Thousands of employees filed into Seattle’s Key Arena today for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s final company meeting. Reports out of the meeting are not official, but we have a pretty good idea of the main announcements made during Ballmer’s last hurrah.
A single app store
According to The Verge, Microsoft demonstrated a combined app store for Windows Phone and Windows 8. The new unified store will reportedly be integrated with Windows 8.1 in the Spring 2014 GDR Update. The single app store, part of Microsoft’s push to entice developers to Windows products, may also include the Xbox One and/or Windows Azure.
A cloud gaming service
Microsoft officials demonstrated a prototype during the meeting, running Halo 4 on a Windows Phone and a PC, both streaming it from the cloud. This cloud service for Windows devices and Xbox One games also included an Xbox controller as an accessory, and may provide backward compatibility.
Xbox One personal fitness app
The company inadvertently leaked plans for a personal fitness app at the meeting. The Xbox Fitness service for the Xbox One is a built-in personal trainer that is capable of detecting micro-fluctuations in heart rate and form. Microsoft is partnering with fitness experts like Jillian Michaels of “The Biggest Loser,” who will guide users through workouts.
