14 DAY TRIAL // Just ahead of the first public demonstration of Windows 8, details on the new UI (codenamed Mosh) and App Model (codenamed Jupiter) of Windows 7’s successor were made available. At the end of the past week, additional information on codenamed Jupiter, which is reportedly designed to function as a new user interface (UI) library for Windows, was provided by Mary-Jo Foley.
According to third-party sources, with codenamed Jupiter, Microsoft works to make it easier for developers to enhance their applications with rich animation, typography and media capabilities.
All that devs will have to do is tap the XAML/UI layer set up on top of Windows, enhancing the operating system’s application programming interfaces (APIs) and the frameworks for various platform subsystems.
Silverlight is said to have a big role to play in relation to codename Jupiter, as it’s also the case for the next version of Visual Studio, the successor of VS 2010.
Reports indicate that codenamed Jupiter will be integrated into Windows 8, and that it will also be a part of .NET Framework vNext, with devs having the option to choose between C#, Visual Basic and even C++ in order to write their immersive applications for the OS.
Of course, Microsoft has yet to confirm this information in any way. While announcing and demoing Windows 8 support for support for System on a Chip (SoC) architectures at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Steven Sinofsky, president, Microsoft Windows and Windows Live Division did note that there’s more to come for the next version of Windows.
The software giant has shared no details on Windows 8’s user interface, programming APIs, or any of the new features.
However, Soma Somasegar, Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s Developer Division managed to come across the information already posted on Windows 8.
Somasegar indicated that some of the information already available on codenamed Jupiter is wrong.
At the same time he managed to confirm that Microsoft was in fact exploring the concept detailed above, but noted that the info are outdated since the project evolved, and no longer reflects the company’s current focus.