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PDC: Some concerns about Avalon, XAML

Today was day 2 at PDC and the developer sessions showed off some incredibly cool technologies that will be in Longhorn.

Longhorn promises to be a panacea for software developers. But what about users?

This article on JoeUser.com talks about some possible gotchas that Longhorn may introduce.

There are 4 much talked about technologies in Longhorn at PDC. They are: Avalon, XAML, WinFS, and Indigo.

WinFS (Windows Future Storage, a new way to manage your stuff) looks positively revolutionary. Indigo is an umbrella for a host of existing technologies wrapped together into a simplified set of net services that will make working with non local data much easier. It took looks incredibly promising.

Avalon, visually, is stunning. And its companion, XAML, promises to merge application design and web design together. And this is where some concerns are coming up. Especially when combined with the Microsoft mantra: Managed code.

It's great that developers will be able to much more easily create interfaces that serve what the program does more easily. Amazon.com demoed an application that showed this off. But consider this -- do we really want every program to have a significantly different user interface? There will be templates and guidelines for sure, but are win in for a new era of flaming logos and gratuitious animations in programs that users may have little ability to customize for themselves?

It's still way too early to come to any conclusions. And no one can doubt that Longhorn is going to be revolutionary. It is definitely going to be nicer for software developers. The question is, will it be nicer for end users? That is what the article on JoeUser asks.

News source: WinCustomize

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