Free desktop software development is dead on Windows 8

[Hexagon]

Originally Posted by Ars Technica

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.

The above is only an excerpt, folks, so have some sauce with it.

OH LAWDY. That is all I have to say for now.

[kamina777]

Another good idea of Ballmer :S

[0ldman]

Looks like going to have Vista 2.0, I am sticking with my win 7

[kbrooks]

This is why I went Mac....
Technology is getting so hard to keep up with I find myself falling behind wayy too much.
Especially with Windows and PC since my switch. Research ahoy!

[FireclawX]

so from now on we just ditch visual c++ (since it sucked anyway) and just use the bloodshed Dev-C++

[Kuraikage]

Originally Posted by kamina777

Another good idea of Ballmer :S

Oh Balmer

[thammuz]

I was even tempted to try out the VS 2012 Release Candidate, since I haven't put Visual Studio on my new computer.

I think they're trying too hard to be similar to OSX, but in the wrong ways.

[Hexagon]

I am no expert, although I wish I were, but I am starting to see why Gabe doesn't like Windows 8.