Design tips for Windows 8.1 apps

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This week I have been at Campus Party in the TheO2 which is pretty specular location for any event. During the week I have been discussing apps and game development with 1000s of students. One of the most popular questions I have had was what are the to main 8.1 changes? This lead into lots of discussions around  the fact that the snap view is optional and the default view is 500px.  The fact that there are 2 more tiles sizes, and the search capability is in app search and much smarter and finally there are a number of new controls.

So here a quick summary of all the facts and resources if you have questions about any of the above.   

Windows 8.1

· Windows 8.1 Preview http://windows.microsoft.com/preview

· Windows 8.1 Feature Guide http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/bg182410

· Windows 8.1 UX/UI http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/bg182890.aspx

· Windows 8 UX Design Jump Start (MVA) https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/windows-8-ux-design-jump-start

· For further design information https://design.windows.com

//build/ Sessions

Some useful sessions to watch from Build.

· Designing and Building User Interfaces for Windows - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-168

· Upgrading Windows 8 Apps to Windows 8.1 - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-077

· Beautiful Apps at Any Size on Any Screen - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-150

· What's New in XAML - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-164

· What's New in WinJS - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-165

· Building Apps that Work Together - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-010

· Building Apps That Integrate with People and Events - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-007

· Design and Build a Great Search Experience in Your App - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-144

· Alive with Activity: Tiles, Notifications, and Background Tasks - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-159

· Monetization Opportunities for Windows Store Apps in Windows 8.1 - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-121

· First Impressions Matter: Delighting Your User from the Moment They Click “Buy" - https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/2-095