After a first tip this week on Microsoft’s Jupiter — a new “application model” for Windows 8 — I started nosing around to learn more about this mysterious new Microsoft codename.
Here’s a brain dump of what I learned after talking to a couple of sources of mine who spoke on the condition of anonymity, but whom I believe are in the know about the project.
Jupiter is going to be a new user interface (UI) library for Windows, built alongside Windows 8. It will be a thin XAML/UI layer on top of Windows application programming interfaces and frameworks for subsystems like graphics, text and input. The idea is Jupiter will bring support for smoother and more fluid animation, rich typography, and new media capabilities to Windows 8 devices. (Not surprisingly, the more fluid UI capabilities also are on the feature set list for Silverlight 5.)
The high-level goal for Jupiter is to help Microsoft revitalize a world where developers write applications tailored for a specific platform. The days of “killer apps” optimized for Windows driving demand for Windows PCs are waning (if not already long gone). Microsoft’s hope with Jupiter is to provide Microsoft and third-party developers with a new framework, plus the next versions of Microsoft’s various development tools, to build what Microsoft is calling “immersive” applications.
Immersive apps are not meant to be Windows desktop apps. Nor are they necessarily pure Web apps. They are applications that will be built using C#, Visual Basic (and maybe C++). These apps will be developed using the new Windows 8 app model and take advantage of its inherent servicing and packaging technologies and that will be available via the anticipated Windows 8 app store.
Because Jupiter will be built off the same core XAML technology used in Windows Phone and Silverlight, there’s a good chance some of the Silverlight code developers already have written will be able to be reused to develop this new class of apps. Does this mean Windows Phone apps will automatically work on Windows 8 and be available from the Windows 8 app store? I don’t know but I am doubtful.
