Microsoft Build 2022

New Windows 11 users would soon be able to import their apps and files from their old PC/laptops thanks to a restore app coming to the Microsoft Store.

Up until now, users have had to manually install apps on their new Windows 11 PCs, but with the new Restore app, apps tied to your Microsoft account can directly be imported to your new device.

“To make it easier for customers to transition to their new PCs quickly and seamlessly, we will soon test a new feature in the Windows Insider channel that helps customers automatically restore their apps, previously installed from the Microsoft Store, to their new Windows device. This will also help developers retain their customers without having to remind customers to re-download their app,” reads Microsoft’s blog post about the update.

In addition to restoring apps, Microsoft is also making it easier for users to lookup new applications to download from the Microsoft Store. Users will be able to type the name of the app they are looking for in the Windows Start menu and look at results without having to open the actual store. Users would also be able to download the said app from the Start menu. “Start is a highly used surface in Windows, and over half of customers search from Start regularly. When customers search from Start, they often search for apps, so Windows Search is a valuable new channel for acquisition of Store apps,” reads Microsoft’s blog post.

Check out all the other Microsoft Storeu pdates announced today here.

Image credit: Microsoft

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft kicked off Day one of its annual Build conference today by introducing a range of new tools and platforms for developers.

The keynote kicked off with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela talking about ten new technologies that are “coming together as a powerful platform” to help developers build what’s next:

Developer flow
cloud ubiquity
App ubiquity
Cloud data
unified data
Models as platforms
Hybrid AI
Low code/No-code
Collaborative apps
Metaverse

For starters, Microsoft introduced ‘Dev Box,’ its new cloud service for developers with ready-to-code workstations that allow coders to focus on work instead of workstation configurations and maintenance. Since Dev Boxes are hosted in the Microsoft Cloud, they work on all Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS devices, and also on all major web browsers, giving developers an option to not be bound to a physical PC, and rather, “spin up a virtual machine (VM) and provision it automatically in the cloud, reducing limitations and delays.”

Developers using Dev Box can create a developer portal to access specific Dex Boxes for different projects. Microsoft is offerings Dev Box in a private preview today, with the cloud service going public in the “next few months.” You can sign-up for the feature here.

Moving on, the Redmond, Washington-based company unveiled its Project Volterra, a developer kit powered by an unnamed Snapdragon compute platform that will let developers explore several AI scenarios using Qualcomm’s Neural Processing SDK for Windows toolkit. The dev kit comes alongside a mini-desktop PC, though it won’t be available as a retail product. From what we know so far, the mini-PC will sport three USB ports, a DisplayPort and an Ethernet port. Microsoft didn’t reveal much else about Project Volterra, though it did say that it will share more information about it at a later date.

Microsoft is also revamping Teams by introducing a new Live Share feature that will allow users to work on a shared document together in real-time, making group meetings more collaborative. Developers, on the other hand, will be able to develop new collaborative software and applications inside Microsoft Teams.

Live Share is built on Fluid Framework, Microsoft’s web-based platform for interactive experiences that it debuted at 2019’s Build conference. Some of Microsoft’s partners, including Accenture, Hexagon and Frame.io have already started building with Live Share.

Check out all the other announcements made on Microsoft Build’s Day one here.

Source: Microsoft