Windows Blue gets first official mention

by Mark Tyson on 18 February 2013, 12:00

Tags: Windows 8

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A new job vacancy posting on the Microsoft Careers site talks specifically about “Windows Blue”. In the listing Microsoft says it is looking for a senior software development engineer to improve upon Windows 8’s and Windows Phone 8’s “ease of use and the overall user experience”.

An excerpt from the Job vacancy listing, as found by ZDNet, reads as follows:

"We’re looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide."

What is Windows Blue?

Again according to ZDNet, the name Windows Blue refers to a large wave of updates that will be released for many Microsoft products including Windows operating systems and component software services. All the updates are estimated to arrive in a similar timeframe and following this initial Blue tidal wave Microsoft will transition to a “more rapid update pace”. The first Windows Blue wave is not expected to wash up a full version increment such as Windows 9 but will result in a refreshed Windows 8 this summer according to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet.

One of the current thrusts of Windows Blue is to bring tighter integration in Microsoft’s different OSes and platforms. However, as the new job vacancy description above demonstrates, all the changes aren’t going to be under the hood, Microsoft is looking to make UI and experience updates too.

Excel MX to join OneNote MX.

There’s one more interesting titbit revealed within the job posting. It refers to helping to develop a “high quality excel app for Windows Phone Blue” in partnership with the Excel MX team. First of all this reveals there will be a Windows Phone Blue, secondly Excel MX has not been heard of before. Excel MX sounds like a finger friendly version of Excel, which would probably be similar in interface to OneNote MX and Lync MX which are both currently available in the Windows 8 store.

The Windows Blue updates are expected to occur in mid summer.

HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Posted by brasco - Mon 18 Feb 2013 14:22
So I suppose it's the Win8 SP1? I really want to go back to Win8 but each time I do one of the updates fatally corrupts the whole install, I gave up after the last time and haven't had time to go back and try again, there's quite a few similar stories on their support forumes, you'd think with a polarising OS like it is, they'd at least have it stable like Win7.
Posted by this_is_gav - Mon 18 Feb 2013 15:36
Likewise Brasco, but with me it's the Store. On neither of my PCs can I access the Store. Fully legal and activated Windows 8, but whenever I try to download something through the Store nothing happens. It's improved since a week or 2 ago though, where the Store was just a blank white screen.

Still, it's probably a blessing in disguise. As it is, I've just removed all the pre-installed tiles and now just have icons for my most frequently used programs, and a link to the Start Menu folder containing other programs.
Posted by saunders - Mon 18 Feb 2013 15:57
While i really like what Micorsoft have done with pairing up a PC with the Windows phones, i think the store is a let down.
They need to have a good look at this, when you start asking people to pay money for an app here and app there, its flawed. Personally I think they should ditch the store, and users look at the internet for what they want :)
Posted by TheAnimus - Mon 18 Feb 2013 16:31
saunders
Personally I think they should ditch the store, and users look at the internet for what they want :)
When the iPhone was first launched, I scoffed at how silly it was users couldn't install applications by just googling and downloading the .cab file.

We'd had “apps” on symbian and windows mobile for years, hell even a decade, who where the iPhone buying morons who'd decided they didn't need 3rd party utils. Then the ‘store’ was born, micro transactions perswaded people to buy. Software devs did a volume business, selling tens of thousands of apps at 99cents, rather than a few hundread at 5 bucks.

So no, your very wrong, a store has been shown a great sales tool, it connects users with products they are willing to buy, which they weren't before.

MS need to pull their finger out and work on making the metro apps great. The mail app right now is a useless buggy peice of junk, the photo app too, which is really odd because how simple is showing an image!
Posted by kingpotnoodle - Mon 18 Feb 2013 18:53
saunders
While i really like what Micorsoft have done with pairing up a PC with the Windows phones, i think the store is a let down.
They need to have a good look at this, when you start asking people to pay money for an app here and app there, its flawed. Personally I think they should ditch the store, and users look at the internet for what they want :)

Except that most users aren't skilled enough to do that without getting virus infested on warez sites whilst hunting for cracks because they're too dumb to realise that its fair, reasonable and/or more secure to actually pay people for their work. The store is a very good thing for amateur devs and small companies. Why else do you think Apple's was accepted so readily despite the 30% cut they take?