Articles about Build 2016

The Notification Center in Windows 10 is a great idea but, many would argue, one that is both limited and poorly implemented. For anyone with a Windows 10 Mobile phone it is marginally more useful thanks to notification sharing, and this feature is due to expand to Android users as well.

At Build, Microsoft revealed that the Notification Center is in line for a major overhaul that will not only bring Cortana-power notification mirroring to Android users, but will also bring a richer, more image-heavy notification experience. The news isn’t so great for iPhone users as the more tightly controlled nature of iOS means Microsoft has a harder task on its hands.

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The smartphone market is essentially a three horse race these days. Android and iOS lead the way, while Windows Phone (or Windows 10 Mobile) limps along at the rear, looking for all the world as though it needs to be put out of its misery at the knacker's yard.

Today at Build, Terry Myerson admitted that Microsoft's mobile platform has failed to set the world on fire, going on to say that the company's focus is very much on Windows 10 for non-mobile platforms. This means Windows 10 for the desktop, Windows 10 for Xbox One, and Windows 10 for HoloLens and the Internet of Things. He acknowledges that mobile is "the wrong place for us to lead".

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Seemingly having learned nothing from its AI Twitter chatbot, Tay, Microsoft is experimenting further with bots. At Build 2016 today, the company announced Skype Bots and the Skype Bots Platform.

Designed to "bring expertise, products, services and entertainment" to Skype conversations, Skype Bots can be programmed to respond to chats -- and Microsoft will no doubt be hoping it is not left making another red-faced apology if things go awry. It's all part of Microsoft's vision of "conversation as a platform" and bots are available for the Windows Desktop, Android, iPhone and iPad versions of Skype.

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Apple has been hugely successful in building up an app ecosystem over the years, Microsoft rather less so. Today at Build, the Windows 10 manufacturer announced a tool that it hopes will bolster the number of apps that appear in the Windows Store: Desktop App Converter, part of the Project Centennial program.

The tool has been designed to make it possible for developers to convert legacy desktop apps into Windows Store-compatible AppX apps. The quick-and-easy conversion to Universal Windows Platform apps will enable developers to bring their creations to not just Windows 10 on the desktop, but also Xbox One and the Windows Mobile platform.

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At Build 2016, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 has now been installed on more than a quarter of a billion devices. But Build is about looking forward, not to the past or present. Windows 10 may have been lapped up by hundreds of millions of users, but there is already demand for the next big update -- and it's just on the horizon in the form of Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Due for release late summer -- although no date has been given at this stage -- Windows 10 Anniversary Update is described as an "interim release", but one that will feature "significant new features". Timed to coincide with Windows 10's first anniversary, the update will enable developers to make use of hundreds of new features in an updated API set.

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Since releasing Windows 10 last year, in late-July, Microsoft has provided a couple of updates on the adoption rate of its latest operating system. In early January, for instance, we were told that over 200 million active devices were running Windows 10 across the globe -- at the time, NetMarketShare placed it at 10 percent usage share.

Nearly three months later, we can expect Microsoft to boast even higher adoption figures. And, with Build 2016 underway, the software giant reveals that, indeed, there are many more devices now running Windows 10, over 270 million in fact.

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With Live Tiles, Microsoft has promised much but delivered little. This could be about to change. We're just days away from Build 2016, and there's a great deal of excitement about what could be revealed. Live Tiles, it seems, could be about to evolve into something useful.

The schedule for the developer conference has been posted online, and it sees Microsoft is entering full-on tease mode.  At a session called 'What's New for Tiles and Toast Notifications', Microsoft promises a couple of surprises. Build is aimed at developers so it's hard to predict exactly what's in store, but Microsoft's description of the session is certainly titillating.

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