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Microsoft's Template Studio codes your Universal Windows apps for you
Back in 2015, Microsoft unveiled a visual way to write apps from a web browser without writing a single line of code. While the template-based Windows App Studio wasn't powerful enough to build the most beautiful interface, it did offer a glimpse into Windows development and an introduction to the Windows Store marketplace. Today, Microsoft announced the App Studio's successor, Windows Template Studio, is getting a fresh update to provide the same easy interface for building Universal Windows Platform apps.
VLC media player is coming to Xbox One
The promise of Windows apps on Xbox One has been hanging out there for quite a while, but now that it's really happening we're seeing some results. One of the big names that will arrive on the console this summer is VLC, a popular desktop media player that already has versions for other connected TV platforms. Maintainer Thomas Nigro says that making it a UWP app means a beta version will hit Windows 10 Mobile next week before its official debut in May and an official version for Windows 10 desktop is due in mid-May.
Anyone can turn their Xbox One into a software dev kit
The dream of turning your Xbox One into a software development kit is finally real. Xbox chief Phil Spencer announced today during today's Build keynote that the process will be pretty simple, too. Essentially, you just download the Xbox Dev Mode app, register as a developer and that's it. From there, you can swap back and forth between a retail game and whatever app you're working on, be it a game or something else.
New Universal Windows apps include Facebook, Instagram
Redmond surprised developers at Build by launching Linux Bash support, but it's now gone back to its bread and butter with updates to its Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. As a reminder, those are designed to work across Windows mobile, Xbox and the desktop. Perhaps the most important among the new crop are from Facebook, which has gone Universal for both its main app and Messenger. Advertisers will also be able to reach nearly three million Facebook Universal app users via the Facebook Audience Network. Other social apps, including, Twitter, Instagram and Vine also received new UWP updates.
Netflix's Windows 10 app is at home on PCs and tablets
Microsoft continues to fill out its library of Windows 10 apps, and the latest addition is from Netflix. Upgrading from its old Windows 8 edition to take advantage of the new operating system, this one is a universal app, that will eventually work across PCs, tablets and phones, although it's not ready for that last one just yet. While the team works on extending the experience to Windows 10 phones, the desktop app is rolling out this week for all supported countries.
Windows apps can run on Xbox, but only the ones Microsoft approves of
When Microsoft announced earlier today that universal Windows apps could run on the Xbox One, it seemed pretty...self-explanatory. A developer could easily port any Windows or Windows Phone app over to the Xbox for you to use on your TV. Right? Not exactly. Here at Build, we had the chance to sit down with Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president in the Developer Platform and Evangelism group, who gave us a little more insight into how this universal app thing is going to work on Xbox.
