Desktop apps ported to Windows RT

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GoodDayToDie

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The purpose of this thread is to provide a list of desktop apps which have been recompiled to run on hacked Windows RT devices. A secondary purpose is to request or discuss such ports. Listing apps which run without recompilation (.NET 4.x) and providing libraries which are ported and/or known to work are also good uses of the thread. However, major apps, or those expected to lead to significant discussion, should probably get their own thread. Please help keep this one organized.

Please post links to compiled apps for Windows RT desktop, and if possible also link to their source code. I will make minimal testing of the apps before listing them, but nothing extensive; apps may have known or unknown issues, and it's even possible that somebody will link malicious apps here. Use at your own risk.

DO NOT request ports of closed-source applications! It's not possible (unless they're pure .NET 4.x, in which case they don't need to be ported) and you will look like a fool and waste your time. Additionally, at this time, code which requires GCC to build (i.e. can't build under MSVC) is impractical to port.

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GoodDayToDie

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Apps which have been recompiled:

Apps which run un-modified

Native-ported libraries (mostly for developers/porters)

Apps removed for known issues:
  • MonoTorrent Client. BitTorrent client, both GUI and CLI. Currently experimental/alpha quality, many people have reported that they can't download anything. GUI, CLI, More info.
 
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GoodDayToDie

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Thanks all. I'm looking at compiling UniKey (although it will be an old version, as the development 4.x branch is not yet open sourced). I'll also look into ipmsg. Appreciate the links.

EDIT: Ugh. The GPL for UniKey is a lie (ironic, since the author *****es about people violating the GPL with his code... yet doesn't comply with it himself). It relies on a library which is only distributed in binary form, RtfIO. I can probably build the 3.1 version (which is from 2006, and should be pre-RtfIO) since, aside from the occasional piece of truly awful code practices (lots of implicit types and improper use of variable scoping) that may have been permitted by older compilers but don't work in VS 2012, there's nothing difficult about building the app. I could even build 3.6 if the author would release an ARM version of RtfIO... I couldn't legally distribute it under the GPL at that point, but I could build it.

Unless you want me to give 3.1 a shot, you're going to have to ask the author for either the source to RtfIO or an ARM-compiled .LIB file of it.
 
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GoodDayToDie

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I've been looking into a bittorrent client already.

Transmission, unfortunately, is one of those many open source apps which technically compile on Windows, but only within a GNU-like environment, and in particular it expects to use GCC. While it may be possible to use MinGW to cross-compile for Windows on ARM, that's not the native behavior and will take more investigation.

EDIT: Hadouken, at hdkn.net, appears to be a pure .NET app. It's distributed as a .MSI which doesn't work on ARM< but it may be possible to build it for .NET 4.5 architecture-independent, in which case it should run on Windows RT. It's a BitTorrent client the runs as a Windows service rather than a normal desktop apps, and uses a web interface to control it. Should work fine, though...
 
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djboo

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GoodDayToDie said:
I've been looking into a bittorrent client already.

Transmission, unfortunately, is one of those many open source apps which technically compile on Windows, but only within a GNU-like environment, and in particular it expects to use GCC. While it may be possible to use MinGW to cross-compile for Windows on ARM, that's not the native behavior and will take more investigation.

EDIT: Hadouken, at hdkn.net, appears to be a pure .NET app. It's distributed as a .MSI which doesn't work on ARM< but it may be possible to build it for .NET 4.5 architecture-independent, in which case it should run on Windows RT. It's a BitTorrent client the runs as a Windows service rather than a normal desktop apps, and uses a web interface to control it. Should work fine, though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

http://sourceforge.net/projects/wintransmission/ seems to be a c# port of transmission. less dev than the QT version, but more suitable for us.

I will be taking a look at the effort involved in getting a dev environment working (either monodev or sharpdevelop)
 
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GoodDayToDie

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@windowsrtc: I got IPMsg working, it's fine send and receive. I had to remove some platform-specific debug code (I could have written the ARM portion, but was feeling lazy) but it shouldn't matter except that crash logs won't be generated.

Binaries, including installer, are in the smaller ZIP file. Modified source code used to build them is in the _SRC archive.
 

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programabd

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VLC - do you think Surface RT has all the OS components required for VLC? I would like mkv support on Surface RT and VLC would be a good step in that direction.
 
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GoodDayToDie

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@programabd: I think VLC uses some assembly in its decoders, which will make porting difficult. I know there are ARM build already, do it's possible, but there are lots of thing which build on Windows, and build for ARM, but don't build for WIndows on ARM.

@apatcas: Already looked into it. Getting Java support would give a huge number of apps ready-to-go, and however distasteful I find the language or however bad the browser plugin security is, it would be good to have. Unfortunately, the only ARM-ready versions of Java currently available are for Linux, not Windows. It's possible to port, of course, but it'll be a lot of work.
 
martyj999

martyj999

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programabd said:
VLC - do you think Surface RT has all the OS components required for VLC? I would like mkv support on Surface RT and VLC would be a good step in that direction.
Click to expand...
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Haven't they started making their own port through the kickstarter campaign, they're making a windows 8 metro style app first then stating on an Rt version, probably not see it this side of Christmas though :(

Edit: here's the link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1061646928/vlc-for-the-new-windows-8-user-experience-metro
 
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programabd

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martyj999 said:
Haven't they started making their own port through the kickstarter campaign, they're making a windows 8 metro style app first then stating on an Rt version, probably not see it this side of Christmas though :(

Edit: here's the link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1061646928/vlc-for-the-new-windows-8-user-experience-metro
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Thanks - I wish they would just bypass the handcuffed Metro environment, and just go for a full port to desktop ARM, but that's pretty unlikely :)
 
MinhBao92

MinhBao92

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May 18, 2011
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GoodDayToDie said:
Thanks all. I'm looking at compiling UniKey (although it will be an old version, as the development 4.x branch is not yet open sourced). I'll also look into ipmsg. Appreciate the links.

EDIT: Ugh. The GPL for UniKey is a lie (ironic, since the author *****es about people violating the GPL with his code... yet doesn't comply with it himself). It relies on a library which is only distributed in binary form, RtfIO. I can probably build the 3.1 version (which is from 2006, and should be pre-RtfIO) since, aside from the occasional piece of truly awful code practices (lots of implicit types and improper use of variable scoping) that may have been permitted by older compilers but don't work in VS 2012, there's nothing difficult about building the app. I could even build 3.6 if the author would release an ARM version of RtfIO... I couldn't legally distribute it under the GPL at that point, but I could build it.

Unless you want me to give 3.1 a shot, you're going to have to ask the author for either the source to RtfIO or an ARM-compiled .LIB file of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

he leaves no contact information so I think there is no way to ask him for anything. In that case, if only you could help us building the 3.6 version which could be better with the open source on his website, I think 3.1 is enough for use. We, vietnamese, really appreciate your effort. Thank you.
 
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windowsrtc

Senior Member
Nov 21, 2012
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35
GoodDayToDie said:
@windowsrtc: I got IPMsg working, it's fine send and receive. I had to remove some platform-specific debug code (I could have written the ARM portion, but was feeling lazy) but it shouldn't matter except that crash logs won't be generated.

Binaries, including installer, are in the smaller ZIP file. Modified source code used to build them is in the _SRC archive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thank you
finally I found I didnt use it in the right way.I must select a "user"before sending a message and it works.
 
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