Microsoft Build 2015 Top Highlights: Day 2 Keynote

Introduction

Following the first Keynote was the second day of Microsoft's annual developer's conference Build 2015, happening in San Francisco. It was the time to kick off the second Keynote. During the first day's keynote, Microsoft focused on "bridging" strategies for developers. There was talk about the new Azure, new Visual Studio Code, new app environments, developer-friendly approaches, and much more. But the second day was focused on Media Content. It was opened by Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer and John Shewchuk. A quick video was used to provide developer feedback from various companies on how they feel Microsoft's treatment of developers has changed.

The main key points of the keynote were

1. Media and Entertainment
2. Commercial Apps
3. Building for Windows 10
4. Cross Platform
5. Data and the Intelligent Cloud
6. Gaming

1. Media and Entertainment: Steve Guggenheimer and John Shewchuk began the Keynote with Media and Entertainment. They Introduced partner Muzik to the stage. Muzik is a music developer who has worked on creating low-latency Bluetooth air drumsticks. So, the focus point was Music. Other music-related demos followed the Muzik drumsticks from a company called Propellerhead. Propellerhead shared their cross-platform experience developing collaborative music apps for Windows, iOS, and Android.
2. Commercial Application: Next, attention was commercial applications and App Developers. The team behind the numerous programs at work shared a bit about the business place for apps since a significant portion of the developer's on-site work is commercial. When reviewing batches of code the tools let these developers run their work behind their respective enterprise firewalls. When singling out Autodesk and three-dimensional printing, Microsoft posited that we are fast approaching the point where 3D printing departs from the “modeling” scheme and it will now become an applicable manufacturing space. To that point, Autodesk's Spark 3D printer has integration with Windows 10. (The phone arena.)
   
3. Building for Windows 10: This point was the Maximum time consumer. Everyone was talking about Windows 10, Windows 10 …. Windows 10. The speaker presented the process of building Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. There was talk of developers gaining the ability to use their existing code to build new Windows 10 in the demo. Now a developer can get the advantage of Web, Win32, C++, NET, and Objective-C code. So say thank you to Microsoft. Another presentation had the functionality of web apps serving more native functions. Windows 10 and the idea of web applications were further supported by top brands like FitBit, Shazam, and Rdio. These hardware-dependent applications were used to show the flexibility as well as the potential for web apps.
4. Cross Platform: This section showed how an existing web-based application was containerized into a Windows 10 app, allowing it to take advantage of X-Box achievements and Cortana. Since very little code must be changed to make it an app, the developer could focus on adding Windows 10-specific features. (Says InfoQ.)
5. Data and the intelligent cloud: This was my favorite part, a long talk on Big Data Analysis and real-time reporting. A famous application called “How Old Do I Look” helps show the power of an intelligent face analysis API in the Azure Marketplace. The demo included topics like the potential of PowerBI and Azure Stream Analytics. There was a long and interesting talk about cow tracking and machine learning that will help reinvent the industry of power management.
   
6. Gaming: And finally it was time for Game Lovers, as above, then Candy Crush and Temple Run. There was something special in this demo: Square Enix showcased the photorealistic real-time rendering of DirectX 12 on PCs. Beyond Windows 10, Microsoft announced some new open-source projects that enable modding of one of their largest titles, Minecraft. Aidan Brady, who is a Minecraft modding celeb, was brought out to help show off how simple Microsoft is making modding in Java.

The preceding are the key points of the Day 2 Keynote. David Treadwell, Corporate Vice President of the Operating System Group, summed up what Microsoft said: “We live and breathe developers. Your code is the soul of your app.” Stay tuned for the Day 3 Keynote.

• Image/content Credits: keynote video and Google/MSDN. Read Key Highlights of Day 1: Microsoft Build 2015 Top Highlights: Day 1 Keynote.
• Watch recordings of the event: Channel9.