Windows 8 brings a style of applications familiar to us using Windows Phone known as Metro. Although Metro Windows Phone apps were built in Silverlight, many predicted the demise of Silverlight since early previews of Windows 8 focused solely on HTML5 support. The keynote of the BUILD conference dispelled this notion by presenting us a full picture of the applications supported in Windows 8.

Windows 8 supports applications that run on Windows 7. It also supports the new style of applications even using HTML5 and JavaScript. This will open the doors to developers with skill sets not traditionally associated with the Windows developer. Accessing essential resources such as printers and services is provided over the WinRT APIs. Since the next version of the .NET framework is 4.5, it is likely that these APIs will be provided in assemblies that operate on top of the .NET 4 assemblies.

It’s interesting to note from the diagram that Silverlight is listed under supported Desktop apps, but only XAML is used under Metro style Apps. I’m not sure if this means the Silverlight brand is being dropped, Silverlight and WPF are both supported, or if metro XAML apps represent a new technology. I suppose we will discover this as the BUILD conference progresses.

Like the Windows Phone, applications can be distributed by the new Windows Store. This looked very similar to what we already have on create.msdn.com. The site to presumably sell applications in the future and to get info in the present is dev.windows.com.

Windows 8 introduces many terms such as charms. If you want to be able to talk to the talk, take a look at Windows 8 Features and Terminology. I recommend watching the entire keynote of the BUILD conference, but if you don’t have time, Todd Anglin shares the Top 10 Moments from BUILD Day 1 Keynote. Finally, keep up with the sessions through the Channel 9 site.

On another note, I just realized I will have 100 hours of videos to watch by the end of the week. Good luck!