[derrellgore]

Has anyone tried making a Windows 8 App yet. Been waiting on a good book to get started. There a few coming out in December. There seem to be so many directions...HTML5, Javascript, C# + XAML, VB +XAML...not really sure what is best. I program in VB at work so that is my primary language. Have been learning C# at home and am considering going in that direction at the moment.

[tlhIn`toq]

I've confirmed that many of my WPF Win7 applications work fine on Win8 - if that counts for you.

Or are you talking about something Metro and WinRT?

I tried building a VMware of Win8 on my development PC but it just wouldn't settle down and be stable. Win8 runs fine on a couple laptops I have. I think it just doesn't handle my FirePro multi-monitor video card well yet. So until there is a better Win8 driver out by AMD for that card I'm sticking with Win7

This post has been edited by tlhIn`toq: 21 November 2012 - 01:47 PM

[derrellgore]

Good point....I was under the impression that WPF is kinda the predecessor to what will be used for the Windows 8 apps.

Yes..taling about "Metro" or WinRT...or something that can be sold in the store.

I haven't actually done any WPF but was getting ready to take a wack and then saw that WPF wasn't really what I thought it was.

But if you are using C# and XAML that is pretty much WPF right?

[tlhIn`toq]

Yes C# and XAML together is WPF.

[derrellgore]

I have windows 8 running Dual Boot on my pc. Also installed on my laptop but I think I am going back to Windows 7 on it. Since official release all AMD drivers seem to be working fine....like you I did see problems a month before.

[tlhIn`toq]

I'm confused by your statement. You say all drivers are now fine yet you are going back to Win7.



Win8 runs fine on my laptop. But my desktop not so much, even after multiple attempts at installation variations:

• Win8
  
• Win8pro
  
• Win8proMediaCenter

If I didn't have a machine I could use for Win8 development/testing I might be more inclined to get radical and start pulling cards until I found the problem: Video, USB3 and so on.

But at this point I can run Win7 VS2012 on one machine and Win8 VS2012 on the other. Both are tied to my KVM, so its not like I'm too hindered. Just that the laptop is only one monitor and the desktop has a 4 port card.

[derrellgore]

The reason I am going back to Windows 7 on my laptop is the touchpad doesn't have the Windows 8 gestures available. Although I had no problems navigating with a mouse on my laptop. I just find Indows 7 more convenient when on the go. I bought the Logitech touchpad for my pc and it is great.

I actually could dual boot on my laptop as well and might later on if I get more into WIndows 8 development.

[tlhIn`toq]

If your laptop supports Hyper-V you could make a virtual machine for Win8. Or you could put VMwareWorkstation on it.

A virtual machine of Win8 would give you both Win7 and Win8 without having to nuke anything.

I'm a big fan of VMware. I keep a VM of all the major Win versions on my desktop machine for debugging. That way I can debug INTO WinXP32, WinXP64, Win7-32, Win7-64 and so on, all on a single box.

[derrellgore]

I am also a big fan of VMWARE. Seems a bit clunky on my laptop though. I don't see any virtual machine settings in BIOS so I am guessing it does not have the support. Also seems to take a long time to boot with VMWARE installed. I know it is VMWARE doing it because I am disable the VMWARE services and it is a lot faster.

Could be a combination of things though. I run the FULL developer version of SQL onmy laptop as well. By itself everything runs pretty quickly.

[Skydiver]

Why run in a VM when you can boot to a VHD and have the hardware running full tilt: http://blogs.technet...llow-steps.aspx

To read more about the original boot to VHD:
http://www.hanselman...fBootToVHD.aspx

[tlhIn`toq]

Interesting. I'll have to read it more closely after a night's sleep.
The short answer as to "why" would be... History... convenience.

VMware has been around for years. When you get comfortable with a product you use it.

The fact that I can take the same VMware drive file and open in on my desktop PC, laptop PC or my MacPro tower is really nice.

Plus VMware has some nice features such as always restore to last snapshot at each bootup. So my pristine OEM build used for testing remains that way even though I install to it, test on it and so on. At the next boot it is exactly as it was before testing.

Being able to run several VMware VM's has been good to me. So I can be developing on Win7x64 yet send the debug execution to a WinXP-32bit VM for example, and still get all the remote debugging feedback within Visual Studio.

Maybe all that works with VHD's. I don't know. Once ya have a working system you don't go looking for another working system.

[derrellgore]

I have been playing with WIndows 8 for a couple of weeks. I posted earlier that I wanted to learn to write apps. But so far didn't really like dealing with the START screen. I have found two things you can do that allow you to skip the LOCK and START screen and gives you a START button on the desktop just like WIndows 7.

Disable LOCK screen...

http://blog.laptopma...in8-lock-screen

There are several START button Add-ons out there. I tried all the free ones and none were where I wanted it to be. Then I came across START8. It costs 4.99 but to me it is worth it. I can now boot up straight to the desktop and only go to the START screen if I want to.

http://www.stardock....roducts/start8/

Other advantages of WIndows 8 is it boots much quicker than 7 and it is suppose to be more secure.

[tlhIn`toq]

There is already a thread going for this, right here in Software Development.
http://www.dreaminco...windows-8-apps/

[derrellgore]

Man, what would I do without you...

I started the other one as well....and although they are related didn't see that they were the same thing.

[annaharris]

Windows 8 is compatible to work with all applications which can work in windows7?