Technology Cost-free desktop software development is dead on Windows 8

[tom_mai78101]

In other words, you won't be able to use the free Visual Studio Express to develop desktop apps.

Microsoft wants Windows developers to write Windows 8-specific, Metro-style, touch-friendly applications, and to make sure that they crank these apps out, the company has decided that Visual Studio 11 Express, the free-to-use version of its integrated development environment, can produce nothing else.

If you want to develop desktop applications—anything that runs at the command line or on the conventional Windows desktop that remains a fully supported, integral, essential part of Windows 8—you'll have two options: stick with the current Visual C++ 2010 Express and Visual C# 2010 Express products, or pay about $400-500 for Visual Studio 11 Professional. A second version, Visual Studio 11 Express for Web, will be able to produce HTML and JavaScript websites, and nothing more.

Visual Studio 11 is an improvement in many ways over Visual Studio 2010. Its C++ compiler, for example, is a great deal more standards-compliant, especially with the new C++ 11 specification. It has powerful new optimization features, such as the ability to automatically use CPU features like SSE2 to accelerate mathematically intensive programs, and new language features to allow programs to be executed on the GPU.

The new version of the C# language makes it easier to write programs that do their work on background threads and avoid making user interfaces unresponsive. The .NET Framework, updated to version 4.5, includes new capabilities for desktop applications, such as a ribbon control for Microsoft's WPF GUI framework.

No-cost desktop software development is dead on Windows 8

You won't be able to use the free Visual Studio Express to develop desktop apps.

arstechnica.com

Only hatred and madness surge through my brain. No comments, though.

 

[luorax]

Great... greedy MS.

 

[xPass]

Microsoft is seriously getting on my nerves.

 

[Hatebreeder]

However, MS is a monopole as long as they stay user friendly, Linux is getting there, but it does not have the capabilities of MSOS just yet.

I suspect MS is trying to cover up for security loops/holes

 

[camelCase]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

And I wanted to try all the cool C++0x features, too =(
(As soon as it got out of beta or w/e stage it is in now)

 

[tom_mai78101]

Hold on a minute!!

If you are able to participate in Microsoft Dreamspark, they will allow you to use Visual Studios 11 Pro for free.
But still, killing your ability to freely create programs...

 

[ReVolver]

I already qualify for Dreamspark and I still think it's ridiculous, im hoping there's and alternative software.

 

[luorax]

I already qualify for Dreamspark and I still think it's ridiculous, im hoping there's and alternative software.

Well, CodeBlocks C++ is a quite cool softwarde in my opinion. Or the classic Visual Studio 2010.

 

[Darthfett]

However, MS is a monopole as long as they stay user friendly, Linux is getting there, but it does not have the capabilities of MSOS just yet.

I suspect MS is trying to cover up for security loops/holes

I don't think MS is trying to cover up for anything security-related. Windows 8 uses the same 'platform' as Windows 7 and Vista. Where exactly is Linux 'getting'? There's a reason Linux isn't there yet. Linux is not Windows.

Great... greedy MS.

I highly suspect Microsoft of being 'greedy', though not because they want the money from selling VS. I think they believe they'll make more money by getting more C# developers and applications. It's always nice for developers to be able to phase out legacy code, and with Microsoft trying to make everything work everywhere (phone, desktop, etc), this can help to keep them in the phone competition, and give them an early edge in desktop apps.

This is a pretty big hit on the developers though, and I have to wonder if there's not some ulterior motive.

 

[camelCase]

Well.. MS would have to screw up a lot and for a very long period of time before they start sinking..
Maybe they're cashing in on their advantage =x

MS is probably trying to solve the chicken-and-egg syndrome by brute force.
Platform is unpopular because there are no apps.
There are no apps because platform is unpopular.

 

[Sevion]

Haha. Metro-style apps? Nty. I'll stick with desktop-based for now until Metro-style can be done without paying $500.

 

[Hatebreeder]

I don't think MS is trying to cover up for anything security-related. Windows 8 uses the same 'platform' as Windows 7 and Vista. Where exactly is Linux 'getting'? There's a reason Linux isn't there yet. Linux is not Windows.

I'm talking about the user-friendlyness of Windows compared to Linux, not anything program related. For me, Windows is easier to use and much easier to configure than Linux, because I don't have the practice. As long as Windows is more popular, more people will be used to it, because it's what they're familiar with. We've had this discussion countless times.
All I'm saying is that Linux is 'getting there' in terms of popularity.

The reason I suspect that is because MS has made a few weird decissions in the past to coverup/prevent security abuse in the past few years. Same with Oracle; I recall Javascript having a security hole where people can take a look in the internet history. Temporarily, they've disabled a few functions until it's been fixed. I SUSPECT it, because I really don't see a plausible reason to stop people from developing unless the software has too many bugs or w/e so that they limit it.