So the response to the latest update has seemed to go over pretty well! I'm glad everyone is enjoying the app. I've got several more updates in the works, although what the next major one will be is still up for debate. I'm working on several simultaneously while trying to figure out the final details of them. I really want to get a browser of some sort in there because that will be very useful. Making the browser itself won't be that difficult as I can re-use some code I already have, but I'm exploring the possibility of making websites also load and look LCARS themed when they do. I don't know if any success will come out of this, though, so don't get your hopes up!
The other thing I've been thinking about is making my LCARS control library more publicly available to those wanting to develop Windows 8 apps. The framework I designed to make my own life easier while developing this would save others tons of time as well and allow the creation of more LCARS-themed apps to happen. I certainly want to contribute to the community, although before I make it open to everyone I want to work out more of the final details of the eventual direction this app will take. I think everyone who likes this app would enjoy there being more of them around to do various other things, and I know there are a lot of good developers out there who can do a lot of things I can't! I would like to get a group of people together who want to develop Windows 8 apps (some of this stuff should be able to be re-used on Windows Phone also) and talk about helping them get started for this platform. Please contact me if this sounds like something you might want to do. There are some great LCARS projects happening for other platforms, and I'd to see something similar star for Windows 8.
I would like to recommend those of you who enjoy this app to sample some of the other LCARS software that is around if you haven't seen them yet. Regrettably I've never talked to the people who run these sites, but I have used them as valuable resources in some of the design work on my app and so I certainly want to mention them here. They also have some great communities behind them it seems. It is easy enough to find LCARS apps for Apple and Android devices, but the ones below may not be as easily found so I want to help promote them.
One such site to look at is http://www.lcars47.com. There is some great info here you should see if you plan to design anything to look like LCARS. The LCARS 47 software itself is fantastic also and a lot of fun.
Another Windows-based project is LCARS x32, which is essentially a program that replaces your Windows shell and uses LCARS to launch everything on your computer, and access settings and everything else. It has been in development for some time now and has a lot of features. I've had some issues getting this to work on Windows 8 initially, but I'm hoping to figure that out soon. This program is certainly more capable than mine can be due to the sandboxed nature of Windows 8 Store apps. For those x86/x64 based users, this is a more comprehensive solution if you want a program that can integrate more with Windows itself. Check it out here: http://www.lcarsx32.com/lcars/index.php
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