Microsoft is open-sourcing Windows Calculator on GitHub
Windows 10
Microsoft is releasing the code and roadmap for its Windows Calculator as open source on GitHub. Microsoft announced on March 6 its plan to make Windows Calculator available under an MIT license for "clone-and-go" development projects.
Also: What makes Microsoft tick?
Microsoft is making available to the community the Windows Calculator source code, build system, unit tests and roadmap. Microsoft is suggesting that the code might be of interest to those who want to see how different parts of the Calculator app work and who want to integrate the Calculator logic or UI into their own applications.
Developers are going to be able to participate in discussions; suggest new feature ideas; prototype new features; report or fix issues; and design and build together with Microsoft's engineers. THose interested can use the Calculator source to learn about the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), XAML and Azure Pipelines and Fluent Design, officials said.
Must read
- This is not your father's Microsoft (CNET)
- Microsoft's obsession with Windows is ending (CNET)
- 10 apps to add features to Windows 10 (TechRepublic)
- How to set up a Windows 10 computer (TechRepublic)
The Windows Calculator project is here. Windows Calculator documentation is here.
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After 14 years, the iPad will finally get a built-in Calculator app, sources say
Apple's Calculator app has been conspicuously absent from the iPad since the tablet's launch 14 years ago. The curiosity surrounding why is now shifting to rumors that the native app will finally be included in iPadOS 18 later this year.
While Apple is expected to launch new iPad models in May, the company is also planning to announce new iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and macOS updates at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10. According to MacRumors, WWDC's opening keynote will also include an announcement regarding a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models compatible with iPadOS 18.
Also: Apple confirms next iPad event for May 7: Here's what to expect
While we don't have official word on why the iPad hasn't had a built-in Calculator app all these years, speculation has attributed the reasons to market positioning, encouraging third-party development, and -- maybe most credibly -- design philosophy. A person claiming to be a former Apple employee told the story on Reddit eight years ago, blaming the lack of an iPad Calculator app on Steve Jobs:
"A month before the release, Steve Jobs calls Scott Forstall into his office and says to him, "Where is the new design for the Calculator? This looks awful." He said, "What new design?" This is what we are shipping with. Steve said, "No, pull it we can't ship that." Scott fought for it to stay in, but he knew he had to get their UI team involved to design a new look for the Calculator but there was no way they could do it in that short time frame, so they just scrapped it."
Because iPadOS is built on iOS, many of the original built-in iPadOS apps were simply the corresponding iOS apps stretched to fit a larger screen. Steve Jobs thinking that the Calculator app filling the whole tablet's screen is an eyesore sounds like a plausible explanation. The same user finished his story by saying that the Calculator app has remained a low priority at the company.
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"We want to do it when we can do it really, really well. And we honestly just haven't gotten around to doing it great," Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said in an interview after WWDC 2020 regarding a native Calculator iPad app.
After 14 years, I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, this rumor is definitely another thing to look forward to during WWDC.
Apple
GitHub releases an AI-powered tool aiming for a 'radically new way of building software'
Over the past two years, generative AI has helped accelerate what programmers can do. Now, GitHub is giving them even more tools.
On Monday, the company launched a technical preview of GitHub Copilot Workspace, an AI-powered developer environment. The release builds on GitHub's existing productivity tools, including GitHub Copilot, launched in 2022, and Copilot Chat, which lets programmers use natural language to test and debug their code.
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"Within Copilot Workspace, developers can now brainstorm, plan, build, test, and run code in natural language," the announcement explains. "This new task-centric experience leverages different Copilot-powered agents from start to finish, while giving developers full control over every step of the process."
Copilot Workspace gives developers end-to-end AI support on whatever they're building, aiming to assist where many programmers get blocked: the beginning of a project. Starting with a GitHub repository or issue, engineers can work with AI-powered agents to address bugs and test possible solutions.
Because Copilot Workspace is familiar with the codebase and previous issue replies, the tool can then suggest and take steps to try to resolve the problem, all written in natural language.
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All of Copilot Workspace's steps and code suggestions are editable, meaning developers maintain control over what's deployed, but don't have to build every component to get there. Developers can run their final code in Workspace, make tweaks in GitHub Codespace, and share a link to their workspace with other team members, who can see how they used Copilot agents to realize the final product.
GitHub Copilot Workspace agents implementing steps in mobile.
According to the announcement, GitHub hopes to reimagine the entire developer experience: "Copilot Workspace represents a radically new way of building software with natural language, and is expressly designed to deliver -- not replace -- developer creativity, faster and easier than ever before."
By making software simpler and easier to build, the tool lets professional developers focus on bigger-picture systems instead of being mired in lines of code, GitHub explained. The company also wants Copilot Workspace to help beginner and hobbyist coders.
Also: Implementing AI into software engineering? Here's everything you need to know
GitHub aims to democratize coding for programmers of all levels by "quantifiably reducing boilerplate work," as noted in the release. "We are accelerating to a future where 1 billion people on GitHub will control a machine just as easily as they ride a bicycle," the company added.
Copilot Workspace can be used on desktop and mobile, and is now available for technical preview -- sign up here.
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