Straight from Microsoft Build 2015.
Microsoft Build
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Goodbye, Internet Explorer. Windows 10 comes with a new built-in browser called Microsoft Edge. Microsoft Edge, which staffers have referred to as "Project Spartan" until today, has built-in Cortana (the company's personal assistant that's similar to Siri), built-in note-taking and sharing features, and a more personalized "new tab" tab.
Published on April 29, 2015 at 11:32PM
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The app for sharing anonymous updates is in the process of closing its doors.
Secret
BuzzFeed News has learned that just over a year after it debuted, Secret — the anonymous social app that made headlines around the world as a possible harbinger of truly anonymous social networking — is closing shop.
David Byttow, Secret's founder and CEO, notified employees on Tuesday and began the process of issuing severance packages, sources tell BuzzFeed News. Byttow has not returned requests for comment.
Once a hotbed of Silicon Valley gossip, Secret has been losing momentum since its high-profile launch. The app has reportedly been hemorrhaging users as of late and, at the end of 2014, underwent a major redesign, favoring text-only posts rather than photos.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.
Published on April 29, 2015 at 10:16PM
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Focusing on his work in education in Florida, Bush got big cheers for talking about an immigration overhaul and reestablishing a strong relationship with Israel, from the largest group of Hispanic evangelicals in the nation.
Ricardo Arduengo / AP
HOUSTON — Jeb Bush said undocumented workers should be able to come out of the shadows, pay a fine, work, and eventually gain earned legal status in a speech to a major Hispanic evangelical organization Wednesday.
Speaking to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) with his parents George H.W. and Barbara Bush in the audience, the former Florida governor focused on his work in education in the state — but got big applause for talking about immigration and Israel.
"We have to fix the broken immigration system and that means controlling the border and making sure legal immigration is easier than illegal," he said. "But it also means dealing with 11 million undocumented workers... where they pay a fine, they work, they do what they want to do which is come out of the shadows, provide for their families and over a period of time get earned legal status."
Bush knew his audience — education is always a top issue for Latinos in the U.S. and NHCLC does much of its work in education and immigration — as he connected his experience working on education in Florida with the state's current success with Hispanic students.
He spoke of visiting 250 schools when he ran for governor the second time, and stressed his work to raise standards for students and enact a corporate tax-voucher program. He credited this work with growing the Hispanic graduation rate from 47% to 75%, 10 points above the national average, with Latinos now making up 25% of all Florida students.
The biggest applause line, however, was when Bush said the U.S. must reestablish a strong relationship with Israel to bring stability to the Middle East. At the NHCLC conference Tuesday, the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition (HILC) was launched which aims to be the largest pro-Israel Latino group.
The speech Wednesday followed appearances in Puerto Rico earlier in the week — two Hispanic-focused events that did not go unnoticed by Democrats. (The DNC and EMILY's List blasted Bush on Wednesday on his opposition to President Obama's immigration executive actions and his support for defunding Planned Parenthood, respectively.)
Despite the presidential emphasis surrounding Bush, his speech Wednesday made only one nod to his expected campaign, saying if he is going to go beyond considering running for president, he wants to share who he is and spoke about how his life changed in Mexico when he met his wife.
Bush argued immigration can separate the U.S. from places like Japan, which has a declining population, and Europe, which does not embrace a set of shared values.
"Immigration is a key element of our country's success," he said. "We're a nation of immigrants and it's not time to abandon something that makes us special and unique."
Microsoft makes it easy for developers to rework code written for rival platforms to run on Windows devices.
Mikko Stig / Getty Images
Microsoft has finally figured out a way to bolster its piddling share of the smartphone OS market: by giving developers an easy way to port Android and iOS apps to Windows 10 so they can run on Windows devices, notably phones.
Onstage at Microsoft's annual Build developers conference, Windows division boss Terry Myerson said the company has developed an easy way for developers to reuse existing Android and iOS code to build apps for Windows.
"We're allowing you to reuse nearly all of the Java and C++ code from Android phone apps to create apps for phones running Windows 10," Myerson said. "To make this possible, Windows 10 will include an Android subsystem."
To rework iOS apps, Microsoft has developed an Objective-C compiler that recompiles applications written for Apple devices to work on Windows 10 mobile devices.
Microsoft's move to help developers easily rework their Android and iOS applications on Windows phones is a dramatic shift for the company and a tacit acknowledgment that it has so far been unable to develop a world class mobile app ecosystem to rival those of Google and Apple. Despite its best efforts, Microsoft has failed to claim any significant share in the smartphone market.
According to February metrics from IDC, Windows Phone accounts for only 4.2% of the smartphone OS market. Meanwhile, Android and iOS have claimed more than 93%. A key reason for that: Microsoft's fumbled early runs at the smartphone market, which hampered the growth of the broad app ecosystem that is today table stakes for success. If Microsoft truly hopes to be a viable third-place hopeful in the smartphone market, giving developers a quick and dirty way to port their Android and iOS apps to Windows could do much to bolster its app offerings and fill the holes in its mobile app ecosystem.
But in doing so, Microsoft is taking a big risk. It's giving developers one more reason not bother writing native mobile apps for Windows phones. Potentially more problematic: It's setting itself up to code behind Apple and Google to ensure apps ported to Windows continue to work well as those operating systems evolve. While the company clearly has the resources to pull that off, scrambling to keep up with Google and Apple is not at all a good place to be.
Published on April 29, 2015 at 09:01PM
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