All the Big Things Microsoft Announced Today at Build 2016
Microsoft Build is always full of news about Windows, Office, Xbox and other Microsoft products, and Build 2016 was no exception. We’ve seen the latest Windows 10 update coming this summer, new features for Xbox One, and updates to the Windows Store. Here are the best new items we’ve seen.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update Coming This Summer
Microsoft will release a major update for Windows 10 this summer, affectionately called the Anniversary Update . It will be free to anyone currently using Windows 10, and Windows Insiders can download the new builds and try them out today. The Anniversary Update includes a ton of improvements and new features that we’ll go over one by one.
Windows 10 apps, including Microsoft Edge, can support biometric authentication
Fingerprint support is very popular these days, but mostly on mobile devices. Microsoft got into the game on Windows 10 with Windows Hello , which lets you use your fingerprint to sign in to your devices. Windows 10 will now allow developers to integrate the same authentication into their own apps and websites. If the developer supports Windows Hello (and if your device has a fingerprint reader), you can sign in to your email, Microsoft account, or other web service without entering a password and simply using a supported fingerprint reader.
Windows Ink makes the pen a much more powerful tool
Half of the problem with stylus on computers is the lack of software to support them. With the Anniversary Update, Windows 10 will receive additional support for pen tools. Microsoft’s new Ink Workspace lets you sketch, write notes, annotate screenshots, and find pen-enabled apps.
Microsoft is also offering new APIs for developers to add nib functionality to their apps. Some of the more interesting are the virtual ruler, which users can freely rotate and move to make drawing easier on the screen, and some auto-alignment and adjustment tools to do everything from highlighting text in place to drawing neat and tidy diagrams. Any lines drawn along the edge of the ruler will remain perfectly straight. Microsoft has already added support for this tool to several applications, including Office, but developers can add it to their own applications with a couple of lines of code. This should make it easier to find stylus-enabled apps.
Bash is coming to Windows
What is life in general.
Users of Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and OS X are probably familiar with the Bash shell – it controls your life on the command line. Microsoft has now teamed up with Canonical, the company that supports Ubuntu, to bring the Bash shell to Windows. For developers, customizers, and people using multiple platforms, this is very important . You can now use the same commands that you are familiar with OS X and Linux distributions inside Windows, and this includes everything from managing files to developing and installing applications.
It also opens up a whole host of new tricks for command line aficionados that are not available on the DOS-style command line. Microsoft points out that this is not an emulator or virtualized application , but Bash runs directly on Windows natively .
Windows Store gets more apps and game features to be bundled with Xbox One
So far on Windows 10, the Store has been a little odd. There are some modern apps worth using , but most developers haven’t added their apps to the Store yet. Microsoft now makes this much easier with a simple app converter. Developers can run old win32 apps to make them compatible with Windows Store very quickly.
To demonstrate this, Microsoft showed off Age of Empires II, a very old but classic game that works like a native modern Windows 10 application. It was the same application as on Steam, just run the converter. This was the only step required to create a modern Windows Store compatible app. Microsoft demonstrated the same for The Witcher 3 live on stage, transforming it into a full-screen modern experience. That’s quite a lot already, and developers now have an alternative, more carefully curated store where they can sell their games to consumers.
In addition, Microsoft announced that it will merge the Windows Store with the Xbox One App Store, which will bring modern desktop apps to the Xbox (if supported). The user can flip a simple switch to turn their Xbox One into a development device. kit, and developers can use it to optimize their apps for playing on Xbox One. This applies not only to games, but also to any universal Windows application.
As Microsoft is unifying the Store for both platforms, this means that on Windows, developers will also support features such as packs, pre-orders, and Season Passes that were previously exclusive to the Xbox. The Windows Store is rapidly emerging as a competitor to Steam for more than just games.
Cortana moves to other platforms and learns new tricks
With the latest Windows 10 update, you will be able to use Cortana right from the login screen without logging in (no personalization, of course).
Cortana is also getting smarter by integrating everything it knows about you across all Microsoft products. For example, Microsoft introduced a user asking the question, “Which toy store did I visit last year at Build?” Cortana has recognized that Build is a Build 2015 calendar event and is checking the user’s location history for that time interval last year for any toy stores that have been in or nearby.
Microsoft is also opening Cortana to other developers so they can add features that integrate with the assistant. For example, Microsoft showed off the Just Eat app, which can optionally prompt you to send food if you have a meeting at lunchtime. Developers will not receive information Cortana collects about you, unless, of course, you permit.
Microsoft artificial intelligence tools help developers build powerful chatbots
Microsoft’s AI plans don’t end with Cortana. The company also introduced tools to enable developers to build powerful chatbots. For example, Domino’s was willing to showcase a bot that could take natural language pizza orders and send that information to your local store.
These chatbots can also communicate with Cortana. In the Skype app, Cortana was able to open conversations with third-party bots that might ask for specific information. For example, one app called Cups and Cakes notified Cortana of a delivery. Cortana then asks the user if she agrees to share her location. The location is not shared with a third-party app until the user grants Cortana share permission.
In the same call, Microsoft demonstrated how event booking can work. First, they told Cortana to add the event to her calendar. Cortana then prompted them to book a hotel room in advance and asked if she could add a third-party bot to book a hotel room. The user can then approve or deny this request. In this case, the Westin bot was added to the conversation to help the user find and book a hotel room. There may be some privacy issues when your personal assistant starts talking to third-party bots, but we need to see how this works in practice.
Chances are there’s more hiding behind the new Windows 10 update. We’ll be looking at the Anniversary Update as soon as it arrives for Insiders to cover what Microsoft hasn’t been able to announce yet.