So here I am launching my blog.  It’s called OneWindowsDev.com and will focus on topics relating to developing software for Windows, be it UWP, Win32, Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile, or websites. But hang on, why do that, aren’t all those things either in decline or only recently launched and unproven? Yes, that’s probably true. So why am I writing a blog about it? Here’s 3 reasons.

It’s my area of knowledge

I am a software developer. I was educated primarily in Java, but since starting work in the professional world, it has been almost all done in the .Net Framework, using C# or VB, Windows Forms or WPF and using Visual Studio. In addition to my professional work, I have done some bits for myself, initially using C++ and QtQuick back when I owned a Nokia 900 and Nokia N9, but over time that too came to be in C#, though using the Windows Phone 7 or 8 SDK. You can read more of that at my old blog here. So in short, it’s something that I car about, and will be encountering frequently.

I’m still learning

One of the reasons for starting this is to help cement the things I learn for myself, and to share those insights with others. With UWP and  .Net Core, plus the rise of Xamarin and it’s incorporation to Visual Studio, there is plenty to learn about for the seasoned pro.  Throw in things like .Net Native, Unit testing, SOLID, deign patterns and good design (things my employer is both very good and very bad with) and that’s even more. Plus, it  at be clear by now that I’m not a web developer (this site is on WordPress rather than me writing my own and hosting in Azure, or even using the .Net Blogging engine), but the web world is changing rapidly, as is what it means to be an ASP.Net developer. Regardless, As I learn, I will be writing about it here.

I care about the Windows ecosystem

Yes, this is a part of it. It does matter to me if these things are successful. For better or worse, I am a Windows 10 insider both on phone and PC.  The laptop I’m using to write this is dual boot with Windows 10 insider fast ring in one partition and Windows 10 production in another. I have 4 phones, 3 Windows and one Android. I haven’t used the Android device in over a year, and of the 3 Windows Phone devices, one is running Windows insider fast ring, and the others are running release preview ring. My PC at home runs Windows 10 as well, and I own a Microsoft Band. At this point you are probably right to call me a fanboy or schill or whatever. I am realistic about the prospects for Windows 10 Mobile (I think) and fully intend to write cross platform code (and update the Android phone, maybe even use it). I like what Microsoft are trying to do and would like them to succeed in terms of universal apps and all that. I like XAML and think WPF and UWP are excellent as a result of it. I like the tooling Visual Studio provides.

Despite all this, the tech world is writing off Windows 10 Mobile and by extension UWP as dead. Should I just learn Java instead? Maybe.  There’s a fair argument there, though I think it’s less dead than some would make out, but perhaps more dead than others. I figure either in a year I will still be writing this blog with this name, or it will have been renamed to OneDev or something and be full of Java post about how I’m creating apps for Android and Chrome.

My last blog faded and I hope this one will be different. I can’t promise that it will, but my goal is to post at least once a week, and to not get distracted by tech news (one of my past failings) unless it’s really relevant to developers. In most cases, tech news is well covered by sites like Engadget, the Verge, the Register, or Windows specific sites like Thurrott.com, WindowsCentral and WinBeta. I will however, allow myself the occasional opinion piece as I’m sure you can appreciate, being a developer in the Windows space right now, there are certainly times when a good rant is justified, as well as recognition of the things that some people are doing well.

What I will post are posts that feature code snippets, posts that talk about design, testing and implementation of software and my own commentary on the state of the ecosystem, some talk about my own apps and other peoples, posts about managing, marketing, monetizing apps.  This should be enough variety for me to find something to write about, without resorting to posts about the Bank of America app releasing, or T-Mobile’s new uncarrier plan or some governments latest plan to spy on us all even more.

Scott Hanselman talked today in the DotNetConf day 3 session about how bloggers are an important part of the .Net Community. So here goes, my re-entry to the .Net community as a content creator. Blogger, and developer.