Sure enough -- Thanks, Swordmaker!
Microsoft encouraging developers to port iOS apps to Windows 10 -- OMG WTF WOW! ... PING!
Man, this is pretty near the top of my "Never Would-a Happened Under Ballmer" List. Right under "Windows 10 Is Free".
Posted on 04/29/2015 5:14:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Microsoft announced today during its Build conference that it will release a tool for developers to port their iOS apps directly to Windows 10 as “universal apps” that run on both phones and desktop computers. Developers will be able to feed their existing Objective-C code into a new software package and have it converted to work on the upcoming PC operating system.
At least, that’s how Microsoft is pitching it, though the whole process is a bit more complex. Essentially Windows 10 will ship with APIs that mirror the expected behavior of many iOS APIs, and this new conversion tool will help developers swap out iOS code for matching Windows code.
Because Windows 10 will be the operating system powering not only future desktop PCs, but also many mobile phones, this new capability will help Microsoft quickly build its Windows Phone app library. In fact, the company demonstrated the results of the software today by running almost completely unmodified Android apps on a Windows Phone handset.
Unfortunately for iOS developers, there is absolutely no mention of Apple’s new Swift programming language, meaning those looking to make their apps cross-platform easily will need to hang back on Obj-C for now.
Earlier today Microsoft announced a version of its Visual Design Studio IDE for Mac and cross-platform add-ons for Microsoft Office.
One for your Windows list.
They have lost their minds...totally.
C’mon...it is microsoft.... Nothing they say is true and besides updates to follow.
I’m not so sure...the Microsoft of 2015 clearly isn’t the Microsoft of 1998...IMO, Internet Explorer 4.0, per se, was a halfway decent browser...a bit ahead of its time, even.
Some of the strange bugs that characterised it were a product of the computers of its time; they hardly show up, if ever, on modern hardware; a 486 with 16MB of RAM was literally the *bare minimum*; you would be quite hard-pressed to run Windows alone *anyway*.
In an alternate universe where Microsoft did not resort to its underhanded business tactics, Internet Explorer would have won out anyway...as web developers started using CSS and HTML 4.01, it would have become quite clear that Netscape 4.x would become a train wreck. (It had a hard time rendering pages even with a minimum of CSS!)
It sounds like they are building a universal computer. One that will allow you to use Android, Apple, and Window programs.
If it works, great.
Do you remember Mono (.Net for Linux), MFC for Unix, Microsoft Java for starters?
Agree. I don't know about you, but I'm liking what Satya Nadella is doing with Microsoft these days.
I recently received a technology briefing (complete with working versions of software) on how Microsoft is actively combatting bot-nets around the world and shutting down DDOS attacks. The work they're doing is really incredible, including the capability of zooming down to the physical address level of the IP address acting as a bot or spewing out malware. I cannot do justice describing in writing what I saw Microsoft doing at this briefing.
I can tell you that the FBI now coordinates many of the bot-net take downs with Microsoft. It's really incredible to see the two working together.
Just adding to your point that the Microsoft of 2015 is not the Microsoft of 1998. Not even close.
Would the Microsoft of 1998 announced the next version of Windows as being FREE for Windows 95/Windows 3.11 users? HELL NO they wouldn't have. And yet, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade to Windows 7/8.x users.
I'm liking the new Microsoft. Will be buying their stock on the upcoming split.
MS is, has, and always will be interested in lock in, but go ahead and kick the football Charlie Brown, if you think Lucy won't yank it this time ....
Sure enough -- Thanks, Swordmaker!
Microsoft encouraging developers to port iOS apps to Windows 10 -- OMG WTF WOW! ... PING!
Man, this is pretty near the top of my "Never Would-a Happened Under Ballmer" List. Right under "Windows 10 Is Free".
I do. MS-Java still sticks in my craw to this day. Don’t get me started...
.NET has been an open standard since 2003—the Mono-Project is a nearly complete open-source .NET framework for UNIX/Linux, with the exception of Windows-specific components. (Windows Forms, OTOH, is included)
As I recall, MFC was ported only to Freescale-based Macintosh: 68k and PowerPC.
Not sure about UNIX/Linux support—the closest thing I can recall was the framework that MS used to port Internet Explorer to UNIX, which wrapped MFC: MainWin XDE...
Over time Apple will shift APIs over to Swift, while those using Objective-C will be told by their bosses not to bother moving to Swift, and voila, MS lock in!
Only time will tell: Swift isn’t even a year old!
Obj-C/C++ is a mature language, with cross-platform support already. (If a GCC exists for the specified target, then you can use generic Obj-C)
For now, Swift is a proprietary language, and its features could change or break at any time.
I don’t expect Microsoft to support Swift for some time. If they decide to do so, they might even have to reverse-engineer the Swift runtime, Chinese-wall style.
I will even go so far as to say that Apple is the one trying to lock-in developers: Swift apps require iPhone OS 7+, and I don’t see Apple making Swift cross-platform any time soon.
FWIW, the fact that MS is even making such an effort, is rather unprecedented.
You know, to give Apple products that air of exclusivity that they crave. All part of the Apple ecosystem MO.
No need for Apple devices : )
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