Visual Studio 2011 Express Edition (the free version) does not support desktop applications.
By abandoning the desktop for entry-level users, Microsoft is sending a clear message: the Windows desktop is now a mature market. By "mature", Microsoft is limiting development of desktop applications to professionals -- people who are willing to pay for the tools. The hobbyists are "guided" into the web and Metro environments.
As I see it, Microsoft recognizes different futures for desktop and web/Metro applications. Web apps and Metro apps have a vibrant future with lots of growth and creativity. Desktop apps... don't. Desktop apps are maintained, but not enhanced.
This is not to say that desktop apps will go away. There are too many businesses with too many critical applications that run on the desktop.
But it does confirm a shift in the landscape. New apps will be mobile (iPhone/Android/Metro) apps. Or web apps, for those organizations that do not want to move to mobile.
Just as mainframe applications are still with us (billing systems, payroll, general ledger...) Windows desktop applications will remain with us. But the environment is now sterile. It bears no fruit.
Microsoft's choice with its latest offering of Visual Studio is the right one. Hobbyists and beginners must work in fertile environments.
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1 comment:
It's a bit hobbling for cross-platform open source software. Something like Wireshark isn't going to be implemented as a web app, nor is it going to be ported to .NET to be a Metro app. Unless mingw is up to the task, that may be the end of Wireshark for Windows.
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