A Glance into the Build 2016 Schedule

This week Microsoft will kick off their annual Build developers conference in San Francisco beginning on Wednesday the 30th of March.

The event has a predictable process with big keynotes kicking off Day 1 and Day 2 of then hundreds of breakout sessions covering every aspect of the Microsoft ecosystem but with the focus on development within the Microsoft stack.

However, that does not mean there are not some sessions in these three days that will be of great interest to end users who are on Windows 10.

In years past we have seen demos of new features and capabilities during the keynotes and then those are broken down for the developers in subsequent sessions.

By diving into the Build 2016 schedule, which is now available over on the Channel 9 Build Event Page, we can peek into the future and discern some of those new features that might get revealed on the keynote stage.

Here is what I found of interest:

Microsoft Edge: What's Next for Microsoft's New Browser and Web Platform

In 2015, Microsoft launched its first new browser in 20 years: Microsoft Edge. After 8 months, it's on a great trajectory but we're just getting started. Join us to learn about the progress we've made, feedback we've heard, and a whirlwind tour of improvements coming soon. This will include extensions and other new end-user features, plus many new developer features across the HTML/CSS/JavaScript and web app platform, and new Enterprise-focused features for IT Pros.

Building Great Universal Windows Platform (UWP) Apps for Xbox

Learn more about building great Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for Xbox.

Note: We heard a few weeks ago that Xbox is expected to begin offering UWP apps sometime this summer.

Notification Futures: Action Center and the Windows Notification Platform

Note: No details yet but this is likely related to the recent survey conducted with Windows Insiders and could include some new functionality that may be announced in the keynote demos.

What’s New for Tiles and Toast Notifications

Notifications are an essential tool for engaging with your customers on Windows. We are building on the foundation of Action Center to give developers greatly increased flexibility in Adaptive Toasts. We will introduce a powerful API that enables a new class of apps to plug into the Notification pipeline and provide innovative experiences for users. Live Tiles are evolving with two highly-requested surprises that you won't want to miss.

Note: This could indicate the introduction of interactive Live Tiles and possibly Live Tiles on the desktop. I expect these to get announced during the keynote demos.

Microsoft Research Presentation

Note: There are no details on this session either but remember the Microsoft Research team just had videos released last week that talk about Holo Portation so this could be about that or another cool project.

Gabriel Aul Live

Note: This will be on Channel 9's live Build stream at 1:20PM on Day 2. I am sure he is going to share some insight into the Windows Insider Program.

Be sure to follow our coverage here at SuperSite for Windows and also over on our sister sites Windows IT Pro and DevPro Connections. I will be onsite all week bringing you coverage so be sure to follow along with me on Twitter (@WinObs) to get the latest info.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.