Microsoft is believed to be about to
roll out Windows Blue. But as we explain, it remains something of an unknown or
does it?
Job adverts are great. You can gain
employment, see how much other people in your filed of work earn (and hit the
bottle with despondency) and you can also grab lots of little snippets of
information that point towards new things – exciting new things in a lot of
cases. This can then be used to speculate, form opinion and come up with theories,
not all of them right but most of them enjoyable.
Windows Blue: the name was all but
confirmed in a job advert. Anyone who follows technology will often glean a lot
of information about forthcoming products in this way. “We’re looking for an
excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows
Sustained Engineering (WinSE),” said this particular entry on the careers.microsoft.com
website.
Microsoft’s
Careers website mentioned Windows Blue before it was pulled off the page
“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 life-cycle,
windowing, and personalization.”
And then came the killer line: “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.” A few days
later and the website was saying, “This job is no longer available.” Never
mind. The information was there (in fact, Windows Blue as a concept has been
knocking around for a few months), but it’s time to see exactly what this could
be.
Windows Blue is still an unknown, but it
hints quite heavily at a major Windows update. We’ve seen screenshots, which
allege to be of the new software. One of them showed an About Windows screen
and this listed the kernel version 6.3.
The
Blue Screen of Death on Windows 8 appears friendlier, but it’s still a pain!
That points towards an upgrade, because
kernel numbers 6.0, 6.1 and 6.2 were for Windows Vista, 7 and 8 respectively.
Given that these were very specific new operating systems, some feel this new
kernel number is hinting at a new OS. The build number (9319) and version
number (6.3) suggest Microsoft is sticking with its policy of keeping the major
version at 6. The minor version distinguishes between releases.
According to source approached by the
website theverge.com, a Windows 9 project is not being developed right
now, however. It concludes that Blue will be the next major update to Windows
and that it will be designed primarily with tablets in mind, especially those
that are seven and eight inches. Microsoft is keen to ensure that it is
compatible with these screen formats given that they’re becoming more popular.
All of this is an attempt to standardize
Microsoft’s approach to computing. It wants to push out a coherent strategy for
Windows and Windows Phone while ensuring that tablets are also catered for. Key
to this will be yearly updates to the OS, which is becoming standard for other
operating systems such as OS X and iOS (Apple is also increasingly looking
towards a standardized approach for all devices) as well as low-cost pricing.
As Apple has discovered, and inexpensive upgrade ensures mass take-up and
Microsoft will want everyone to install Windows Blue when it’s released, as
expected, in the summer of this year.
At the moment, Microsoft is working towards
a public preview version of Windows Blue. The development time will be short
and, having already passed milestone one, the preview is next, and it will
allow Windows 8 users to test the software and provide feedback ahead of the
final version being released. Since it wants this out very soon, there will be
only the preview. The first milestone is the half-way point in blue’s
development.
So what are we likely to see? Indications
point to an improved user interface.
At
the moment, Microsoft is working towards a public preview version of Windows
Blue
Certainly, that removed job advert points
to this, given that it specifically mentions the UI. It discusses the concepts
of the start screen, the application lifecycle, windowing and personalization.
Microsoft therefore wants people who can think deeply about how users interact
with Windows and what they want out of it.
They want to be able to tailor the
experience so that people see something rather bespoke to them that will carry
across different devices and they want this development to be fluid so that it
doesn’t become stale and so it keeps abreast of new user demands to ensure they
are ahead of the curve. Microsoft has been falling behind in the innovation
stakes, to some degree, in the face of competition from Apple and, in the
tablet and smartphone arena, Android as well, and it knows it has to up its
game.
Bing is also likely to figure big in
Windows Blue, with the team behind his search engine looking at way to improve
the feature. Sources suggest that users will be able to search for a film, for
instance, and see apps that will play them – this is different to the current
way of finding an app and a film separately, for example.
Search, it is suggested, will also be
available for apps. One search in Windows Blue will go deep into the vast bulk
of what you have stored on your hard drive and you will able to get what you
need with the greatest of ease. The new windows version is also likely to have
new APIs. These are expected to go beyond the reach and capabilities of the
WinRT API.
Windows
Phone Blue will have the same core code as Windows Blue
Microsoft is also said to be preparing a
Blue update to its Windows Phone operating system. Windows Phone Blue will have
the same core code as Windows Blue. Again, a job advert seemed to hint heavily
at this. Employment beckons for someone who may want to have a bash at
producing an Excel Office Mobile version for Windows Phone Blue.
“The Excel Office Mobile team is looking
for a seasoned development lead who is willing to re-imagine the Excel
experiences for the next version of Windows Phone,” it began. “Our Vision is to
make Excel Mobile on Windows Phone the undisputed leader for visualizing and
working with spreadsheets on a phone. The Excel Mobile team will deliver a
compelling new Windows Phone version of Excel that is touch-optimized and
targeted for the phone form factor.”
