Guide Is Now Available

yochayk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:38:02 GMT

With Windows 7 unveiled during PDC Day 2 keynote, we also released Windows 7 Developer Guide. This is relatively a short guide outlining some of Windows 7’s main features as well highlighting the solid foundations Windows 7 is build upon. The goal of this document is to help developers plan for the near future by providing developers a clear picture of Windows 7’s new capabilities, and the scenarios developers can target in order to enhance their end users experiences for Windows 7 applications. For example, Scenic Ribbon (view at PDC ), Multi-Touch (view at PDC ), Libraries (view at PDC ), and Sensors and Locations (view at PDC ) are just few of Windows 7’s features developers can use to enhance their end users experiences. Please note, this document is not a full blown detailed description of the new APIs in Windows 7. In fact, this document does not contain any API references or code examples. All that good stuff will arrive sometime in the near future in future posts.

As you read through the developer guide you’ll notice three main parts: Solid Foundation, Richer Application Experiences, and The Best of Windows and the Web. Following that path while developing applications for Windows 7 is a very good practice, as Windows 7 leverages Windows Vista’s features and concepts. Next you can enhance your end user experiences with Ribbon, Multi-Touch, or integrating with Windows 7 new Taskbar (or any of other Windows 7 features). Finally, providing new services or leveraging exciting services that interact with your application add a whole new set of experiences for your end users.

Solid Foundation

Windows 7 provides a highly productive developer platform and tools that deliver on core operating system fundamentals. Windows 7 builds upon the Windows Vista platform, giving developers the power to build applications that are compatible with both platforms while limiting application compatibility issues. Windows 7 dramatically improves performance and power management so that you can create applications that optimize the mobile experience. As a result, your applications will be more visually appealing, easier to create, and support a wider range of international standards. Advances have also been made in global support, accessibility, and application deployment…. (Read more in the Windows 7 Developer Guide)

Richer Application Experiences

Windows 7 enables developers to create distinctive and intuitive applications that significantly enhance discoverability, usability, and sheer enjoyment. New methods of desktop integration put application functionality right at the user’s fingertips, and Windows Explorer and Libraries provide easy access to high-value information. The Scenic Ribbon control and animation framework make it easier to build interactive and appealing user interfaces. New touch APIs enable natural interactions through multi-touch and finger-panning, and manipulation and inertia APIs enable impressive visual effects… (Read more in the Windows 7 Developer Guide)

The Best of Windows and the Web

With Windows 7, it’s easy to get connected and stay connected. Windows networking offers developers options for better caching and sharing of data to improve network performance. Network diagnostics in Windows 7 give developers relevant information for monitoring network issues. Whether the goal is to connect devices, connect to a network, or simply understand the status of your connection, Windows 7 provides an enhanced platform… (Read more in the Windows 7 Developer Guide)

Windows 7 at PDC – Part 1 (pre-PDC)

yochayk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:54:01 GMT

PDC is just few hours away, and in case you are still trying to figure out which sessions you want to go to, here is a little tip regarding Windows 7 sessions.

As of today, few of Windows 7 sessions have a very short (in length) abstract. For example, in Day 2, there is a session named “Windows 7: New APIs to Find, Visualize, and Organize” that has an amazingly short but still very informative abstract that summaries in to TBD

For some, TBD means To Be Determined, while others may think it means To Be Defined. For someone who is trying to figure out which sessions to go and needs to choose one session over the other, a session with a “TBD” for its abstract may not look that attractive session. Since some of Windows 7 new features are kept under the hood until PDC, TBD can be considered as To Be Disclosed…

So don’t worry, about that TBD, it is not as the speakers has forget to write an abstract for his session, it is only because we want to surprise you!