<div>Eat Drink Code. The opening lyrics of a lively anthem that signalled the start of Windows AppFest, an app-making marathon staged by Microsoft in Whitefield, on the outskirts of Bangaluru on September 21st. The idea was to get a large number of developers together at one venue and encourage them to come up with interesting apps for Windows 8, due to launch worldwide on 26th October. They gathered 3,500, housed them in three large hangers, supplied them with food, music and mentors and asked them to gun for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records: the most participants to successfully develop code in a minimum defined time limit -- 18 hours. Working through the day and much of the night, 2,567!of them managed to do complete their code. A set of requirements and rules were laid down to qualify for successful participation in the Record.<br /><br />In the fast-developing market of mobile devices, apps are a critical dimension, determining the real-life experience the user has with the smartphone and in particular with the tablet. Apple, with over 700,000 apps, some 200,000 of them for its popular iPad, is currently the "app leader" and others, specially Windows, need to offer both quantity and quality to become attractive to customers as serious alternatives.<br /><br />Windows 8 has been around in consumer preview form on the PC and a small number of tablets (mostly for testing) and most of Microsoft's apps have really been on their Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 smartphones such as those from Nokia, HTC, and Samsung. In the wait for Windows 8, these devices haven't been as widespread and will only really start to increase post launch of the new OS. Developers need users to make it worthwhile to create apps and users need the assurance of enough apps to buy a device -- that is the chicken and egg situation that Microsoft (and also RIM for the BlackBerry phones) have had to grapple with for a while now. All the same, Windows 8 has been downloaded over 16 million times globally and needs a large spread of apps from which to choose and use.<br /><br /> </div><table width="640" cellspacing="8" cellpadding="8" border="1" align="center"><tbody><tr><td><img width="640" height="427" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=d168d2aa-9d00-4624-bfba-58b772ba6b2a&groupId=36166&t=1348331890600" alt="" /></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Developers getting ready to get into "app mode" and code for 18 hours non stop</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Microsoft means apps to be usable across all Windows devices, scaling without a problem. Demonstrating how apps were to be the same look and feel for users whether they were using a giant touch screen or a small tablet, Harish Vaidyanathan, Director of Evangalism for Microsoft, said that there were minimum basic requirements such as a 1 GHz processor and 1GB RAM and 20 GB of disk space needed, but essentially that it was easy enough, using free available tools such as Visual Basic, to create apps that would run on diverse Windows devices. Developers would need to optimise and finesse the apps for different screen sizes. After a process of testing and verifying the working of the apps, which takes between three to five days, the apps would work on Windows 8 as well as Windows 7 PCs. For the first time, a Windows Store will be available for consumers who, incidentally, will be able to pay in Indian currency, to buy the apps. He demonstrated a number of apps including one from ICICI Direct, OneIndia, MakeMyTrip and some games to show how the behaviour of the applications was identical on a touch-screen PC and on a tablet. Features such as multitasking, snapping a window to one side of the screen etc were exactly the same on different screen sizes.<br /><br />The apps would also run no mater who the OEM was, because support in the operating system allows this. Developers are also being encouraged by being given a 70:30 portion of the revenue from the app in their favour. As they reach a greater number of users, they get 80% of the revenue. The Windows Store will be available to 180 countries in different languages on launch, according to Harish.<br /><br />The participants created apps in 20 categories and these, if they pass muster, could see inclusion in the upcoming Windows Store. Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India said, “Windows 8 is ‘Good for India’. In India, Microsoft is making significant investments and working with 1.2 million developers, over 1,000 Independent Software Vendors and more than 2,000 System Integrators to empower them with the tools, technologies and training required to develop high end skills and compete in a global marketplace.”<br /> <br /> <br /> </p>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
