Build 2014: Microsoft shows off the future of Windows – The Verge

Microsoft is finally catching up to the future

2014-04-07T13:30:01-04:00

"We started out as a company that was focused on developers…we're again in that era now," proclaimed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on stage at the company's Build conference last week. The stakes are high: long renowned for its great relationship with developers, Microsoft is now watching them slip away. Last week's dev-focused event was Nadella's chance to prove that he would fight to win them back. In this moment of crisis, he stands poised to radically alter Redmond's future.

Take free Windows on small devices, for example. Ten years ago, the concept of giving away the crown jewel of Microsoft's product portfolio would have been unthinkabl …

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Microsoft unveils Windows in the car, battles Apple CarPlay

2014-04-05T14:53:44-04:00

Microsoft has been powering a lot of different car entertainment systems over the years. Ford, Kia, BMW, Nissan, and Fiat have all used special versions of Windows to create their own interfaces and systems, but Microsoft is also focusing on its own "Metro" user interface for its Windows in the car future. At the company's Build developer conference this week, Microsoft's Steve Teixeira revealed what that future will look like. It's actually a lot like Apple's idea of CarPlay, a method to project what's on your phone screen directly onto a car's infotainment system display.

Microsoft has created a concept that it's currently testing in real …

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Skype for Windows Phone 8.1 has FaceTime-like calling and Cortana control

2014-04-02T20:35:05-04:00

Skype will soon release an app for Windows Phone 8.1 that will allow users to upgrade their regular calls to video calls and use personal assistant Cortana to start Skype calls using voice control. The app will integrate into Windows Phone 8.1, adding a video button to the phone's standard dialer menu that will activate its camera, turning a cellular call to a Skype video call.

Skype will be integrated with Cortana, meaning users won't need to enter the app before using voice control. Instead, the phrase "Skype, get [insert contact] on video" can be used to start a Skype call from a Windows Phone 8.1's home screen or menus. Skype says the n …

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Watch this: Microsoft’s three-hour Build keynote in seven minutes

2014-04-02T16:52:22-04:00

Microsoft spent three hours today showing developers where it's going in the next few months, and beyond. As usual, its annual Build conference was chock full of code demos, but the company also spent its time showing off the next update to Windows Phone, which features a voice assistant named Cortana. The new tool shares the same name and voice of the AI character from Bungie's Halo series, and lets you search Bing and do things on your phone with your voice. It's playing catchup to voice assistants found on smartphones from Apple, Google, and Samsung, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Updates for Windows Phone and Windows

The present …

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Nokia announces Lumia 930, a flagship for Windows Phone 8.1

2014-04-02T14:02:47-04:00

Nokia has unveiled the Lumia 930, a new flagship smartphone running Windows Phone 8.1. The new phone has a 5-inch, 1080p display housed inside of a rectangular body with metallic sides and a colored back, either orange, green, white, or black. It bears a strong resemblance to the Lumia Icon too, which was introduced for Verizon earlier this year. "The 930 is just a beautifully crafted device," Stephen Elop, Microsoft's upcoming device chief, said while introducing the phone.

Low-cost Lumias will bring Windows Phone 8.1 first

The 930 has a Snapdragon 800 processor, supports wireless charging, and includes a 20-megapixel PureView camera with a …

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Microsoft is bringing the Start Menu back

2014-04-02T13:49:39-04:00

Millions asked for it, and Microsoft is providing it: the old Start Menu is coming back. Kind of. At its Build conference today, Microsoft announced a new Start Menu that looks like a hybrid of the best of Windows 7 and Windows 8. It's around the same size as the Windows 7 menu, but also features miniature Live Tiles along one side.

In the same demonstration, Microsoft also showed a new mode that allows modern Windows 8 apps to run in the desktop environment inside their own windows. It's a return to Windows' roots for Microsoft, and will make a lot of keyboard and mouse users very happy. If any of these ideas sound familiar to you, that mi …

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Microsoft making Windows free on devices with screens under 9 inches

2014-04-02T13:46:45-04:00

Microsoft today said it will make Windows free of charge for phones and tablets with screens smaller than 9 inches, a move designed to help boost the company's market share. The announcement comes alongside plans to let developers make universal applications that work on all devices running Microsoft's software - both Windows Phone and Windows. That feature is headed to Windows 8.1 as well as Windows Phone 8.1, which was also detailed on stage and is arriving on mobile devices in the next few months.

For smartphones and small tablets

Microsoft has been experimenting with a free, or low-cost version of "Windows 8.1 with Bing," which includes a …

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Microsoft unveils redesigned Office for Windows touchscreens

2014-04-02T13:11:31-04:00

Using Office on a touch screen will get a whole lot easier soon. Microsoft has unveiled a new version of Office that gives each of its apps a mode built around use on a touchscreen - a feature that their predecessors quite noticeably lacked.

The new version, which Microsoft calls "a preview of a work in progress," looks quite a bit like the Office that was unveiled for the iPad just last week: apps have a simple bar on top, leaving most of the screen below for viewing documents. Most importantly, the toolbars are sparsely populated and feature buttons that should be large enough and spaced far enough apart that they'll be easy to select wit …

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Microsoft’s new universal Windows apps run everywhere, from phones to the Xbox One

2014-04-02T12:49:52-04:00

Microsoft is introducing universal Windows apps, a way for developers to create a single app that works across Windows phones, tablets, PCs, and the Xbox One. "All of us want the same app experiences across all devices," David Treadwell, a Microsoft operating system executive said while introducing the new type of apps. "Yet today there's no easy way to create apps that work across all form factors."

"I don't have to buy a different app for the phone and the PC."

That's changing within Microsoft's ecosystem, as Treadwell demonstrated on stage at Microsoft's Build developer conference while showing features coming in Windows 8.1 and Windows P …

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Windows Phone 8.1 brings a new look and a Siri rival named Cortana

2014-04-02T11:46:46-04:00

"I'm thrilled for you all to now meet our truly personal digital assistant for Windows Phone," says Joe Belfiore as he introduces the Bing-powered Cortana voice assistant. Belfiore is demonstrating all the new features in Windows Phone 8.1 at Microsoft's Build conference, with Cortana being the major highlight.

Cortana is very much Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri, Samsung's S Voice, and all the other voice assists software suites out there. It lets you manage basic phone functions, set appointments, perform searches, play back music, and set so-called quiet hours when only your inner circle of contacts may reach you. Similar to Google No …

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