Windows RT Vs WinRT vs Windows 8 !!

One of the things that I was confused about in the last few hours, and I am confident that many more people are going to be confused about in next few months is the difference between "Windows RT" and WinRT. Here is the simple version:

Windows RT:
     1. It's an OS.
     2. It's a variation of the Windows 8 OS that Microsoft has specifically designed for devices running ARM devices.
     3. (In case you are wondering) ARM is an architecture used by many processor companies to design their chips, including Qualcomm, nVidia, Texas Instruments and several others.

What that means is that when you go to the Settings -> PC Info screen of a tablet device running an ARM processor, it will show you "Windows RT" and NOT "Windows 8". So, it's a full fledged OS that is branded and sold separately by Microsoft to tablet OEMs (aka manufacturers) who are using ARM processors in their tablet devices. Infact, it used to be called as "Windows on ARM" earlier but was later on re-branded as Windows RT.

WinRT:
     1. It's a runtime.
     2. Conceptually, it's not very differemt from .net, java or any other runtime in the sense that it's main goal is to create a cross-platform application architecture on Windows 8 that supports multiple languages (C++, C#, JavaScript, etc). 

Difference between "Windows RT" and "Windows 8":
     Now that we know that Windows RT is an OS, I am sure that some of you are wondering how is it different from Windows 8. Here it is!!
     1. Not much different from user experience point of view as both support Metro UI.
     2. Windows RT is not sold directly to consumers, and is meant only to be sold to device manufacturers (aka OEMs).
     3. The goal behind Windows RT is to give end users consistent experience across tablets being offered by various manufacturers (including Microsoft's own device called as Surface).   
     4. Windows RT will come pre-pakaged with MS Office, whereas Windows 8 users will have to buy (and install) Office separately.
     5. There are similar differences in terms of applications shipped out of the box in Windows RT and Winodws 8, as well as the kinds of applications you can develop/install/uninstall on them. Windows RT seems to be more locked-down version of the two.
     6. You also cannot use Win32 and COM APIs on Windows RT, so you are pretty much restricted to using WinRT APIs. Although, over  next few days I am going to be closely working on a project that requires access to underlying System Information on a Windows RT "ARM" device. It seems that there may be a way to access a subset of Win 32 API on a Windows RT device. If it works, I will post my experience in a subsequent post.  


Cheers!! I hope it helped! !

 

Metro UI and Windows 8!!

I spent couple of hours this week in trying to understand what is Metro UI. While Microsoft is definitely betting big time on Metro UI, with it being incorporated in Windows Phone 7, Zune and most recently in Windows 8, there doesn't seem to be much information availabe on what it is, how a developer can benefit from it, and what set of tools, technologies and best practices are available for a developer to use it in real-life applications.

Here's my attempt to provide some clarity on the topic:

- Metro UI is a set of UI best practices:
     What this means is that Microsoft is expecting all future development on Windows platform to follow these best practices when it comes to implementing UI.

- Inspiration:
     It's widely accepted that Metro UI is partly inspired by signs commonly found at public transport systems, for instance on the King County Metro Transit, a public transit system that serves the Seattle area.

- History:
     While there are signs of similar UI paradigm being tried and tested by Microsoft on several products in the past such as WIndows Media Center, XBox, Microsoft Live, etc, it was Windows Phone 7 that is credited for brining MetroUI in front and center of the Microsoft UI strategy.

- How to learn it:
    The overall concept behind Metro UI is technology agnostic, that is, you can decide to implement MetroUI for your applciation in any of the UI language that you are familiar with (ASP.Net, AJAX, Silverlight, etc) . Reality is that the majority of Metro UI development has come from Windows Phone 7 (now Mango) which is done in Silverlight. Although there is very less clarity at this point in time on "Silverlight Vs HTML 5" issue,I think most of the new development will happen in HTML5 targeting Windows 8 as well as other form factors such as tablet and mobile. 

   One of the best way to learn Metro UI woudl be to build a WIndows Phone Application (using Silverlight) or Windows 8 application (using HTML 5). Following are few links that can help with the ramp up:

Windows 8 Dev Preview: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/br229518

Metro Design Principles and Tutorials: http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox/tutorials/windows-phone-7/metro/

HTML 5 Tutorial: http://www.mywindowsclub.com/resources/5011-HTML-Tutorials.aspx

Windows 8 New Features: http://www.mywindowsclub.com/resources/4653-Windows-new-features.aspx
       
Future of Silverlight: http://www.mywindowsclub.com/resources/4733-Windows-embracing-HTML-what-future.aspx 

Cheers,
Piyush

Settled in Houston, TX + How to Shut down Windows 8?

Last few weeks have been very hectic. I moved to Houston from Redmond, we/iLink opened a new office here. Finally, dust is starting to settle down and I cannot wait to dive deeper into Crescent, Denali and Windows 8.

Most of the Windows 8 functionality from the developer preview is working on my laptop (Lenovo X61 Thinkpad). Windows 8 is looking nice. Microsoft has changed many common functions. For example, it took me couple of minutes to figure out how to shut down the laptop. For people out there who have just installed Windows 8 and are struggling with the same problem, here is how you do it:

1. Take your mouse at the bottom-left corner of the screen
2. Wait until the “Charms” menu appears with Search, Share, Devices and Settings option
3. Click on Settings, and a bar appears on the right side of the screen.
4. Select Power option
5. Select Shut Down

Let me know if you are able to find a better way or shortcut to get to the power menu.

I am also not able to get touch working on this laptop. Since there is no touch driver available for Windows 8 on Lenovo site (understandably), I have tried installing Windows Vista and Windows 7 versions but to no use. Let me know if any of you have run into similar issues and have any suggestions.

Feels good to be back.

Cheers!!