Here's our first video from our new series with Raymond Chen,
@ChenCravat
.
We asked him to tell us about the mystery wherein some music would crash a laptop!!??
This week in 1992 Microsoft released Windows 3.1, an upgrade from 3.0 that improved reliability and introduced TrueType fonts. It was also the first version of Windows to include Minesweeper. It needed a 286 PC with 1 MB of RAM or better to run. Did you use it?
#FlashbackFriday
Why does Windows use ‘\’ instead of ‘/’? Larry
@osterman
explains in today’s
#OneDevQuestion
.
Turns out choices made a long time ago still have ramifications today.
Windows 3.1 in all its glory!
Happy 30th Birthday, Win3.1!
Do you don't look a day over.. hmm.. 20?
Did YOU ever write an app for this version of Windows? What tools did you use?
#Windows31
It's hard to believe that C# is almost 20 years old. Created by Anders Hejlsberg, it was an important part of the Microsoft development story that included the dotNET frameworks and tools.
Bonus nerd points if you can remember the original code name for C#!
#FlashbackFriday
Happy 30th Birthday, Visual Basic!
On May 20, 1991 Microsoft announced Visual BASIC for Windows at Windows World 1991 in Atlanta Georgia!
Did you have this stylish box on your shelf?
#VisualBasicIs30
#ThrowbackThursday
#VB
This week in 2006, the Microsoft Zune was launched. Signature features included a brown color scheme, the ability to "squirt" tracks, ear-pieces with magnets and tangle-free cords, and the beginnings of a UI design that continues to this day. Did you have one?
#FlashbackFriday
Believe it or not, but it's now 25 years since Windows 95 went on sale (on August 24, 1995 to be exact). It's hard to state what a huge jump Windows 95 was over previous versions of Windows - but it was a milestone moment.
Did you use Windows 95 back in '95?
#FlashbackFriday
#FlashbackFriday
to 1997 and the launch of the first ever Visual Studio, bringing multiple languages into one IDE; including VB, C++, FoxPro, InterDev and MSDN - the docs system which has evolved into docs dot microsoft dot com.
Did you use Visual Studio 97 back in the day?
We're just a few days early, but on October 25, 2001 Microsoft released Windows XP.
Want to make a guess at the internal code name?
Bonus question: what was the name of the visual style it introduced?
#FlashbackFriday
For today’s
#FlashbackFriday
video, we have Laura Butler talking about a
#WindowsPhone
that never got released.
Don’t worry
@Daniel_Rubino
,
@LauraCatPJs
still promises that you will get the full story someday.
Read more about Laura in this 2014 article:
If you're a Windows dev, you know MFC: the Microsoft Foundation Class library. But did you know it was introduced in 1992? Don't want you to feel old, but that's almost 30 years ago! Back then you would be using a 33Mhz 486! And yes, MFC is still in use today.
#FlashbackFriday
Check out our new Windows AI page. We're bringing together the tools you need to add AI features to your Windows apps. (Are there any code samples you would like to see?)
(My manager said I wasn't allowed to use AI generated art anymore)
Starting with v 2.2 of the Windows UI Library (WinUI), the default style for many controls has been updated to use rounded corners. What do you think?
#WinUI
#Curves
#Windows10
This week in 1985, Commodore introduced a new 16 bit system called the Amiga - one of the first multimedia computers to bring GUIs to the masses. It included AmigaBASIC from Microsoft, which has an orange/blue theme still burned into my brain.
#retrocomputing
#FlashbackFriday
The WSL install page has been one of our most viewed topics. While we hate to see that traffic decrease, we're happy to announce that on Windows 10 versions 2004 and newer, you now just enter:
wsl --install
with PowerShell/CMD to get started with WSL!
This week, 19 years ago, Microsoft released Windows 2000: the last version of Windows to have the "NT" designation. Do you remember NetMeeting, Outlook Express and IE5? They all debuted on Windows 2000. It also introduced accessibility fixes such as stickykeys.
#FlashbackFriday
We reached 10,000 followers! Thank you! And you know what that means - a
#NinjaCat
giveaway! If you want a chance of winning one of these works of art, reply to this tweet and make sure to follow us. We'll fire up the random number generator and pick two winners on Friday!
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120 to everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels!
Happy 30th Birthday, MSDOS 5.0!
Wow, can't believe it's been three decades since this we first installed this DOS. Do you remember using it?
#flashbackfriday
#happybirthday
#msdos
Remember: No PC should be without it.
You better get down to the computer store and pick up your copy today!
Happy 30th Birthday, MS-DOS 5!
#FlashbackFriday
#DOS
#Microsoft
You requested a step-by-step guide with "Best Practices" for setting up a WSL development environment, so we added one to the WSL docs. Please let us know what you think. Did we miss anything for working with Linux tools and code on Windows?
#WSL
#Linux
We are working hard to broaden support for Dark mode in
#Windows
without breaking existing applications, and to that end we're providing technical guidance for updating a Win32 desktop Windows app to support both Light and Dark modes.
Before the Xbox, there was... the Sega Dreamcast! In 1998, Microsoft released a version of Windows CE for the Dreamcast, aiding the development of games including Sega Rally 2, Rainbow Six and Tomb Raider. Were you a Dreamcast owner?
#FlashbackFriday
Something that many Windows developers will remember well: this week in 1987, Borland released version 1.0 of Turbo C, in competition with Microsoft's own C compiler. Do you remember trying to pick between them?
#FlashbackFriday
What's supported when migrating from UWP to WinUI 3
WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK are new technologies and, when compared to UWP, there are some features that aren't supported. This topic lists which features are supported before you attempt migration.
ICYMI: Here's a replay of Laura Butler explaining why the keyboard on Windows Phone was so good.
“If it’s not fun, you’re doing it wrong," says Laura in this 2014 article about her life at Microsoft:
100% agreement from us here at Windows Dev Docs.
A preview of the amazing new Windows Terminal is now in the Microsoft Store to download and try - no need to compile it yourself. Download it, test it, provide feedback.
#WindowsDev
#Terminal
#PowerShell
#Ubuntu
It was this month 25 years ago when Microsoft announced "WIndows CE", an open, scalable Windows operating system platform for a broad range of communications, entertainment, and mobile computing devices.
Do you know the original codename for Windows CE?
#FlashbackFriday
Is a bug sometimes too cool to fix?
Today, Raymond Chen tells us about a bug that some devs were reluctant to fix because they were having so much fun with it.
Remember you can follow along on
@ChenCravat
's musings at
#FlashbackFriday
In the latest
@code
, when you put the cursor anywhere inside brackets, the pair of brackets you're in is always highlighted - not just when the cursor is adjacent to a bracket. Super handy! For more of what's new, check out
#WednesdayWisdom
#Tips
Did you get your start writing PC apps with Visual Basic?
Launched in 1991, with a unique drag-and-drop designer created by
@MrAlanCooper
, Visual Basic brought enterprise level development tools to more programmers than ever before.
#FlashbackFriday
This week in 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0 - including, for the first time, support for 256-color SVGA modes. Incidentally, you know what was released 10 years earlier, to the day? Yeah, Pac-Man.
#FlashbackFriday
What's the difference between Cmd, Powershell, and Bash?
Hmmmmm, sounds like a good question for
@richturn_ms
. Listen in to hear his answer.
Lots more command line thoughts from Rich in his blog posts here:
We've been working on making Windows 10 a great place for developers and now we have a new page designed to help you set up your dev environment no matter your use-case or preferred tools.
What else do we need to cover?
#WindowsDev
#Windows10
Some highlights of our recently updated/new Windows Developer documentation:
Run Linux GUI apps on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (preview)
#WSL
#LINUX
Before Windows, Office and Azure, Microsoft was better known for its programming languages - especially BASIC which appeared on a myriad of devices. Where have you seen the familiar BASIC loading message?
#BASIC
#retrocomputing
Why did we create a new Windows Terminal?
Today, we're happy to have Kayla Cinnamon,
@cinnamon_msft
, tell us why the team created the very cool new Terminal program.
Be sure to check it out at
In April 1987, Microsoft and IBM announced OS/2 1.0: a new jointly-developed operating system. The story of OS/2 is complicated, but while Microsoft turned to focus on Windows, IBM carried on with development: do you remember the "Warp" releases?
#FlashbackFriday
Application compatibility is important to every app.
Imagine some of the fun they have keeping
@Windows
compatible for everyone.
Raymond Chen shares a story.
Windows Docs for everyone at:
An updated Sketch toolkit - and brand new Figma toolkit - are now available for the Fluent Design system! Download them here and start creating the UX for your next amazing Windows 10 app.
#design
#UX
#UI
#Fluent
Big news: the Windows Docs team just launched a new video series for Windows developers called "Tabs vs. Spaces". In this episode, Kayla tells us all about Windows Terminal. Like, subscribe, tell all your friends!
#TabsVsSpaces
#Windows
#WindowsTerminal
Terminal Preview v1.1 features are now available! Rename a tab and give it a color (tips & tricks)! Launch on startup (global settings)! Font weight (profile settings)!
#TerminalTuesday
#WindowsTerminal
Time for a new Larry
@osterman
video
In one of our first videos with Larry, we asked him why COM was so complicated. As part of his answer he said he could explain the good parts of COM in ~10-15 minutes.
Here, we challenged him to do it 2 minutes.
Did he meet the challenge?
And here it is! Who could resist buying a copy of Windows 3.1 from this retail store display?
Did you know: the Windows flag logo was created for Windows 3.1?
Photograph from the Microsoft Archive
#HappyBrithday
#Windows31
The first C++ Reference Book was published this day (well, yesterday) in 1986, written by the language's creator,🙇🏽 Bjarne Stroustrup 🙇🏻
Yes, 35 years of the :: operator and so much more.
#FlashbackFriday
Today we're starting something different: a brand new course on using C++ for writing apps for Windows!
We're going to add a new lesson every day, so you can quickly add learning to your daily schedule.
First up: why C++?
#Windows
#Learn
#ByteSizeCpp
How much GPU acceleration do you get in WinForms, WPF, and UWP?
@mark_alcazar
, Partner Director of Software Engineering for Windows, has the answer.
Join us today for his
#TuesdayThoughts
I've a horrible suspicion that some our of twitter audience neither know these people, nor understand the significance of the message "It's now safe to turn off your computer".
#Windows95
For our
#FlashbackFriday
video, we have some fond memories of
#WindowsPhone
from Laura Butler.
Today,
@LauraCatPJs
explains how they made the keyboard work so well.
Want to know more about Laura’s projects at Microsoft? Check out this article from 2014:
Ok, let’s get to 2000!
As a Holiday treat, if you want a chance of winning either some stickers or a box of cool Fluent Design swag, make sure to follow us, and comment on this tweet. We’ll do a draw on Christmas Eve/Dec 24th.
#Fluent
#WindowsDev
#Swag
#Stickers
This is the week you learn about C#, .NET and . Join
@shanselman
and friends on a rich video training series that will get you up to speed in hours. Other topics include Machine Learning, containers and Docker.
#MondayMotivation
So how fast is .NET?
Well, Daniel Roth,
@danroth27
, has his answer for us. Check it out.
Learn lots more on .NET performance and new features at the .NET Conference 2021:
#dotNET
#dotNETConf
Announcing Windows Community Toolkit v8.0 🎉🎉🎉
It’s here! The Windows Community Toolkit is back with a huge update with an array of improvements and features.
Did you know Microsoft has lots of free resources for
#Students
?
Watch the video on how to get free offerings on these Microsoft products:
Azure:
Office 365:
VSCode:
#FreeStuff
for
#StudentSuccess
Did you know that Windows has 4 types of containers?
In today’s video, Arun Kishan, a Distinguished Engineer here at Microsoft, tells us how they work.
#WednesdayWisdom
Visual C++ version 1 was released back in 1993. Did you use it? What programs were you working on?
If you want to know more about the history of Visual C++, here's a great site:
#FlashbackFriday
#VisualC
Introduction to
#VSCode
Part 5
How do you keep track of all the code you write?
How do you work on a project with multiple devs?
Rob Lourens,
@roblourens
, has the answers to your Visual Studio
@code
questions.
Need more version control info? Look here:
If you work for Microsoft, sooner or later, you're probably going to get asked if you ever met Bill Gates.
So for our
#FlashbackFriday
video, we asked Larry
@osterman
if he had ever met our founder. Listen in to hear what he had to say.
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) now supports systemd, an init system and service manager used by many popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, and more.
Learn all about it here:
#WSL
#systemd