Microsoft makes it a lot easier to develop Windows 8.1 apps these days. A couple of us were joking about it on Twitter the other night after learning that a 9 year old boy had just written his first Windows 8.1 app and had it approved for the Windows Store. "So, easy a caveman can do it." I'm sure there's a legal hound scrutinizing that statement right now.
One of the easiest apps to develop is one that consumes and displays web content. There's quite a few apps like that in the Windows Store today. They're not superior apps, by any stretch, but they help fill the numbers gap between Microsoft and iTunes and Google Play, I guess.
Another such app has made its way into the Windows Store called "Microsoft Top Solutions." Again, not a stellar app experience, but it's actually the content in the app that might make it worthwhile for many of you. Microsoft Top Solutions pulls together the various topics maintained by Microsoft Support on their blogs and delivers it in app format.
As you can see from the first screen, the app gives quick access to many topics such as Exchange, System Center, Microsoft Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, and others. Tapping directly on a topic opens up the associated Top Support Solutions blog site. And, once there you can locate a solution of interest, and when it's accessed the modern version of IE11 opens in a snap window so you can consume the information yourself.
The pages that open can be located in KB articles, FixIT and hotfix articles, TechNet, MSDN, the Microsoft forums and the TechNet Wiki. So, there is true value in the app because it takes a bunch of different Microsoft sources and consolidates them into a central place. The app theme (color) reminds me of a roller coaster ride after eating half a pizza, but if you can get past the green-on-green, the app could prove very useful.
The app is free and posts for each covered product are updated quarterly, so while the front menu may not change, the content within it should.
The app is available by searching the Windows Store for 'Microsoft Top Solutions' or using the following link:
Download: Microsoft Top Solutions
