Build (conference)

Build is an annual conference event held by Microsoft, aimed towards software and web developers using Windows, Windows Phone and Windows Azure and other Microsoft technologies. First held in 2011, it serves as a successor for Microsoft's previous developer events, the Professional Developers Conference (an infrequent event which covered development of software for the Windows operating system) and MIX (which covered web development centering around Microsoft technology such as Silverlight and ASP.net). It replaced the MIX Conference of which it was held for 5 years from 2006 to 2011.

2012
Build 2012 was held at the Microsoft Campus at Reading. The 2012 edition recently focused on the development of Windows 8 beginning October 2012. Attendees received a Surface RT tablet with Touch Cover, a Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone, and 100GB of free SkyDrive storage.

2013
Build 2013 received much news because of Windows 8 development. Each attendee received a Surface Pro with a Touch Cover, Acer Iconia W3 (the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet) with a Bluetooth keyboard and 100GB of free SkyDrive storage.

2014
Build 2014 will be held once again at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from April 2 to April 4, 2014. The date and venue of Build 2014 were prematurely published by Microsoft's website on December 12, 2013, but was subsequently pulled. Microsoft ultimately made an official announcement on the next day.