Ever since Microsoft announced its new APIs for HTML5 and JavaScript on the desktop, developers have been abuzz about the future of Windows programming. Was .Net on its way out? What about Silverlight? What on earth was Microsoft thinking?
Now Microsoft's annual Build conference (formerly known as PDC) has arrived and with it the Windows 8 Developer Preview, answering many -- though not all -- of our questions. The trouble is, with all the hype that's flying around, it's hard to grasp what we're really being told.
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The biggest news for developers is surely Metro, a new, pared-down UI that Windows 8 borrows from Windows Phone 7. Metro is optimized for touchscreens and for running simple apps in what Microsoft calls a "fast and fluid" way. Gone are the traditional Windows desktop menus and controls, replaced by simple tiles and gestures.
Metro is the first thing you see when you boot a Windows 8 PC, and my initial reaction to it was similar to that of several of my friends and colleagues: I hated it. Scratch that -- I abhorred it.
But I kept using it anyway, and as I did, I began thinking about where Metro fits into the overall Windows 8 user experience and into Microsoft's platform strategy as a whole. And wouldn't you know it, some things started clicking. I'm not going to say I like Metro yet, but I've begun to realize its true value and potential -- though it might not be what you think.
The Windows 8 Metro "desktop" is the new Start screen.
Metro: Start here
So what is Metro, anyway? Simply put, in the context of the traditional Windows desktop experience, it's your Start menu.
