Windows BUILD Conference Announcements for Windows 10

So this week at the MS BUILD Conference in Seattle - we learned a few things about the Redstone 3 branch of Windows 10.

 First it now has a really lame name the "Fall Creators Update" and second the scheduled release is this September - so slightly earlier than expected.

 In my opinion the big focus was on mixed reality.  Back in Feb at the WinHEC hardware conference in China - there was a big emphasis on a new line of low cost VR headsets and 3D.  Well it appears as though we'll start to see those new capabilities starting this "Holiday Season".  It will be interesting to see what software titles will be coming out this year to support this deluge of MR hardware.

 MS did demo one cool new capability coming to the Photos app called Story Remix.  This allows you to easily edit and create you own video stories using a combination of your local content, cloud capabilities, Groove Music and Ink.  It demonstrated using multiple input modes from touch to mouse to pen.

 Also in a video side story was an update on Windows on ARM.  Still with a ways to go it will meet the promise of providing a full windows experience on ARM based systems include running legacy apps.   Just not sure if we'll see a device for it by the end of this branch.  

 Other new features coming include new Clipboard, Sync and Sharing capabilities with iOS and Android via MS Graph as well as a new Timeline based tracking so you can pick up where you left off and a One Drive improvement called On-Demand that will cache down a local copy of a file as needed.

 And we also heard a little more on Windows S or Store Edition.  This is the non-side load version of Windows.  To that end MS announced that Apples iTunes app will now be available in the Store.  Unfortunately Chrome won't be.  So devices running Windows S will be limited to Edge.

 Since BUILD is a Developer focused event, MS also announced a new update to Visual Studio and more importantly something called the Fluent Design System. The Fluent Design system allows developers to add attributes and capabilities like Light, Depth, Motion, Material and Scale to their apps very quickly with small code changes.  The goal is to continue to improve the user experience across not only on Windows but iOS and Android apps as well.  

 Notice I didn't say Windows Mobile or Phone.  

 Bottom line is from what I can gather from BUILD the focus on the Fall Creators update will be on MR support, Windows on ARM and App capabilities like Story Remix, OneDrive on Demand and Cortana Timeline.

 So I can't say 100% that this will be the new rhythm of Windows - so new name in the spring followed by a fall edition - but we do know that MS will start syncing Windows / Office releases - which in my opinion is way overdue.

 Finally it was announced that Windows 10 reached the 500M device mark.  So we are nearly 2 years since the initial Windows 10 release and MS expected to reach 1B devices by 2018.  I think it may take another 2 years to get there.





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