TWC9: Visual Studio 2012 Update 1, Windows Phone 8, Hilo and more...

The Discussion

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  we all know what happens when I'm allowed out of my office

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  I like today

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  Have to say, the HyperV requirement is (so far) the most annoying part of Windows Phone development.  My laptop (which runs VirtualBox virtual machines without any issue) apparently doesn't have support for "SLAT", one of the requirements of HyperV.  As such, I cannot run the Windows Phone emulator, which is a huge stumbling block to development.  "Fixing" this means buying a phone and paying for the developer account, or buying a machine that supports SLAT for HyperV on Windows 8 (which I don't think I've ever seen in specification lists on computers)?  Expensive.

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  @Yakko Warner: i5 or i7 should do it.  verify the processor can do virtualization.  In my opinion, if you are doing mobile development, you should have a physical device on top of using the emulator.  I have seen apps work amazing if you use a mouse and then when they are deployed on a physic device, the hit areas are so tiny the app is near useless.

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  True, if and when I get to the point that I want to actually deploy an app, testing on a real device would be a requirement.  But first, I want to be able to try it out, dip my toe in the water, before I commit.  Having to buy a new computer or a development license for my new phone is a big barrier to just see if I can do it.  I've never done XAML or Silverlight (except to follow walkthroughs that just say "do this, now change this tag to read this" where I don't feel like I've learned anything), so in many ways I feel like I'm starting from scratch.  Saying I have to go out and buy new hardware if I want to try it out just doesn't work for me.