Microsoft Build 2016 Conference: Here are Windows' Latest Updates

Microsoft's annual Build 2016 Conference has unveiled updates on their products. Here are the most notable updates the tech giant has announced in the event, which runs until April 1.

Microsoft Brings Linux to Windows 10

Microsoft is taking the open source command line, Linux, to its latest operating system, the Windows 10. With this, developers -- especially coders -- will have an easier time using the OS. The new functionality will be available in this summer's Anniversary Update to Windows 10, The Verge reported.

Windows Ink

Microsoft executive Bryan Roper demonstrated the Windows Ink feature at the conference. With this functionality, users have the ability to do lots of things with a stylus on a touchscreen.

"For example, scribble a reminder on a notepad, and Windows will recognize a place name or time, or draw a line on a map and Microsoft can tell you the route," The Telegraph wrote.

Xbox Updates

Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, announced that the Windows 10 and Xbox One app stores will be combined into one to create a "single unified store across devices," a separate report from The Verge read.

Microsoft is also encouraging more people to start developing apps and games by making the process easier. This summer, the tech giant will allow all Xbox One owners to transform their console into a development kit, with the ability to change back and forth to gaming and developing modes.

In addition, Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana, will head to the Xbox One along with the capability to play music in the background, The Telegraph noted.

Bots

Last week, Microsoft took down psychopathic millennial bot Tay, which is an acronym for "thinking of you." Company CEO Satya Nadella admitted that Tay wasn't a competent functionality yet, and promised that Microsoft is still planning to develop a bot and that they are now "back to the drawing board," The Telegraph added.

Nadella also mentioned about how chatbots are being included in some messaging apps, such as Skype.

"It's a simple concept, yet it's very powerful in its impact. It is about taking the power of human language and applying it more pervasively to our computing," he said, as quoted by the news outlet.  "We think this can have as profound an impact as the previous platform shifts have had."

HoloLens

HoloLens, Microsoft's augmented reality headset, starts shipping to those who have paid the $3,000 fee for the developer kit. The device, which was announced together with Windows 10 in January 2015, is equipped with an Intel 32 bit processor, a customized Holographic Processing Unit (HPU), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage, a separate report from The Telegraph listed.