Did Hexus miss one of the big news items from Build?

[TheAnimus]

Whilst you guys covered some of the new changes to Windows Phone and the Windows 8.2 start menu thing, I can't help but feel the big thing was missed.

The fact that MS are shifting a huge portion of their .Net framework to be Open Source.

Whilst not all of it is going, the fact that some of the best IP is, is frankly a very interesting change in post Balmer Microsoft.



Shows the things going. The Roslyn compiler, meaning C# (who cares about the others!) is going to be not just open source, but Apache 2, accepting pull requests is something very exciting.

C# was in 2005 more 'open source' than Java. It was an ECMA standard, anyone could implement it, but Microsoft decided not to bother updating the standard document as C# grew in features and maturity.

For those who are stuck in a C++ or Java centric world, there have been a huge number of great language features added in that time.

It's very interesting to see what they are open sourcing vs what they are not. They are putting up their whole Web Technologies stack, much of which was already OS to some degree. The Tiny framework is an extension of that, as they are looking to the whole Internet Of Things, given their backing and the lack of good alternatives for higher level development this is very interesting to say the least.

As Microsoft have also changed the Windows core licensing model, it's not free for most smaller than 9 inch devices, I think this is a very telling and interesting shift.

Look at what is missing from this list, what is missing from the love. Desktop. There is pretty much nothing that is being done to sweeten desktop software work. Is it that MS know they've got that completely sown up? Or is it more about the post PC on desk world?

Whatever it is, it's certainly a fundamental shift in the way Microsoft are going.

[finlay666]

Didn't they push Roslyn up during one of the keynotes?

Build is always more dev focussed than OEM though so desktop isn't going to get a huge amount of love on a conference like that.

The new framework for Xbox One/WP/W8 multi platform looks pretty nice though, even if the panoramic controls should be changed

[herulach]

I suspect that the main reason there's no real innovation in desktop is that it's not needed. 7/8.1 will fill basically everyone's needs in the business market, and the home user is increasingly moving toward touch only devices. Were it not for games I'd have no need for anything with a keyboard

[yamangman]

I like the way the Roslyn preview depends on the Roslyn compiler, it's kind of incestuous!

[directhex]

The only actual new part on that slide is Roslyn, right?

ASP.NEt MVC, MEF, Rx, EF, and a bunch of the others, are already open source (under Ballmer)

[directhex]

I like the way the Roslyn preview depends on the Roslyn compiler, it's kind of incestuous!

How do you compile a compiler written in C#? With a C# compiler.

Mono's mcs compiler has needed mcs to compile since early 2002.

[DanceswithUnix]

Very interesting, but have they released the patents that are supposed to encumber .net? Or is that all a dirty lie from the opponents?

I haven't had a need to write anything in .net so I honestly don't know much about the underlying technology.

[directhex]

Very interesting, but have they released the patents that are supposed to encumber .net? Or is that all a dirty lie from the opponents?

I haven't had a need to write anything in .net so I honestly don't know much about the underlying technology.

Microsoft's preferred license is Apache 2.0, which includes a full patent grant to everything in the source. Hence it's a GPLv3-compatible license.