by GauravSethand AdalbertoForesti, it will be underthe MIT
licenceand includeall of the key componentsof the JavaScript
enginepoweringMicrosoftEdge.It’s a neatdevelopment.
“Today, outsideof the MicrosoftEdgebrowser, Chakra
powersUniversalWindowsapplicationsacross all formfactors
where Windows10 is supported– whetherit’s on an Xbox,a
phoneor a traditionalPC,”the blogauthorwrote. “It powers
servicessuchAzure DocumentDB,Cortanaand Outlook.com.
It is usedby (andoptimisedfor) TypeScript.And withWindows
10, we enabledNode.jsto run withChakra,to helpadvance
the reach of Node.jsecosystemand makeNode.jsavailable
on a new IoT platform:Windows10 IoT Core.” It showsa
greatersenseof opennessby Microsoft,allowingthird partiesto
improve the codeand evolveChakraevenfaster.
Future
As the monthsgo by, Microsoft’s directionand plan for Windows
10 shouldbecomeclearer. It still remainsthe make-or-break
OS for the company, especiallygiventhat the relativefailure of
Windows8 still loomsover it. But Microsoftis adaptingthe way
it has workedfor yearsand consideringnew paths:the decision
to bringappstogetherin the WindowsStore and the openingup
of developmentare two casesin point.There is not the senseof
“Microsoftknowsbest”any more and there is a feelingthat is
more openand more willingto listen.
That,in itself,is the biggestplanfor 2016:Microsoftwill
adaptto the marketmore nimblythanit has before. For a while
it has said it wantsWindows10 to be a serviceratherthana
product,and that will allowit to evolve.Whenyou also look
at the otherproductsset to comeon board, suchas Microsoft
HoloLens– whichwill also needto be integratedinto the
Windows10 experience– you can see that diversityis at the
heartof the OS. And by the end of 2016,we may well feel at
one withit.mm
CortanaOnTheXboxOne
It has beentalkedaboutfor months,but this year Cortana
is finallygoingto be makingan appearanceon Microsoft’s
XboxOne console.The PersonalDigitalAssistanthas been
includedin the XboxOne PreviewProgram,whichmeans
gamerswill soon be saying‘Hey Cortana’to ensurethe
servicewill be at their beck and call. Availableto workwith
the Kinectsensoras well as througha gamingheadset,it
will forma key componentof the entertainmenthub that
Microsoftis keento create.
The XboxOne is part of the widerplansfor Windows10.
MicrosoftCEO SatyaNadellahas said that the consoleis,
to all intentsand purposes,anotherWindows10 machine.
He told a Microsoftshareholdermeetingthat Windows 10
was set to appearon everything,whetherit be laptops,
desktopsand tabletsor the XboxOne. That wouldachieve
Microsoft’s long-termaim of puttinga Windowscomputer
in the livingroomand is the reasonwhy the XboxOne
is goingto be blessedwith WindowsStoreand why its
operatingsystemis built on the kernelof Windows10.
WithCortanathereforeavailableon a host of devices,
2016 couldwell be the year that everyonestartsto use
voice-activationwithouteven thinkingtoo muchaboutit.
Windows10 will also be shownto be very flexiblein this
respect,able to workon lots of differenttechnologies.
Microsoftis even lookingto get itselfinto the Internetof
Thingsby pushingthe Windows10 IoT core this year.
It’s designedto workwith the likes of the RaspberryPi
2, and it’s showingits versatility, with developerscoming
up with facialrecognitiondevicesand the like. The big
plan for Windows10, then,is to get it on as manydifferent
platformsas it can possiblyachieveso that it becomes
ubiquitous.The benefitof this is that cross-platform
compatibilitywill be achieved,cementingMicrosoft’s
positionin the OS space.