Developer interview: Dave Amenta of Send to WP7

This calendar week we have the pleasure in being joined by Dave Amenta, who'south the brains and developing power behind the likes of Send to WP7. Check out the insightful interview later on the intermission.

Tell us about yourself, what you lot do, background around programming etc.?

Hi, I'thou Dave Amenta. I graduated from Central Connecticut State University in May, and equally of three weeks ago, I'm an engineer at Microsoft working on the next version of Windows. In 2002 I decided that I wanted to be a software engineer and that I wanted to build Windows.

Fast forrad through thousands of late nights, lots of VB, C#, C/C++, Coffee and others, 4 years of college, and I'm hither. I honey technology and I'm specially excited for the ubiquitous computing revolution. I was an iPhone enthusiast until I could get my hands on a Focus, and I tin can't see a reason to go back.

What path(south) led you to develop for Windows Phone?

Having diverse Windows development skills, it was an easy sell to switch from WPF to Silverlight for the phone. I didn't know what app I'd write, but I knew I had to put something in the marketplace once I got my telephone. The inability to easily shoot a link to the telephone was an obvious target, and I figured I'd close that gap with a nice costless app.

How do you find the development procedure on WP7?

For the virtually part, I really like it. The tools are fantastic; the emulator is fast and fluid. I especially like how quickly one can get upward and running with new applications. Information technology'southward actually possible to go from zero to a working app in simply an hour or and so. I've built a ton of apps, merely nigh of them won't e'er brand it into the store. I had a blast doing homebrew, simply the managed framework really is fantastic.

The almost shocking matter I found is that, after writing Windows Telephone apps, I felt that desktop development was but then much more than deadening. Information technology's fantastic that so many of the implementation details are removed, so you can really focus on the app y'all want to create.

Has the you developed for other platforms and if so how does their evolution procedure compare?

I've done iPhone development, and simply a little scrap of Android. I thought Apple had washed a pretty good job with Objective-C and UIKit, but equally is often publicized, the Windows Phone tools actually blow information technology abroad in some key aspects. I think we've already got a lock on the most programmer friendly platform.

What do you retrieve of the platform (from a user perspective), and how practise yous compare information technology to competitors?

I really similar how continued Mango feels. I've constitute it much easier to keep up with everything (mail, letters, Twitter and Facebook) than I did with iPhone. I often find myself thinking "well, I don't take anything else to bank check on my phone now." The "glance and go" advertizing didn't work well, but information technology really is that way in practise. I honey it; I just hope our competition doesn't catch on soon.

What's the number one feature you beloved the nearly in Mango?

That's a tough choice; Mango was actually a "amend everything" update, and then I find that I was surprised with new stuff all over the phone. I think it'south a tie betwixt the messaging hub and IE9.

What other WP7 projects are yous working on or planning to start?

I've had an Orb streaming customer set for months, simply it needs some work and I'm non certain when it'll be in the shop. I'grand thinking about Send to WP7 v2, simply I'm not sure exactly what that'll entail—the virtually requested feature is something that is completely out of the scope of the app. Any I do side by side, it'll probably interoperate with Windows 8, though.

Ship to WP7 is a highly successful app, what'due south your secret?

I recognized the demand early on for a "Chrome to Phone" type application, and I simply filled the gap. My 1.0 wasn't very skilful, but I'm happy to have filled a niche and provided a valuable service for those who want to shoot links or files from their PC to their phone. No undercover hither.

How practice y'all feel well-nigh the overall quality of apps in the Marketplace?

I retrieve we've made fantastic progress in the by 10 months, and I'm excited to see more popular apps inbound the platform. Getting a one.0 is key; nearly of the iPhone 1.0'south were not of great quality, but they iterated and have fantastic experiences today. Information technology's really virtually gaining traction, and I remember nosotros're going strong.

What communication would you give to aspiring WP7 developers?

My communication to any aspiring programmer is the aforementioned: continue at it. Put in your 10,000 hours and you'll exist an accomplished expert before you lot know it. Persistence is key in software; everything can be solved past applying more attempt. Remember that in that location is always a solution.

What do you lot think virtually the hereafter of Windows 8 and Windows Telephone integration?

I can't comment on this. :)

Thank you for your time. Whatever closing words well-nigh WP7'southward time to come?

Thank you for the interview, I absolutely dear WPCentral! Nosotros're off to a corking start, and I'm confident that the smartphone war is but just starting time. The foundation is strong; we've got a great platform to movement forward.

In that location you take it folks, unfortunately our flim-flam question about Windows viii didn't fool Mr Amenta. Should you wish to find out more than nearly his projects, head on over to his personal website and follow him on Twitter.

The Dell XPS 15 is our choice for best 15-inch laptop

Buyer'south guide

The Dell XPS 15 is our choice for best xv-inch laptop

For a lot of people, a 15-inch laptop is a perfect size that offers enough screen for multitasking, and in a lot of cases, some actress performance from powerful hardware. We've rounded up the best of the best at this size.