All the news from Microsoft’s 2013 Build developer conference – The Verge

Microsoft’s secrecy is a growing problem for Xbox One apps

2013-06-28T10:00:06-04:00

Xbox One Build 2013 stock 1020

For four years now, Microsoft has been telling us that the future would be Windows, running across "three screens and a cloud." Now that Windows 8, Windows Phone, and the Xbox One are all being built on top of the same common core, we expected the company would have more to share about the realization of that vision at this week's Build developer conference. Developers need to know how to create, port, and publish apps and games across all three platforms, and Microsoft needs those developers to give its new platforms momentum and staying power. At Build, we were particularly optimistic to hear whether the Xbox One and Windows PCs might shar …

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Microsoft shows off a wall of 200 Windows Phones you can control remotely

2013-06-27T19:53:01-04:00

Gallery Photo: 200 Windows Phones at Build 2013

Microsoft might not be ready to talk about Windows Phone updates at Build, but that hasn't stopped the company from showing off a wall of 200 phones running its mobile operating system. The display was built by Windows Phone developer Rudy Huyn, and it contains 200 Lumia 825 developer devices that can be controlled remotely. Huyn helped build an app that powers the interactive display that demonstrates the Windows Phone interface and Nokia Maps. All the devices simply sit mounted on the wall waiting for a signal from a custom Windows Phone app. We've seen similar efforts on other devices before, but this impressive display is the first time …

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Microsoft anticipates 7-inch, 7.5-inch, and 10.6-inch Windows 8 tablets at super high resolutions

2013-06-27T17:59:22-04:00

windows 8.1 resolution targets 1020

Leading up to Microsoft's Build developer conference there were a number of rumors related to a possible Surface announcement. Now that both keynotes are over it's clear there's no new 7- or 8-inch Surface tablet or a refreshed Haswell Surface Pro. However, Microsoft appears to be dropping some accidental hints at the future of Surface and other 7- and 8-inch tablets.

In a session today at Build, on building apps across multiple screen sizes, Microsoft showed off some of the anticipated screen sizes for small Windows 8.1-powered tablets. Although the list, used in the company's developer tools for testing, wasn't exhaustive, one particular …

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Microsoft teases Windows 8 apps on Xbox One, says devs get a ‘head start’ by building now

2013-06-27T14:20:05-04:00

Gallery Photo: Microsoft Build 2013 stock images 1020

Microsoft's Build developers conference in San Francisco has mainly focused on Windows 8.1 so far, but the company spent a few minutes talking about the future Xbox One development platform on Thursday. Steve Guggenheimer, vice president of Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism group, provided big hints at how developers can target the Xbox One in the future. "Xbox one has two engines, it's got a gaming engine and it essentially has a Windows 8 engine," said Guggenheimer, referring to the new Xbox One architecture that lets the next-generation console run on the Windows 8 kernel.

Guggenheimer demonstrated remote debugging of a basic …

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Foursquare rolling out its first native tablet app on Windows 8

2013-06-27T12:56:17-04:00

Gallery Photo: Foursquare for Windows 8

Check-in service Foursquare is apparently showing off its first native tablet app today, and it's for Windows 8. The Next Web reports that at the Build conference today, Foursquare announced an app specifically designed for Windows 8 tablets. Little more is known about it, but the app fits with Microsoft's coming focus on small Windows tablets, which Steve Ballmer said yesterday would be massively scaled up in the coming months. Checking in on a full-sized Surface (or iPad) may not be the kind of experience Foursquare originally had in mind for its app, but an 8-inch device can be easily pulled out at a restaurant.

So far, …

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All screens great and small: Windows 8.1 on an 8-inch slate and two Retina Display competitors

2013-06-27T10:00:06-04:00

Gallery Photo: Microsoft Build 2013 stock images 1020

Microsoft's Windows 8 introduced some interesting new user interface paradigms, but it did so on a very limited selection of screens. To have a compelling touch experience, you pretty much needed to have a laptop or tablet with a low-resolution display larger than 10 inches. Here at the company's Build conference, though, the company's trying to let us have our cake and eat it too, scaling the interface to high-density displays, huge desktop monitors, and diminutive 8-inch tablets. This week, we got to try all of those out on the Build expo floor.

A gift horse whose teeth are hard to ignore

Acer's Iconia W3, an 8-inch tablet given free to all …

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Microsoft: we’re third place with Windows Phone, not afraid of BlackBerry

2013-06-26T20:45:05-04:00

wp8 vs BlackBerry

Microsoft has focused on Windows 8.1 this week at its Build developers conference, but the company has a few sessions on Windows Phone too. Speaking to The Verge on Wednesday, senior Windows Phone product manager Larry Lieberman outlined the company's perspective on Windows Phone 8's progression. "We think we're solidly the third ecosystem right now," says Lieberman. "That's a huge announcement in some respects." In fact Windows Phone overtook BlackBerry in May, but it's still very much a two-horse race with Android and iOS dominating.

Lieberman isn't worried about BlackBerry though. "I don't think they can bring to the table some of the th …

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Windows RT 8.1 preview: all the additions you’d expect, but no desktop removal

2013-06-26T20:30:08-04:00

Windows RT 8.1

Windows RT was largely unmentioned during Microsoft's Build opening keynote on Wednesday, but the company is also releasing a preview version of Windows RT 8.1 this week. Designed to update ARM-based tablets to the same features that Windows 8.1 provides, there's little difference between the two. I got the chance to run Windows RT 8.1 on a Surface RT and see exactly what Microsoft has improved.

First things first, the desktop mode remains. Despite not being able to install and run traditional desktop applications, the desktop mode in Windows RT 8.1 is still present and includes the Start button just like its x86 counterpart. It's not that …

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Windows 8.1 Preview now available to download

2013-06-26T16:28:19-04:00

Windows 8.1 hands-on

If you're ready to bring back the Start button, you can head over to Microsoft's website to download the Windows 8.1 Preview right now. The Preview release is open to all users, though any machine that isn't running Windows 7 or later will have to perform a fresh install to get it working. For those already on Windows 8, Microsoft is offering the 8.1 Preview directly through the Windows Store. To access it, users have to first visit Microsoft's website to initiate a small update to Windows itself. Afterward, their device will restart and direct them to a download of the 8.1 Preview update.

Update: Microsoft has opened the Windows 8.1 Previe …

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Xbox One’s Kinect now ready for $399 Windows developer pre-order

2013-06-26T12:30:04-04:00

Kinect Xbox One 560

Microsoft is opening up pre-orders for development kits of its next-generation Kinect for Windows. The new peripheral, which was unveiled at the Xbox One launch in May, features a vastly improved sensor set and microphone array that can recognize movements and people with greater accuracy and in larger numbers. Starting today, developers can sign up for a development kit that will include a pre-release version of the new Kinect, early access to a new SDK, and the final product when it's ready. The price is set at $399, but not everyone ordering is guaranteed a kit - Microsoft will pick successful developers after registration closes on July …

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