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Introduction
The Microsoft Insider Dev Tour looks at the latest Microsoft technologies for developing intelligent experiences today. as well as a peek into the future. Today, I will share my wonderful experience at the tour with you.
Insider Dev Tour 2018 Speakers
The Insider Dev Tour 2018 was hosted by the following speakers:
- Pete Brown: Pete is a Principal Program Manager in the Client and Devices Engineering Engagement and Evangelism team at Microsoft.
- Jeremiah Marble: Jeremiah is a creative coder at Microsoft, where he is currently the Director of Marketing for the Windows Insider Program.
- Jaime Rodriguez: Jaime is on Microsoft’s Client Evangelism team.
- Dona Sarkar: Dona is the head of the Windows Insider Program at Microsoft.
- Marcus Perryman: Marcus is a Principal Engineer at Microsoft.
- Pivendren Naik: Pivendren has been a South African Microsoft MVP since 2017.
Insider Dev Tour 2018 Agenda
The agenda looked as follows:
| 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM | Opening |
| 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Modernize your Existing Apps for Windows 10 |
| 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Get the Most Out of your Web App With a PWA |
| 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM | If(dev) { Insider(); } |
| 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM | Create Productive Apps with Office 365 |
| 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM | Drive User Engagement Across All your Devices with Microsoft Graph |
| 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Get Started with Machine Learning |
| 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Build Mixed Reality Apps |
This was exciting! Throughout the day, lots of new features and exciting new Microsoft technologies—including Windows, Azure, Office, AI, PWA, and Graph—were introduced. I will talk about these now.
Windows 10 New Features
The following is a list of Windows 10 Build 17713 improvements and features.
Microsoft Edge Improvements
- Per-site media auto play controls
- Lookup definitions for words in Reading View, Books, and PDFs
Notepad Improvements
- Wrap-around find/replace
- Text zooming
- Line numbers with word-wrap
- Ctrl + Backspace to delete the previous word
- Performance improvement when opening large files in Notepad
New Features
- Remote Desktop with Biometrics
- Web Sign-in to Windows 10
- Faster sign-in to a Windows 10 shared PC
Azure Stack
Azure Stack is an extension of Azure to run hybrid applications on-premises. Benefits of the Azure Stack include:
- Update and extend legacy applications with modern Azure services on-premises
- Latency and connectivity requirements for edge and disconnected solutions
- Develop applications once and deploy in Azure or on-premises to meet regulatory and policy requirements
Azure Sphere
With Azure Sphere, you can securely connect MCU (Internet-connected microcontroller)-powered devices to the Cloud. Azure Sphere provides a foundation of security and connectivity that allows you to create products and experiences that enable the Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities.
Azure IoT Edge
Azure IoT Edge enables you to extend Cloud intelligence and analytics to edge devices. Azure IoT Edge is a fully managed service that delivers Cloud intelligence locally by deploying and running artificial intelligence (AI), Azure services, and custom logic directly on cross-platform IoT devices. Pete Brown presented a nice demo with a drone that could identify certain objects.
Office 365—Extensions
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams in Office 365 provides the following services:
- Online meetings
- Live broadcasts
- Meeting spaces
- Cloud video interoperability
- Audio conferencing
Adaptive Cards
Adaptive cards are a new cross-product specification for cards in Microsoft products, including Bots, Cortana, Outlook, and Windows.
Microsoft Graph
Microsoft Graph is the API for Microsoft 365 that connects you to Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security.
MSIX
MSIX allows you to create a single package for all Windows platforms. MSIX is a complete containerization solution that inherits all the features in UWP and applies to Win32, WPF, Windows Forms, and UWP applications.
XAML Island Wrappers
With UWP XAML Islands, you can access the more flexible XAML controls regardless of which UI stack you use—whether it’s Windows Forms, WPF, or native Win32.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
PWAs are Web sites that are progressively enhanced to function like native apps on supporting platforms. The qualities of a PWA combine the best of the Web and native apps.
Windows Hello API
Windows Hello is the new biometric sign-in system built into Windows 10. Windows Hello allows face or fingerprint identification to unlock users’ devices.
.NET Core 3
The major improvement in .NET Core 3 is support for Windows desktop applications (Finally!), specifically Windows Forms, Windows Presentation Framework (WPF), and UWP XAML. You will be able to run new and existing Windows desktop applications on .NET Core!
Mixed Reality
Mixed Reality is the result of blending the physical world with the digital world. There are two main types of devices that deliver Windows Mixed Reality experiences:
- Holographic devices: Place digital content in the real world as if it were really there.
- Immersive devices: Create a sense of “presence:” hiding the physical world and replacing it with a digital experience.
Conclusion
Overall, the Insider Dev tour was great. It was exciting to see all the new technologies coming out soon and learn how to make use of them as a developer.
