Trying to develop a cross-platform app with a decent UI in any .NET language is hard. There's never been an optimal way to deploy everywhere and while attempts have been made to provide usable libraries, they're all works in progress. Even Microsoft's Xamarin.Forms is mobile-only. That, however, will change with version 3.0, with Microsoft promising support for Windows, macOS and Linux.

If you're a developer who want to start creating cross-platform mobile apps using Xamarin tools in Visual Studio, Microsoft has released a series of detailed videos that guide you through the process.

So, Xamarin is now bundled with Visual Studio and licensed in such a way that you can use it for whatever you like, but that doesn't help the budding cross-platform developer get a handle on the "how". If you're looking for a head start, Microsoft has an excellent video just for you.

It's been years in the making but Microsoft has finally released its open source .NET Core, essentially a stripped down version of the company's full blown .NET Framework that is used to create mobile, desktop and web applications for Windows machines. .NET Core, however, is cross platform, available on Windows, OSX and Linux, making it easier for developers to use .NET for apps on different devices. This is a big deal for .NET and Microsoft as a company as it continues fly the flag for open source. Here's what you need to know.

The repercussions of Microsoft's acquisition of Xamarin have been amazing so far, but it wasn't all going to be rainbows and sunshine. After two years of operation -- which included its purchase by Xamarin -- the ahead-of-time (AOT) Java compiler RoboVM is going to be shut down.