Build for Windows 8 is the first dev camp we are running here in Singapore and we’re really excited to share with you the opportunities that Windows 8 brings to you as a developer! We’re really happy to have around 200 developers join us in this session.

 

If you couldn’t attend today, don’t worry, we’ll be live blogging and sharing with you resources from the dev camp! Slides will also be made available here so remember to check this page out.

 

Tweet us @gospiffy and use the hashtag #BuildforWin8SG

930AM – We started the day with an introduction with Alex introducing the upcoming events for Windows 8, including Campfire. We’re flying in speakers who are experts in HTML 5 and other interesting subjects in the web tech space to talk to you from 13th – 14th April! Register here: campfire.weshipcode.com

945AM – Our awesome director, Ziriad Saibi talking about the opportunity for developers. Windows 7 numbers are at 500M. That’s not even including other Windows powered devices.

 

 

10.00AM – Hammad, architect evangelist,  talking about the Metro UI and demonstrating the investments that went into Windows 8  to create a beautiful user experience for everyone (yes, even developers).

 

1030AM – Search is an interesting factor for developers, when a user is searching on Windows and if your app is relevant, it pops up immediately on the results screen without having to go into a browser!

 

1045AM – Are you a HTML5 / Javascript / .Net/ C++developer? Then you’re already equipped to be a Windows 8 developer. 11.00AM – Short break! Time for some tea. In meantime, meet Kim, our presenter for Metro UI later on!

 

1115AM – We are demoing a camera capture class. Its really easy to set up! Hammad just made the audience  scream ‘Metro’ and we now have videographic evidence of your presence here – uploading to Facebook. (Just Kidding, you guys are great!)

1120AM – Tiles are a great mechanism for drawing users’ attention to your application! Make sure you take some time to customize it.

1130AM – Content before chrome. Interesting research shows that browser users are hardwired into thinking that our browser chromes  are the main part of experience and not the content itself. The Metro UI allows content to come first. Immerse your users in the thing s they love instead of wasting space with the chrome. Let layout flow from edge to edge, pan only on a single axis to create a sense of stability. – more on that later during the UX session.

1140AM – Life is made a lot simpler when you use the templates from Visual Studio to create your first Metro style app.

1150AM – Introducing the App Bar: Most apps will have the app bar at the bottom that allow the user use common commands.

1157AM – Try Semantic Zooms to show richer, meta information on your groups.   1203PM – Design for touch first! Most people use the sides to navigate through the apps.. don’t expect them to use too many fingers at once! (Unless you want them to spill their Starbucks coffee all over their tablet.)

1215PM – Lunch! Did you guys enjoy it?

 

1.20PM – Full and ready to learn more about Windows 8 development! Kim is sharing about resources for developing on the Metro UI. He’s also giving great tips about the commanding surfaces that allows users to have greater interaction with the touch device. R. emember to check out our tutorial about Visual Blend, that will help you prototype UIs quickly.

1.35PM – Need design assests? Download them here.

1.45PM – Remembering to scale your graphics properly is important! Run it on the emulator to try how it looks like.

1.50PM – We love animations that make your app feel more alive. Built in controls are provided for free. You can also look for more in the Windows 8 Animation Library. Very useful.

2.00PM – 5 T-Shirts given to our awesome attendees! Great questions on the APIs, porting of apps. Keep the questions coming in!

2.05PM – Darren Sim, talking about integrating applications with web services.

 

2.13PM – Again, search is universally accessible and contextual. Darren is demo-ing it right now!

 

2.40PM – A really funny presentation from Darren who is sharing about how to call certain features using javascript. The tutorial is found on MSDN.

 

3.00PM – So many questions! And the IE T-shirts seem to be really popular.

 

3.15PM – Breaktime! We took some videos of the attendees, thanks for the feedback. Great to see Android and iOS developers here as well. Seem like the market share is an interesting factor when it come to deciding which platform to develop for.

 

3. 30PM – Hammad, our Win 8 champ, is on again. We’re learning about extension methods that bridge the gap between the new Windows Runtime and managed code. When you use Runtime, your apps are going to be super fast.

4.00PM – Ed Quek from Microsoft APAC is sharing about the Windows Store right now.

4.05PM – demoing the Windows Store, did you know that 70% of apps get buried in the app store? Windows is going to help you overcome that! Check out how to sell your apps and the descriptions you’ll need here.

4.30PM – As a developer you get 70% of whatever you sell on the store. If you get over US$25,000 you get 80%! It’s a tiered model.

4.38PM – Trials matter. You get a 70% better chance of converting users into paying ones by offering trials! Keep that in mind when you’re deciding the price and sales model.

4.40PM – Singapore is one of the countries with that will have the Windows Store supported. Go little red dot!

4.45PM – The cost to register for a Windows Store developer account in the United States is 49 USD for an individual and 99 USD for a company. For the price in your local currency, see Developer countries and regions.

 

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