Microsoft Build: seeking to build a unified Windows

Microsoft's annual Build conference in San Francisco has, in recent years, become the place for product announcements, but there have been few surprises -- until now. Today's three-and-half-hour keynote had a long, geeky start, discussing cloud computing and databases, seemingly leaving few crumbs for those eager for news about Windows 10, Office 2016, and the Project Spartan Web browser. Then Terry Myerson, Microsoft's Executive Vice President of Operating Systems, came onstage. Sharp readers may remember him as the guy who announced in January that Windows 10 would be free for the first 12 months of availability. It turns out that he and the Redmond gang were not finished dropping surprises.

Windows everywhere

In a nutshell, Microsoft's game plan is Windows everywhere. For users, that means a more seamless experience through a unified platform, a unified store, and universal apps, because, as CEO Satya Natella said, "The mobility of the experience is what matters, not the mobility of the device." For Microsoft's business, Windows everywhere appears to mean aggressive market penetration -- as in, the company wants Windows 10 to be on 1 billion devices within two to three years of release, on desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and Xboxes. It's an ambitious goal that no other software platform has met. Making the operating system free should get things moving and perhaps wash away the bitter aftertaste of Windows 8. Even now, the company's dominant OS is Windows 7, now approaching six years old.

Cross-platform compatibility

Another weapon in the Windows 10 campaign: cross-platform compatibility. Microsoft demonstrated Android apps running on a Windows Phone, using the device's own navigation style and location-detection software to assist a hotel-searching app. The company also showed an iOS-only game running on a Windows 10 desktop, and a new program called Visual Studio Code (VSC) running on Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux. VSC is a free, entry-level version of Visual Studio 2015, and you can download the Visual Studio Code preview for free starting today. There was a time when Microsoft even mentioning Linux would make headlines, and now the company's running demos with it.

Windows Store

Microsoft is doubling down on the Windows Store, using it to distribute software like Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premier Elements, and several games from King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga. Myerson promised a unified Windows 10 platform enabling these apps would run on all devices that use the OS, thanks to a single version of the software. Developers would no longer need to have one set of programming code for a Windows Phone version and another set for a desktop version. Presumably, the end user would need to buy the software only once to have it work across devices.
Myerson added that Microsoft is working with over 90 mobile operators to design global payment instruments not tied to a credit card. There's a large market of potential customers in developing countries who have money to spend but minimal access to credit.

Office add-ons

Overall, Microsoft is betting heavily on integration across platforms, and integration of external products into its own. Another presenter showed off Office 2016 running a series of add-ons developed by third parties. We witnessed DocuSign working inside Microsoft Word, Excel logging directly into an SAP database, PowerPoint pulling slide images directly from a website, an Outlook calendar popping up notifications from Uber, and the Office suite running on an iPhone.

Edge browser and Cortana

In January, exec Joe Belfiore announced that Cortana (essentially Microsoft's version of Siri) would come to Windows 10. Today he announced that Web browser Project Spartan has graduated from its code name to its official name, Microsoft Edge. He walked through some of its behavior, which includes Cortana integration and a "new tab" page with app suggestions, Google Now-like cards for things like weather and sports, and of course a search bar that sends you to Bing, the company's competitor to Google search. Here and on the Windows 10 desktop itself, you can use voice commands to tell Cortana to send a text message or open a chat window to talk to a specified person. Last but not least, Belfiore said that Edge could use add-ons meant for Firefox and Chrome, with just a few tweaks. We were treated to a live demo of Edge using the Reddit Enhancement Suite.
Belfiore also showed off Windows Phone behaving like a desktop PC, simply by connecting it to a monitor with a video cable and setting up a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. The interface scales up using a Microsoft-developed system called Continuum; all programs designed for Windows 10 should be able to use Continuum to adapt in real time to different displays and input types.
Unfortunately, the keynote speech was a whirlwind tour, so we didn't get a lot of nitty-gritty on every app and feature. We also didn't get a release date for Windows 10, the Edge browser, or Office 2016, or details on when we'll see new features in tech preview or finished products. But Build 2015 is a multiday event, and we'll update you as we get more information. Stay tuned.