Smile … then chuckle at the last 10 seconds 
Windows 8
Windows 8 – a small demonstration :-)
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Category Archives: Windows 8
Live streaming 13th and 14th Dec – Windows Store App Development for iOS Developers
During the last 6 months I have been working with iOS developers building the first wave of Windows 8 applications for the Windows Store. Pretty much all of them have told me that they enjoyed making the transition to XAML/C#/.NET and Visual Studio 2012.
I have previously posted Resources for iOS developers but today and tomorrow there is something special going on. The Big Nerd Ranch and Microsoft have joined together to deliver two days of training designed to jumpstart your Windows Store app development.
It will be streamed on Channel 9 and The Verge from 4pm UK time.
Don’t miss it.
Merry Christmas all Windows 8 Developers and Designers from….Telerik AppMock
Those very nice people at Telerik have impressed me once again – so much so that it feels similar to the moment I woke up on Christmas day to find a TCR racing set under the tree (what an awesome thing that was).
Introducing … AppMock from Telerik
The blurb states “AppMock allows you to quickly and easily create prototypes of your Windows Store applications”
In reality “AppMock allows you to quickly and easily create prototypes of your Windows Store applications”
Sweet!
Install today!
Windows Store Tips: Create great promo images LONG BEFORE you submit
When you submit to the store you get an opportunity to add promo images to your submission. It is tempting to skip over these as a) they are optional and b) they are in odd sizes! However promo images are what the store team need if they are to spotlight your application.
Fill them in to have a chance of appearing here…(as done nicely by the UK developers of Cocktail Flow)
Resources:
- Check out Choosing your app images
- Read more Windows Store Tips
Windows Store Tips: Read the pre-submission checks by Pete Brown and set that logo/store color!
Pete has a great check list to do before submission. It includes store colors and logo which have been so often missed – but not by you Nigel Sampson has also done a nice post about Logo background color.
The logo background color not only affects the logo (I know… naming is everything) but also (and arguably more importantly) the background color in your Store listing.
e.g. Netflix got it right:
Resources:
- Read more Windows Store Tips
Windows Phone and Windows 8 positive stories – Blackberry replaced by Lumia
Three positive stories.
- “Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses” (Reported on November 27th)
- “Facebook data suggests Microsoft has sold 4.2 million Windows Phone handsets since October” (Reported on December 9th)
- “Teenage daughter dumps Blackberry for Lumia 610” (Reported November)
The final story refers to my daughter. It has been “regrettable” that both my son and daughter have been using Blackberry phones for the last two years and worse still, I have been paying for the contracts!
Well, out of the blue my daughter reported that whilst at University she has chosen to get herself a new Lumia 610 on her own phone contract. Wow! Clearly the biggest news story of the three by far!
Now… as I will be leaving Microsoft Dec 31st, I wonder if I can grab her old Blackberry. Just kidding
Slides and links from Windows 8 Round Table 29th Nov 2012
If you attended the event yesterday in London then firstly, thank you for coming and secondly, you can find the slides we used attached to this post or via this direct link.
The tips I listed in my part of the day can be found at Windows Store Tips.
And finally, my group is very active in helping developers and designers skill up for Windows 8. Check out the resources (including in-person free training) at http://www.windows-store.co.uk/training
Attachment:
Round Table 29th Nov 2012 novideo
Great developer application in the Windows 8 Store – ClassBrowserPlus
Just stumbled upon ClassBrowserPlus – what a great app!
Lovely clean UX with great detailed content
And some very nice code samples
Well done Russell!
Windows Store Tips:Follow the company developer account guidelines
When you create a developer account on the Windows 8 store you can either create a company account or an individual account. I have seen several companies get into a “bit of a pickle” with store company accounts.
We now have some detailed guidelines which will help avoid problems later on, including:
- Create your Microsoft account using an email address that belongs to your company’s domain, but not to a single individual—for example, windowsapps@fabrikam.com.
- Add a company phone number that does not require an extension, or an additional email distribution list as a proof.
- Limit access to your company’s Windows Store Dashboard to the smallest number of developers as possible.
- In general, use trusted PCs as your security proof. All key team members must have access to these trusted PCs.
- If you need to allow access to the Windows Store Dashboard from a non-trusted PC, limit that access to a maximum of 5 developers. These developers should access the Windows Store Dashboard from machines that share the same geographical and network location.
- Frequently manage your proofs to keep them current.
Installing an application on Windows RT for testing is simple pimple
There appears to be a small myth that getting a Windows 8 store app on a Windows RT device during development is complicated. I think this stems from a) some of the (quite complex) blogosphere posts on Windows RT and sideloading for Enterprise and b) the expectation that some form of remote deployment/debugging will be required.
However, if all you want to do is install and run it then it really is very simple.
In Visual Studio, use the Store menu to create a package.
At which point Any CPU is normally fine – unless you are using a C/C++ component in which case you will want to generate a ARM package.
Now navigate to the directory
And copy the entire sub folder onto a USB stick. The appxupload is NOT what you want.
Place the USB stick into your Windows RT device and open the folder to reveal the contents.
Right click on the .ps1 file and “Run with PowerShell”
You will then get a series of prompts – agree to them all
Note: If it is the first ever time you have done this on the device you will also be prompted to get a developer license (free).
And when complete the application will be on your Start screen – far right, unless you previously installed it.
