Editors Note
A Look Into the Future
Joshua Trupin
It's hard to believe it, but we've reached the end of another year here at MSDN Magazine. The December issue is safely tucked away with visions of sugar plums in its head, and our thoughts turn to what 2007 will bring.
In our case, it's pretty easy to look into the crystal ball. Windows Vista is going to be the big news in 2007 for developers, alongside the .NET Framework 3.0. Imagine getting this month's issue a few years ago—when "security" meant that you'd have a button that popped up a fake spreadsheet when your boss walked past your desk.
Windows Embedded CE 6.0? Windows Workflow Foundation? Windows Vista? You'd be lucky to get the upgrade to 640KB of memory. And keyboards? We had to touch the wires together to make zeroes and ones. Each floppy disk was as big as a Buick, and it could only store 15 characters.. The real hackers would cut an extra notch on the side and turn it over to store another 15 characters. We'd scrounge for months to earn enough to buy a genuine Hercules graphics card, which weighed as much as a Buick with a floppy disk on top of it.
Whoa there! We started to lapse into our beloved "crusty old-timer" editorial character again. Let's step back and look at mobility, which just happens to be the theme of this month's issue.
By the time you read this, Windows Embedded CE 6.0 will have been released to manufacturing, maybe even launched. This new version has a bunch of changes and updates. The kernel and memory model have been overhauled. The Platform Builder is integrated into Visual Studio 2005. A lot of the source code is even available for you to look over. It's a great deal, especially when you think back to when we were just breaking into this business years ago. Why, the only mobile computing we did was typing out 7734 on our calculators, then holding it upside down to read the word it spelled. Aaaah, good times.
In any event, 2007 will be the year of Windows Embedded CE 6.0. After you read Paul Yao's article in this issue, you can check out the virtual launch event at
ce6launch.com. They'll have a bunch of drilldowns on features of the new version, available on demand when you visit.
It will also be the year of Windows Vista—you don't need a Tarot deck to figure that one out. Among all the cool features of Windows Vista that we're looking forward to, one is the ability to build applications that can be distributed to a global market. This is cheaper than ever before, since it is so easy to sell software online now. Locale Builder is a tool that lets you more easily develop apps that can spread across the globe, helping you conquer your market. Or just help your international users. Of course, back in the day we didn't have international users. You'd have to put that big floppy disk in a container and ship it overseas, and that was it. You kids don't know just how easy you have things today with your fancy Internets and interruptible downloads and dial-up speeds up to 53Kbps depending on carrier. Or maybe that's just the irascible old-timer in us acting up again.
The future is more than just mobility and Windows Vista, of course. In the next year, we'll be bringing you the most coverage of the .NET Framework 3.0 and beyond. There's so much to know about the next version, from Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Presentation Foundation to LINQ and more, that we'll need at least a year to get through it all. Hang in there, old-timers!
Speaking of old-timers, the upcoming year also brings some change at MSDN Magazine. Grant Duers, who led us through the launch of TechNet Magazine and our largest peacetime expansion in history, is retiring after this issue. We'll all miss Grant and his service around here, and we wish him well as he takes on the surprisingly large world outside of our magazine group. — J.T.
Thanks to to the following Microsoft technical experts for their help with this issue: Jonathan Caves, Amit Chopra, Matt Gibbs, Mike Hall, Dan Javnozon, David Kelley, David Kline, Jennifer Knecht, Sridhar Mandyam, Michael McKeown, Polita Paulus, Doug Purdy, Ayman Shoukry, Dharma Shukla, Don Smith, Sowmy Srinivasan, and Jason Stolarczyk.
ActiveSync, BizTalk, Internet Explorer, MapPoint, Microsoft, MSDN, Outlook, SharePoint, Virtual Earth, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual Studio, Windows, Win32, Windows Media, Windows Mobile, Windows NT, Windows Server, Windows Vista, and Xbox 360 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks or tradenames mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
MSDN MAGAZINE does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied with respect to any code or other information herein. Msdn magazine disclaims any liability whatsoever for any use of such code or other information. MSDN and Microsoft are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. MSDN Magazine, MSDN, and Microsoft logos are used by CMP under license from owner. MSDN Magazine is published by CMP Technology LLC. CMP Technology LLC is an independent company not affiliated with Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corporation is solely responsible for the editorial contents of this magazine.
MSDN Magazine does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied with respect to any code or other information herein. MSDN Magazine disclaims any liability whatsoever for any use of such code or other information.