metro « Tim Anderson's ITWriting

Windows Runtime flaws spoil new Windows Store (Metro) apps

By tim, on February 21st, 2013 Follow tim on Twitter

The Windows Runtime, the new touch-friendly platform in Windows 8. It solves many problems. Not only is it tablet-friendly, but apps are sandboxed for security, and easy to deploy. No setup hassles, just one-click (or tap) install or uninstall. It also supports three types of development covering most tastes: native C++, .NET Framework, or HTML

…continue reading Windows Runtime flaws spoil new Windows Store (Metro) apps

Microsoft’s Design Language – Tiles and Chromelessness – Prospects for Windows 8

By tim, on November 19th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

Among the most illuminating sessions at Microsoft’s BUILD conference earlier this month was Will Tschumy’s presentation on the Microsoft Design Language.

Tschumy says that Microsoft began a new focus on design back in 2003 (think Office Ribbon). Then came Windows Phone and Metro (only he did not call it that), and now:

Microsoft is

…continue reading Microsoft’s Design Language – Tiles and Chromelessness – Prospects for Windows 8

Adobe AIR for Metro promised for first half of 2013

By tim, on November 15th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

Adobe Game Developer Evangelist Lee Brimelow has stated on Twitter that AIR for Metro is coming next year.

we’re working on Air for Metro. It should be available first half of next year.

AIR is a way of compiling Flash applications to run outside the browser.

[Microsoft no longer uses the term Metro. We

…continue reading Adobe AIR for Metro promised for first half of 2013

Hands on Windows 8 development: Twitter and hyperlink hassles

By tim, on October 19th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

I have been messing around with a Windows 8 app to present content from ITWriting.com in an app, mainly as a learning exercise. I came up with the idea of showing recent tweets on the main page of the app. Like this:

I thought this would be easy, but encountered several problems. I am

…continue reading Hands on Windows 8 development: Twitter and hyperlink hassles

Adapting the Items Page template in a Windows Runtime app

By tim, on October 14th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

A while back I adapted a sample application in order to create an app for Windows 8. I am mulling over putting it in the Windows Store, but it needed some work. In particular, I wanted to add a Twitter feed to the front page. There is plenty of space:

Sounds easy; but inspecting

…continue reading Adapting the Items Page template in a Windows Runtime app

Developing for the Windows Runtime: a few more notes from the field

By tim, on August 26th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

I have been poking around in the code for my Windows Runtime ITWriting.com reader, which is based on this MSDN sample. The list of posts looks like this:

Not bad, but that block showing the date of each post is based on Windows Team Blog page, which is nothing to do with me. What

…continue reading Developing for the Windows Runtime: a few more notes from the field

Developing a Windows Runtime app: some observations

By tim, on August 24th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

What would it take to create a Windows 8 Modern UI content reader for this site? Just for fun, I built a simple one; or rather, I slightly adapted Microsoft’s Metro style blog reader tutorial.

The app only has four screens (or pages) but despite its simplicity I found the tutorial somewhat fiddly. Getting the

…continue reading Developing a Windows Runtime app: some observations

Embarcadero previews Metropolis in RAD Studio XE3: fake Metro apps?

By tim, on August 22nd, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

Embarcadero has released a video (embedded at the foot of this post) previewing RAD Studio XE3, the next version of the application development suite which includes Delphi and C++ Builder.

Two big new features are Metropolis applications and an new HTML5 Builder tool which looks like a next-generation PHP Builder.

Metropolis – a neat name

…continue reading Embarcadero previews Metropolis in RAD Studio XE3: fake Metro apps?

BBC web site has a Metro look

By tim, on July 27th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

The BBC redesigned its web site last year borrowing elements of Microsoft’s Metro design language, as seen in Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Office 2013. Note the tiles, the typography, the horizontal scrolling, the way elements stand out against a pale background.

The BBC site is the 5th most popular in the UK and

…continue reading BBC web site has a Metro look

Huge icons in Windows 8 Metro

By tim, on June 1st, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

This is the SkyDrive Metro-style app running on my 1280 x 1024 desktop, in its default view. Note that each icon is 185 x 211 px. The actual title of each document is in relatively small text though still readable.

On my slate I only get two rows per screen:

You can set

…continue reading Huge icons in Windows 8 Metro

Tim Anderson's ITWriting

Recent Comments

Blogroll

Archives