There’s a new blog on the msdn site called the “Windows 7 Developers Blog.” It’s goal:
“This blog will mainly focus on the development aspects of Windows 7 by providing valuable content for developers. We shall call this blog “The Windows 7 Blog for Developers”. By valuable content we mean that this blog will be a “one stop shop” on the road to get yourself familiar with what Windows 7 has to offer for developers and how you can “Light-Up” using Windows 7 features in your application.”
All I’ve got to say is: Excellent idea!
If Microsoft is planning on releasing Windows 7 within the next year or so, it’s going to need to get its developer story in gear and with PDC coming next week and this blog it looks like maybe, just maybe the wheels are beginning to turn. I’m sure lots of things have been happening behind the scenes and with select partners, but up to this point the vacuum has been disappointing to me as a developer.
I can appreciate Microsoft not wanting to oversell Windows 7 to itself, its partners, or to its customers as it did with Vista, but saying nothing as it has chosen to do, is just as bad. Exactly what am I supposed to do as a developer?
Am I supposed to wait for some Windows 7 inspiration switch to turn on so I can start coding? No way. By that time it’ll be too late. I know I have to keep moving, keep coding, keep innovating, and do my best to anticipate where things are going and then fill in the blanks/proxies/etc when information comes available.
I really wish over the last half-year or so that the Windows 7 team would have reached out more. At least I had an iPhone to develop for.