Source:TimesOfIndia.IndiaTimes.Com. As Microsoft, the once undisputed king of consumer software, prepares to launch Windows 8 - its operating system that will work across tablets, smartphones and computers - in the second half of this year, its global CEO Steve Ballmer made a strong pitch to Indian developers to build apps for the new OS. Microsoft's biggest bet for dominance in post-PC era, Windows 8, will owe a lot of its success to the apps that are available on it and which will make consumers come back for more. It is already a late entrant to devices, where Apple's iOS and Google's Andrioid dominate.
Ballmer, who addressed the gathering at the Microsoft Technology Summit in Mumbai through a video-link, was profusely apologetic for not being present in person. "I was really looking forward to seeing you today in Mumbai. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, am very sorry my schedule changed and I am not able to be there," he said, calling India an incredible bastion of software development and the launch of Windows 8 a big day in Microsoft's history - as big as the day it was founded and as big as its Windows 95 launch, which helped to make computers mainstream.
"I would suggest 25-30 per cent or more of all the software written in the world are written by people from India - living in India and living abroad. The talent base is rich and unbelievable," he said.
For developers, Windows 8 represents another opportunity to make it big by developing the next cool app to catch consumer imagination. Over 200 people participated in a hackathon, or software code marathon, organised by the software giant in Mumbai to build apps on Windows 8.
Cutting across ages, these developers worked from 6 pm on Wednesday and through the night to build applications on Windows 8. "It was awesome, very exciting. We never felt that we were up 24 hours," said Monica Ahuja, a 22-year-old developer who participated in the event. "I like to develop small functional applications with good user interface and experience," she said.
Atul Gupta, another software professional with about 16 years of work experience on Microsoft technologies, showcased a consumer-facing game application on Windows 8. "It's a football game with different levels of difficulty. Since it is not a click interface, there are multiple touch points," he said.
App categories that were open to hackathon participants ranged from banking and healthcare to education and entertainment. Ballmer pitched Windows 8 to the developer community as 'creating unprecedented opportunity'. "There's over 500 million installed base of Windows 7 licences and we will ship with our partners over 350 new systems in its first year. The store and marketplace will be ready on a global basis for Windows apps and Windows Azure apps," Ballmer said.
Similar to Apple's iStore, Microsoft will have a Windows Store from which users can download apps. S Sadagopan, IT expert, director of IIIT, Bangalore, termed India a 'developer nation'. With Windows 8, Microsoft is making the transition from the mouse-click to the metro-style touch-and-feel interface, along with the ability to support everything from room-size displays to small-size, phone displays. But more importantly, as Ballmer put it, Microsoft is seeking to make that transition from the utilitarian and functional applications that it supports today to 'apps that are just beautiful and that you just sit around and relax with on your tablet'.
"I encourage you to play with Windows 8 on a variety of devices. It's going to be the best piece of advice you get this year and the biggest opportunity ahead for you," Ballmer added.
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