Microsoft’s TechRewards Program Will End in January
Microsoft is shutting down TechRewards, its program that allows developers to earn points toward new products by completing challenges and quizzes. The company announced Thursday that all challenges have been discontinued, and members have until January 6, 2017, to redeem any points they have collected. Microsoft inherited the program, once knowns as DVLUP, when it…
End-to-end Testing Electron Apps with Spectron
You’ve built a really awesome Electron application, but you want to include a few automated tests to make sure a regression doesn’t occur? Spectron is here to help! Spectron is Electron’s end-to-end testing library. Let’s see how it we can set it up to use in our own Electron projects. If you want to go straight…
A Brief Tour of Azure IoT Hub
I’m preparing some material for a webinar on Azure IoT in mid-October (you are signed up, aren’t you?) and thought I’d do a quick intro to the basic concepts and moving parts. Azure IoT Hub is a cloud-scale service for managing and securely communicating with large numbers of field devices (potentially millions at once); communication…
Answers to Your Burning Xbox Dev Questions
How do I protect my Xbox in dev mode? Can I publish my non-game app to Xbox One? Now that Microsoft is further opening up the Xbox platform to developers, you might have questions about either bringing an existing UWP app to Xbox, or developing directly for the gaming console. Microsoft’s recent live video training…
How to Try Microsoft HoloLens for Free
Not sure yet if you want to spring for a $3,000 HoloLens Developer Kit? If you haven’t yet gotten to try out Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, you’re in luck: The company is taking its HoloLens Roadshow to select Microsoft stores in the United States and Canada beginning this month. Pre-register online to try out a…
From Muggles to Holograms: What’s On Tap for This Year’s DevIntersection Conference
DevIntersection, a cross-discipline conference for Microsoft developers, has been growing in size, and this year’s event will include keynote speeches from Microsoft execs Scott Guthrie and Steve Guggenheimer as well as presentations from journalists covering Redmond like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley. But of course, the highlight of the event, which takes place Oct.…
Paid Extensions Added to Visual Studio Marketplace
Microsoft’s Visual Studio Marketplace, home to hundreds of extensions for Visual Studio, VS Team Sevices and VS Code, will now offer paid as well as free extensions, the company announced earlier this week. Software companies will be able to sell their extensions to developers that use the Visual Studio integrated development environment under monthly licenses…
Submit Your UWP App to Xbox One, and Other New Windows Dev Center Features
Developers who’ve built apps and games using the Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK can now offer them in the Xbox Store. The change is part of a number of Dev Center updates announced Monday by Microsoft. Games submitted to Xbox One will still be subject to concept approval. “This ensures games on Xbox deliver the…
Microsoft Will Ditch Azure RemoteApp, Replace With New Citrix Service
Microsoft plans to drop its Azure RemoteApp service over the next year, instead partnering with Citrix to develop new solutions for allowing remote access to Windows apps from a variety of devices. Azure RemoteApp has given businesses the ability to deploy apps from the cloud to employees who are using PC and mobile devices running Windows, Mac…
Windows 10 Anniversary Update Also Available for Raspberry Pi 3
The long-awaited Windows 10 Anniversary Update is not only available for PC, Xbox and—starting August 16—mobile. There’s also a Windows IoT Core upgrade that will work on Raspberry Pi 3. Developers working on Internet-of-Things projects with the affordable, credit-card-sized maker board can now enjoy an easier set-up experience and other new features, according to Microsoft.…