Plotting out the book topic list this past weekend on flights home from New Zealand, it occurred to me that I need to start writing the darn thing too. I mean, anyone can announce that they’re going to change the way they publish books. But the trick is to actually write the book.
And you have to start somewhere.
Windows Phone 8 is a tough topic currently because it’s not available yet. I don’t have a device, though I do have a leaked copy of the SDK, which provides some clues, but not enough to base chapters of new information. So for the first chapter (or perhaps “topic” depending on how the structure pans out), I figured it made sense to stick with something that was somewhat substantial (i.e. not Calculator) but not likely to change too much between the current version of the product, Windows Phone 7.5, and the next.
I chose Calendar.
Now, I should warn you up front: I tend to write in a, well, non-linear fashion. So I may move on and off Calendar in the days ahead, and like everything else in the book, this topic will need to be readdressed and updated over time as the Calendar app (in this case) in Windows Phone 8 is updated. (Assuming it is.) But ... yeah, let’s start with Calendar.
I’ve written a lot about the Windows Phone Calendar app in the past, both on the SuperSite for Windows and of course in Windows Phone Secrets. I won’t be referring to that work while writing this chapter, however, and that will be the case throughout the book: This is all-new content, period. I won’t be plagiarizing myself. But that also means I’ll need held here as elsewhere to make sure I’m giving this topic the right amount of coverage.
This will be easier once I’ve actually written text for the book, but my notes for this chapter currently includes a super-set of the following:
Introduction – Calendar is part of Outlook Mobile
Accounts integration – Microsoft account, Outlook, Google, Facebook
Understanding the user experience
Calendars and meetings (appointments)
Create and mange appointments
Multiple calendar support
Facebook events
Quick events
To-do list
Live tile
Notifications
Meeting features: Running late, see who’s attending
Integration with Mail (view and respond to meeting requests in email) and Lync (join conference call from a calendar meeting)
Integration with Maps (address for meeting links to a map)
Integration with Speech (press and hold Start button and say “Open Calendar”)
Anyway, I’ll get started on this chapter this week. As always, things change once the writing begins, but you have to start somewhere.