Windows 8 and Metro UI - your ideas
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:51 pmLots of misinformation in that post.
1) Visual Studio Express 2012 has 3 relevant free versions: Web, Win 8 (RT), and Desktop. They include the elements appropriate for each.
2) The Microsoft Store is used to sell/install/update Windows RT programs ( aka Metro, Modern ). However other install options are possible, ie. centralized enterprise.
3) Developers can still build, sell, install, and update desktop apps from their current marketing platforms.
4) If you don't have a viable design idea that will benefit from the RT platform, don't worry about it. Even Office 2013 runs on the Win 8 Desktop rather than the RT platform, as does Visual Studio and most major applications published by Microsoft.
5) Consider the RT applications to be a supplement to Windows 8, useable for some tasks, and easily applied to tablets and phones plus the desktop and notebook computers. However, most will use normal desktop routines, and most legacy software will run on the new OS without problems.
It is my belief that we can continue to use our current tools for our legacy apps, and they will perform well in Win 8 Desktop ( including all touch screen capabilities ), and if you want to consider Win 8 RT apps, you can download that Express version for FREE to play with it in Visual Studio. I see no reason why we need to use Harbour/FiveWin for Metro apps since very few of us will actually work there.
Tim