Ported versions of utilities on Windows Store suggest Microsoft is testing Centennial

By Brad Jones Published May 3, 2016

Versions of utilities like WordPad, Character Map, and Paint have been found on the Windows Store. While these tools might not sound too exciting in their own right, they are noteworthy because they were converted into universal apps using Project Centennial.

Project Centennial is a development tool that takes some of the legwork out of turning Win32 desktop software into apps that are compatible with any device running Windows 10. Given that the OS was developed with the intent of bringing the Windows ecosystem together, platform-agnostic software is very important.

Recommended Videos

Microsoft plans to release Project Centennial to developers, but based on the entries found on the Windows Store, the firm seems to be running some related tests. These apps have been added to the storefront, but are not currently available to download — a release coinciding with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update seems probable.

Universal apps are only more important now that Intel seems to be killing off the Atom line of low-cost, low-power chips. Unlike traditional Win32 desktop software, universal apps can run on hardware using ARM-based processors as well as those built around components made by Intel, as reported by Liliputing.

If Microsoft is already using Project Centennial to produce apps for public consumption, the tool could be a real boon for developers when its release version is ready to go. The company also offers tools to help teams looking to convert Web and iOS apps to the Universal Windows Platform, although a similar utility for Android software was axed earlier this year.

While there’s no firm release date for tools based on Project Centennial, Microsoft has released a preview version. Insider program subscribers running the most recent build of Windows 10 can download the Desktop App Converter here.

Former Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Topics

Computing

Google’s new Magic Pointer Play Store listing reveals a Gemini shortcut built for Googlebooks

The unannounced app turns the cursor into a contextual AI tool for search, image creation, and shopping

Plant, Text, Business Card

Google has quietly published a new Play Store listing for Magic Pointer, an unannounced app built for Googlebooks. Updated on July 10, the app turns the cursor into a Gemini shortcut that can act on whatever a user selects on screen.

Magic Pointer can send an image to Lens, generate a related image, or surface a shopping action without forcing users to open a separate chatbot. Regular Android devices currently show as incompatible, so the listing offers an early preview rather than a broad release.

Computing

You can stop using AI, but this new report says you probably can’t escape it

A UK survey found that most people feel AI exposure is unavoidable, raising harder questions about consent, privacy, and whether opting out is still realistic

AI Chatbots

More people are trying to use less AI, but avoiding it altogether may already be impossible.

A survey of 2,055 UK adults found that 42% deliberately limit how much AI they use. Another 70% said avoiding AI exposure would be difficult or impossible, even when they actively wanted less of it.

Computing

The face on an AI interviewer may matter as much as the decision it makes

Researchers found that race and gender matching changed how fairly rejected applicants viewed an automated interview, even though everyone received the same outcome

File, Computer Hardware, Electronics

An AI hiring system can treat every applicant the same and still leave some people feeling targeted. Researchers found that rejected candidates judged an automated interview differently depending on the race and gender of the avatar delivering the result.

Around 220 participants completed a simulated interview for a fictional customer support role with one of four photorealistic AI avatars. Everyone was rejected, yet perceptions of fairness shifted with the interviewer’s appearance. An algorithm audit could miss that reaction because candidates don’t experience the system as raw code. They experience a face asking questions and judging their answers.