windows

Smooth Interaction and Motion with the Visual Layer in Windows 10 Creators Update The Composition APIs come with a robust animation engine that provides quick and fluid motion running in a separate process from your Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app. This ensures a consistent 60 frames per second when running your app on an IoT device as well as on a screaming gaming machine. It is, quite simply, fast. This is an essential capability for implementing the Fluent Design System which calls on us to create a sense of cinematic motion in our UWP apps. The Composition APIs also provide something you probably have never had access to before: the ability to create high-performing, low-level manipulation-driven custom animations like the one shown above.  In the same way that we that want our visuals to be fast and smooth, we want [ more… ]

Windows 10 Tip: Personalize your PC with new themes in the Windows Store Choose from endless options to make your PC yours, including hundreds of wallpapers, sound options, and custom accent colors. Themes include plants and flowers, landscapes, animals, natural wonders, cityscapes – anything to suit your style. The photography, art, and illustrations you see come from creators across the globe. Windows 10 is all about letting you express yourself and create, and customizing your PC is a great way to jump into the Creators Update. Here’s how to find themes in Windows 10: If you have the Creators Update, you can open Settings, select Personalization, Themes, and then the “Get more themes in the store” link – or, click here to go right to the Windows Store. Once downloaded, you can launch your new theme from the Windows Store [ more… ]

Smooth as Butter Animations in the Visual Layer with the Windows 10 Creators Update The Windows 10 Creators Update marks the third major release of the Windows UI platform APIs. With each release, an attempt is frequently made to simplify features introduced in prior releases. This encourages Universal Windows Platform (UWP) developers to standardize on these features. The new hide and show implicit animations are an example of this. At the same time, too much standardization can potentially lead to conformity, so with each new release more powerful visual features like the new custom animations are also added, which allow developers who are willing and able to dive into them to customize their user interfaces and stand out from the crowd. This inherent tension between ease of use and the power to customize rewards developers for their efforts while also [ more… ]