The Microsoft Build Tour is a World Tour where in developers building applications for Microsoft hear about the latest Microsoft updates firsthand from Microsoft experts at the Microsoft Build conference. After the keynote, Microsoft hosts practical sessions covering recently released Cloud and Windows technologies throughout the day.
Microsoft Build Tour 2017 India
India, being the hub of IT professionals, was excited about this tour, and as expected Microsoft did not disappoint people. Held on 21 June 2017 at Hyderabad, the conference began when Pete Brown, Principal Program Manager, Windows & Devices development group addressed the crowd of web developers, .NET developers, and C++ coders.
Commencement
Pete started by mentioning creator companies like Adobe, Autodesk and how important such applications are for Windows before moving to the main attraction of the day – Windows 10 Fall Creator’s update. With updates like the integration of Linux apps in Windows, the ability to use Ubuntu, Open Suse, and Fedora, etc., Windows is trying to pull developers working with other platforms to shift to them.
Features discussed for Developers at BUILD
Universal Windows Platform
Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a platform-homogeneous application architecture for Microsoft- based-platforms, which would help developers create a single application that could work on Windows 10, XBOX, hololens and Windows 10 mobile without re-coding it for each of them. This helps developers reap more while investing lesser time and effort.
A few improvements for C++ coders-
An update for C++ coders is that they would be able to open the code directly from Visual Studio. The older versions of the application would be improved upon. It was mentioned that developers would be able to develop, run and test the applications on the same device, thus saving time and effort.
Windows Fall Creators Update
Windows 10 Creators Update was quite awaited when launched earlier this year, and Microsoft is planning to launch another Windows Fall Creators Update later this year. This would bring along with it a lot of new features, a few of them mentioned as follows:
- Cloud-powered Clipboard – The cloud-powered Clipboard would help users copy-paste between Windows 10, iOS and Android devices. Being the first of its kind, this would make togging work across the platforms easier.
To explain it better, let us consider an example. Assume you were still working on a powerpoint presentation, and copied some text from it. Cloud powered clipboard will let you paste the same text on some other device, let’s say this time it is an android device. Cloud-powered Clipboard acts as one clipboard for all your devices irrespective of the platform. - Pick Up Where You Left – This feature could be useful for those who work across different devices. It would allow them to continue with their work while changing devices.
- OneDrive on-Demand – Onedrive on-Demand would make accessing files stored on the cloud easier than before.
A detailed demo of the changes
Romit Girdhar took over Pete to explain a little more about the upcoming changes. He gave a full-fledged demo of what Pete explained in a zest. He told developers that anything they could do in Objective-C, Swift or JAVA can be done in C# with XAMARIN.
Apple is bringing iTunes to Windows Store
It was announced that Microsoft has been working with Apple over bringing iTunes to Windows store. iTunes is one of the most searched application online, which was missing from the Windows store. This addition would be very helpful for Windows users. Though, Chrome might still take time to be approved for their online store.
Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
Motion controllers for upcoming mixed reality headsets were displayed at the meet. It was announced that Acer would be selling Windows mixed reality headsets and the motion controllers as a bundle for $399 this year. They could also be pre-ordered in US and Canada.
Timeline Integration
Let’s say you were working on a PowerPoint on your PC and left it in the middle to go somewhere, and it happens that you are carrying your surface book. With the help of Microsoft graph you can resume right where you left the presentation by telling Cortana to do so. This feature is called timeline integration. Timeline integration might prove to be one of the most amazing of features.
Wrap-up
The policies and upcoming updates discussed at the conference clearly signalled that Microsoft is conscious of the potential of developers working on other platforms like Linux and iOS. They want to pull the cream of developers towards their own platform and are making policies that would favor them accordingly.
