While still the standard in the enterprise, the Windows PC has lost some of its luster in the consumer marketplace over the last few years. When faced with sleeker, sexier, new touch based ultra mobile devices such as the iPad, the old Windows PC seems a bit dated by comparison. Although Microsoft was a pioneer in early tablet and touch based computing, first with the pen based Tablet PC and then with the intriguing but not widely adopted Microsoft Surface touch based platform, these ideas never gained mass appeal and were often relegated to the annals of novelty computing and often the butt of jokes in technical circles. Apple’s iPhone and iPad along with those who followed their model managed to dominate this new market through slick user experience coupled with true innovation. Microsoft, with its aging PC empire, was left in the dust.
As Microsoft’s Build conference kicks off this week, Microsoft is attempting to change all of this with the next version of Windows, currently known as Windows 8. Windows 8 represents the most significant overhaul of the company’s flagship platform since Windows 95 and encapsulates Microsoft take on where computing is headed over the next decade. As folks may know, I’ve been working with Windows from a systems engineering and from developer standpoint for long time and here are a few things about the new platform that got my attention:
Touch
Microsoft is embracing touch computing in a big way with the addition of the new “Metro” user interface based on HTML5 and JavaScript technologies. The interface, which first appeared to much critical acclaim on Windows Phone 7 and to some extent on Microsoft’s successful XBOX 360 console, provides an information centric new take on the tablet experience. Large information rich tiles now replace the boring static icons. The focus of the new interface is to provide users “at a glance” adaptive access to their information without needing to dig too far. This interface is available to users of touch based tablets and mobile devices, as well as those using windows on their laptop or desktop with either a touch based display or mouse and keyboard.
New Hardware
Unlike its predecessors which only run on, by today’s standard, bulky, power hungry Intel PCs, Windows 8 also runs on the same energy efficient ARM based microprocessors that power many of today’s tablets and mobile devices. This enables Windows to run on new form factors and it also brings the power of Windows to these devices, enabling users of these devices to run full-featured applications such as Microsoft Office as opposed to trimmed down “Apps” which are common on most tablets today.
A Better Windows
Windows 8 builds on the legacy of Windows and enhances the base experience. A revamped Explorer interface makes Windows easier to use for day to day tasks. Native support for virtualization through Microsoft’s Hyper-V platform make initiatives such as desktop virtualization more manageable.
New Opportunities
Despite all of its new capabilities, rest assured that under the hood Windows 8 is after all still Windows at its core. This enables developers to take advantage of all of Windows current capabilities, along with all exciting new ones, while leveraging Microsoft’s massive developer ecosystem and the incredibly powerful .Net framework. This opens the door to exciting new possibilities such as rapidly touch-enabling or mobilizing your existing enterprise systems.
Despite their seeming inertia, Microsoft has repeatedly proven that even with a late start it can refocus its efforts and turn on a dime to rapidly embrace changes in the industry. I get the impression with this release that Microsoft is looking at these changes from a big picture perspective and taking the time to address the new paradigm not just as an attempt to capitalize on consumer fad, but as a fundamental change in how we use, adapt to and manage these new technologies both individually and at an enterprise level.
A preview of some of the new capabilities can be seen in this video.
When we work with a client on SharePoint development projects, often times the technical folks have questions about where and how to get started. SharePoint is a massive platform and has a vast surface area. Compared to the “dark ages” of SharePoint 2007, Microsoft has really stepped up by providing great documentation, guidance and tools. However, finding this information can sometimes be challenging to developers who are new to the platform
Below is a list of resources that I use to stay on top of what’s going on.
These guides are the core product SDK documentation. They include walkthroughs and excerpts from SharePoint books, and are frequently updated. You can even download the documents in Windows Help file format, along with sample code.
This is a 3rd party development wiki focused on SharePoint 2007 and 2010. It provides insights and commentary that you won’t find on the Microsoft sites, such as work-arounds for common problems and limitations. Most of the content focuses on SharePoint 2007, but the 2010 stuff is starting to show up too.
This free eBook provides a narrative overview of SharePoint development. Unlike the pure SDK reference, this book explains some of the “why” as opposed to the specific “how.” There are also some great code samples and reference architectures.
This is an extension of the eBook described above. It has more of an architectural focus, and thought it is only available as paid content, it is very worthwhile. Printed books are sold through O’Reiley Media.
All Top is a blog aggregator; this link points to various SharePoint blogs. It consolidates a “best of” collection from most of the SharePoint MVP community.
This is an indispensable SharePoint development tool. I compare it to .Net Reflector but rather than looking at .Net assemblies, it allows you to look into the internals of a running SharePoint farm. It’s great for looking at things that you can’t see in the Web UI.
On Monday, August 23, Something Digital participated in the Technology Media Day at The New Meadowlands Stadium Company (NMSC). Jon Tudhope, James Idoni, our Motorola partner Glenn Mintz, and I attended along with individuals from several other vendors, including Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers and Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. We were given a chance to show off our new Stadium Issue Tracking System and get a preview of what Giants and Jets fans can expect on fall Sundays.
The scene and the technology were all like something from a sci-fi flick. All the vendor partners seemed to really step up and deliver some exciting solutions. I can wait to take it all in from my seats on September 12th (first Giants game). The event was covered by most major media outlets, and SD even got some ink.
Here’s a clip that explains the solution we designed:
SD is excited to welcome aboard Daniel Segan as our lead solution architect and developer for SharePoint. Daniel is a technology specialist with over twelve years of experience developing, implementing, and delivering Microsoft-based business solutions. Throughout his career he has created custom solutions for a wide range of vertical industries including advertising, financial services, manufacturing, and professional services and has managed to get his hands dirty with nearly every major Microsoft development technology of the last decade. For the last 4 years, Dan’s focus has been Microsoft SharePoint as well as Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence. When not developing solutions, Dan can be found SCUBA diving ship wrecks in the cold dark waters of NYC.
For starters Dan will be heading up key SP projects with several legal, communications and nonprofit clients. Check him out on LinkedIn.
I’m at Day 1 of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, DC. It’s a great event that brings in over 10,000 partners from across the globe. We all converge on the DC Convention Center to drink the kool-aid that Bill Gates started to mix many years ago.
Microsoft’s new leadership seems poised to take the company to new heights. Today, I learned about SharePoint , Azure, and Phone 7. If you haven’t heard about these products you will soon. They all seem very exciting, and I’m confident SD will deliver solutions that incorporate each.
Tomorrow, I expect to hear about server technologies, security, and vertical market efforts in healthcare, education, retail, and others, so stay tuned.
One other plug… had dinner with Savino at the West End Bistro with a good group. Delicious food and wine.
