Channel 9 Live at MIX10 (Post Your Questions Here)

For Charlie Kindel (I hope it isn't too long):

Windows Mobile, from its beginnings as the Palm-top PC (anyone remember the Philips Nino?), has had native C/C++ code as its first-class development language, it has allowed games like Doom and Quake to be ported to the platform easily, and of course allows for maximum performance, which is important on low-power devices. If I understand the 'leaked' information regarding development correctly am I right in believing ISVs will be limited to managed code development with WPF and Silverlight, and that only the OEMs/IHVs will have access to the underlying native Windows CE APIs?

Whilst I recognise the advantages managed/CLR programs have for the platform, and especially the marketplace (see footnote), I feel you'd be shutting out huge swaves of developers and their ideas. I imagine that native applications can still be developed and deployed independently of the Marketplace, but might Microsoft consider having a programme that native developers can join? Everyone wants to play Doom and Quake on their phone, but I doubt many fancy re-implementing everything in C# (and don't say C++/CLI ; )).

Footnote:

• Platform independence: if you decide to bring back MIPS or even SH3 then applications available on the Marketplace are guaranteed to work on the device)
  
• Easier static analysis makes it possible to easily identify malware code
• Code Access Security
• Protection from buffer-overruns
  

Charles said:

W3bbo said:

*snip*

For longer "questions" I recommend bolding the actual question(s) you want asked. The context is useful, but for efficiency reasons we would appreciate it if we can easily pinpoint the question(s) that we will ask on your behalf.

 

Thanks,
C

Good idea. I've modified my post.

Will Microsoft sell unlocked developer phones similar to what Google does with Android?

Bass said:

Will Microsoft sell unlocked developer phones similar to what Google does with Android?

As an aside, and as my own answer to the question: WinMo phones are all "unlocked" in that there's no restrictions on what software you run on them, which makes them great for corporations rolling out their own software and indies who want to run their own software. I remember Smartphone 2002 initially required phones to have application-signing disabled by running some CAB, but I don't know if that continued through to WinMo 6.

I doubt they'd add restrictions like Apple has: one of the selling points of WinMo is its relative openness compared to the iPhone platform.

W3bbo said:

Bass said:

*snip*

As an aside, and as my own answer to the question: WinMo phones are all "unlocked" in that there's no restrictions on what software you run on them, which makes them great for corporations rolling out their own software and indies who want to run their own software. I remember Smartphone 2002 initially required phones to have application-signing disabled by running some CAB, but I don't know if that continued through to WinMo 6.

 

I doubt they'd add restrictions like Apple has: one of the selling points of WinMo is its relative openness compared to the iPhone platform.

It might be a US thing. In USA, often phones are locked to a specific carrier, and require signing a contract of obligation with that carrier. An "unlocked" phone in this context is one without these restrictions.

nic said:

Bass said:

*snip*

Great question - Can you let us know who the question is for though so we ask the right person?

I'm assuming Charlie Kindel and/or Joe Belfiore but let us know anyway. Cheers -Nic

Either of those people would probably work.

Bass said:

nic said:

*snip*

Either of those people would probably work.

For Charlie Kindel (probably):

We've (the group I work with) have been thinking about mobile applications a lot lately.  I hear an awful lot about Windows Phone 7 and gaming (with XNA 4, etc.), but we don't develop games-- what does Windows Phone 7 provide me as an applications developer (not a games developer)?  What distinguishes Windows Phone 7 from Android and iPhone OS as far as application development goes?  Will Windows Phone 7 provide me with everything I need to produce rich client applications for the device that behave consistently with the system and meet users' expectations of the interface (without having to go through a bunch of hoops to reimplement controls or UI metaphors in WPF)?

(didn't bold here--  all but the first sentence of the previous paragraph are questions; figured it would be easier to read not bolded)

For Charlie Kindel: 

Who is the target market for WinMo7?  Are you trying to appeal to the mobile gamers?  Enterprise-connected users?  General consumers?  Seems to me that a great many developer issues start with this question.  If you say you are trying to appeal to everyone, then I know it is a doomed effort.  Nothing appeals to everyone.  If you are looking to follow Google, direct selling of phones to consumers ought to drive a bit of market share gain.  The carriers are a big roadblock when it comes to which phones make it to the US market....any market for that matter. 

Personally, it want my phone to be an extension of my desktop.  The games are a bonus and not the motivation for deciding on the model.  I want VPN access via WiFi and 3G data.  I want multi-tasking.  I want an easy way to switch between running apps.  I want to have my own skin.  I do not like the Zune interface.  Others do.  Be different.  Let the customer choose the skin and publish the APIs to the underlying services so that all the functions are exposed but the look and feel is of the customer's choosing.  If I want my desktop to be widget-based, I should have that option.  If SPG looks better, I can use their GUI. 

I do not want tweets in my mailbox but I do want all my different mailboxes to be consolidated with the ability to respond via the source system.  Think of it as "pipes"  Some I want to be viewed uniquely.  Others I want merged.  Let the consumer decide how they want the pipes combined.  Today, there are way too many people deciding what everyone "should have".  Do not join that crowd!  Embrace choice and accept the challenge it presents.  That positioning will make WinMo7 different and help you regain lots of lost market share.

I just want to know if IE team is going to make IE user friendly. For example,

fix "my IE is not working (suddenly offline mode is enabled)"

fix "where is my saved file because some jerk changed the dir to c:/windows/temp/8473984/8547394/this is unintentional/IE loves to screw people up/directory/"

And other obvious issues like memory not released ofter tab is close and rest of tab horror.

For Charlie Kindel (probably):

Can Silverlight Apps developed with WP7 in mind be submitted to the Marketplace as an alternative to hosting them on the web?

Not a developer-specific question but undoubtedly of interest to any developer who is debating wether to develop for WP7S and what market they'll reach with their applications: what is the international story regarding Windows Phone 7 Series? can we expect an international release, which markets, which dates, and how will the application store work internationally?

I suppose this is for Charlie Kindel.