Build 2016 News: Redstone, Bash, Bots and More
Typing is so 2015. The future according to Microsoft will see humans interacting with artificial intelligence naturally through voice, touch, pens and holograms, aided by ever-more-sophisticated bots that can do everything from order you a pizza to message a friend about your travel plans. At least that’s the vision laid out by Satya Nadella and…
Games, HoloLens, Cloud Services Highlight Build 2016 Schedule
It wouldn’t be a developer conference without some surprises, and Microsoft is already getting us in the mood for Build 2016 with a mysterious description in the event schedule of a session on ‘Something Awesome.’ We’ll have to wait until Build kicks off this Wednesday for details, but the rest of the schedule promises a…
Microsoft Begins Private Testing of Newest Visual Studio Version
A lighter, faster version of Visual Studio will likely be on its way to developers soon, perhaps by Build 2016, ZDNet reports. Code named “Visual Studio 15″—but not to be confused with the already-available Visual Studio 2015—the new version has already been released to some developers in private previews, according to ZDNet. Testers report that the…
SQL Server on Linux: A Savvy Move By Microsoft
The graphic said it all: the words SQL Server and Linux, linked together with a cheerful red heart. Microsoft’s announcement yesterday that it will bring its popular data software to Linux servers is the latest sign of its ongoing love affair with the open-source community. It’s also smart business. As Microsoft’s Azure cloud services become…
HoloLens Development Kits Will Ship March 30
Ready to try your hand at building augmented reality apps? Microsoft will start shipping the first wave of its long-awaited HoloLens developer kits on March 30. Today is the first day to pre-order the $3,000 kits for developers who’ve already received invitations from Microsoft. (Haven’t received an invitation yet? Apply here. You must be a…
Microsoft Scraps Android-to-Windows Bridge, Tells Developers to Use Xamarin Instead
It’s official: Project Astoria, Microsoft’s effort to create a bridge for porting over Android apps to Windows 10, is no more. Just one day after announcing its acquisition of multiplatform app development company Xamarin, Microsoft released an update to developers on the company’s bridge projects, which reads in part: “We…decided that we would focus our…
Microsoft Buys Xamarin, Bets on a Cross-Platform Future
The past year has seen Microsoft take a number of strides towards realizing CEO Satya Nadella’s “cloud-first, mobile-first” vision. Once laser-focused on its own devices and operating systems, the company is increasingly platform-agnostic: It wants business customers and developers to use its cloud-based software, no matter what OS they prefer. On Wednesday, Microsoft took those…
Windows Store Algorithm Updated to Improve App Visibility
Frustrated that your app doesn’t show up easily in Windows Store? Microsoft says it’s taking some steps to update the algorithm that decides which apps appear in search results. The algorithm “has been adjusted to give more weight to app quality signals such as the number of downloads and ratings,” according to a Microsoft blog post.…
HoloLens Makes Strides, But May Not Be Available to Consumers Anytime Soon
In a jaw-dropping moment at this week’s TED conference in Vancouver, HoloLens creator Alex Kipman placed a holographic phone call to NASA scientist Jeffrey Norris, who was stationed at a HoloLens across the street. A life-size version of Norris appeared onstage with Kipman, who was wearing the Microsoft augmented reality headset. The two held a conversation…
Take a Peek Inside the Development Process for the Galaxy Explorer HoloLens App
The latest video out of Microsoft brings together two topics of fascination for geeks everywhere: augmented reality and outer space. A team of Microsoft developers is working hard to take the winning concept from the company’s HoloLens: Share Your Idea contest and turn it into a real app for use with the augmented reality headset.…
Registration Opens for Free Microsoft Edge Web Summit
Didn’t get a chance to register for Microsoft’s Build 2016 conference? As we previously reported, Microsoft is also holding a free mini-conference for developers on the Edge web browser, scheduled for April 4 in San Francisco, just a few days after Build. Registration opened recently for the 2016 Microsoft Edge Web Summit (thanks, WindowsCentral, for the…