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Build 2015 Student Diary – Day 2

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Hi all! This is me again, Steven Cooreman, bringing you my impressions of the second day of Build 2015. And, well, where to start?

While the first day’s keynote session was all about new features and product introductions, the second day’s keynote kept it very close to developers’ hearts. During the two and a half-hour session on Thursday morning, we got practical examples of how to use some of the tools and features unveiled on day one. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that led to a slightly less frantically paced show, and a lot more depth. Still, for a second time, student developers got the first shout out of the show!

We saw some very nice and practical use cases for Azure Machine Learning (more cow!), how to effectively take advantage of multiple screen sizes in a Unified Windows Platform app, and how to integrate existing Android and iOS codebases into Windows Phone.

My main takeaway from both keynote sessions? Look out! Microsoft is back in the game!

Also, I still owe you my take on the sessions I attended Wednesday and Thursday. Allow me to rectify that:

  • Azure IoT Security was actually very informative, and for once, did not include a lot of live code and/or code samples. A high-level overview of how security will almost always be an issue, especially on resource-constrained devices, and how to properly mitigate as much of the risk as possible.
  • Windows Design for Developers provided a good look on how the Windows 10 UX came about, and how to properly leverage that as an app developer. Recommended!
  • Steve Teixeira did a great job today on Windows for Makers, detailing what the newly announced hardware partnerships and Windows 10 IoT Core are all about, interlaced with a few very neat demos. There was even one demo where he took a picture on a Lumia 640, sent that using a Windows Phone app to an Arduino using Bluetooth, and then had the Arduino display the image on an LED matrix… All using Microsoft technology! It was pretty amazing, and a definite crowd-pleaser. We also got to take home a starter kit for Windows 10 IoT Core containing a Raspberry Pi 2, the robot kit as shown in the talk, and some assorted gear to kick start development. Awesome!

Steve Teixeira performs a demo at the Windows for Makers breakout session at Build 2015 in San Francisco.

Keep in mind that all sessions will be available for streaming through Channel 9… You literally have no excuse to not go look on there right now, and pick and choose the ones you like from the smorgasbord of available sessions. I know I sure will.

Of course, not everything at Build is about coding and learning. There’s also time for fun. Case in point: Look at who I came across yesterday, while playing a pre-alpha of “Rainbow Six Siege” … Xbox’s very own Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson! 

Me and Larry Hryb (AKA Major Nelson) at Build 2015 in San Francisco.