Nokia: Things are about to change

Things are about to change on 5 September 2012. Stay tuned!

Microsoft new logo, new look!

In advance of one of the most significant waves of product launches in Microsoft’s history, Microsoft unveiling a new logo for the company.

Know more: The Official Microsoft Blog - Microsoft Unveils a New Look

Microsoft launched Windows Upgrade Offer website

Microsoft announced at May, anyone purchased Windows 7 PC between 12 June 2012 and 31 Jan 2013 can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for US$14.99. The website of registration is onow live for 140 countries.

Windows Upgrade Offer website: http://windowsupgradeoffer.com/

Free ebook: Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (Second Preview)

The second preview edition of “Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript” by Kraig Brockschmidt is available from Microsoft Press for free in pdf format. The book currently contains 12 chapters and it will be expanded and other ebook formats will be available with the complete book.  Sample code also can be downloaded.

Description
This book is about writing Metro style apps for Windows 8 using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Our primary focus will be on applying these web technologies within the Windows 8 platform, where there are unique considerations, and not on exploring the details of those web technologies themselves.

The new chapters cover collection controls (everything you wanted to know about ListView!), layout (especially view states), commanding UI (app bars, message dialogs, and their friends), the all-important topic of managing state, a close look at input and sensors (a form of input, really), media, animations, and contracts (share, search, the file pickers, and contacts). The earlier preview chapters (1-4) have also been updated and refined.

Table of Contents

• The Life Story of a Metro Style App: Platform Characteristics of Windows 8
• Quickstart
• App Anatomy and Page Navigation
• Controls, Control Styling, and Basic Data Binding
• Collections and Collection Controls
• Layout
• Commanding UI
• State, Settings, Files, and Documents
• Input and Sensors
• Media
• Purposeful Animations
• Contracts

Download Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/08/20/free-ebook-programming-windows-8-apps-with-html-css-and-javascript-second-preview.aspx

Windows 8 RTM is available for developers

If you have an MSDN Subscription or a TechNet Professional Subscription, the Windows 8 RTM is available. For info on other programs see the Windows 8 has reached the RTM milestone post on Windows Team blog.

If you are not part of one of these programs, you can download the 90-day evaluation of the Windows 8 Enterprise edition for developers. This is available now from the Windows Dev Center download page along with Visual Studio Express 2012, Windows 8 design assets, code samples, and all the related tools and SDK’s needed to build apps.

If you use the evaluation version, you are recommended installing it on separate drive or partition or in a VM. This way you’ll be able to upgrade from your original OS to the Windows 8 RTM when it becomes available in October. If you don’t, then you’ll need to reinstall from scratch when you decide to move to the full version. Make sure you read all the details on thedownload page.

Source: Windows 8 app developer blog - Windows 8 RTM is available for developers.

Windows Phone Dev Center announced

Windows Phone Dev Center announced. The site is designed to provide everything needed to build, publish and manage apps for Windows Phones.

http://dev.windowsphone.com/