Windows Next: Just call it 'Blue'?

Windows Next: Just call it 'Blue'?

Summary: Windows 9 might not be Microsoft's next version of Windows. Instead, 'Blue' could be the interim release that shows up first.

By Mary Jo Foley for All About Microsoft
August 13, 2012 -- 13:40 GMT (06:40 PDT)


It's been a couple weeks of Microsoft naming madness. To top it all off at the end of last week, there were new leaks about the next version of Windows unearthed by various sites.


windowsblue.png


It's not surprising Microsoft already is working on whatever version of Windows follows Windows 8. It'd be way more surprising if the company wasn't doing this.

But already there "Windows 9" references, including new ones unearthed by Microsoft Kitchen's Stephen Chapman and Win8China (as cited by the WinUnleaked site).

I've heard the next version of Windows is not going to be Windows 9. Instead, I've heard from a couple of my contacts that some kind of an update is coming next year. The Windows release codenamed "Blue" -- mentioned by Win8China last week -- is likely the codename of this interim release, my contacts claim.

I'm not clear if Blue is simply what we in the Windows world typically call a service pack, which is a rollup of fixes and updates. Or maybe Blue is more of a feature pack, which would/could include be a rollup of fixes plus some new features.

The word seems to be, whichever it is, that Microsoft is moving away from the big-bang Windows release schedule to which it typically has adhered, and is now attempting to move toward something more like what Apple does, with point releases. I'll be curious if Blue eventually gets a version number, like Windows 8.1 or 8.5 or something. And if we'll see Blue materializes in the summer of 2013, as I've heard from some of my contacts....

What's interesting about "Blue" as a codename is that it deviates from the city-name pattern that is used by many Microsoft divisions. (The corporate-codename thinking, supposedly, is city names are less likely to be something for which Microsoft will/can get in naming trouble, though that isn't always true.) That said, the Windows team has for the past couple of releases used numbers (7, 8) rather than city names as codenames.

Another fact of potential interest to other codename buffs: This isn't the first time Microsoft has used the Blue codename. The Azure folks have used Blue before, as has the MSN team.



source
 
Huh, I figured this was coming mostly due to Windows Phone. That's pretty much what they did with WP 7. At first launch, it was pretty decent. A year or so later, the 7.5 update came out that made pretty decent to stellar. Now, they're taking it to Windows Phone 8, which will make stellar to technological orgy.

And yeah, I bet they will keep Windows and Windows Phone development pretty close along with their other services since Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 will now share the same code and code HAS to be together in unison.

But shoot, I will miss the hype, arguments, pants wetting, and endless waiting for leaked builds! :D
 

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Hmm - I wonder how "Big Blue" would take to that?
 

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Hmm - I wonder how "Big Blue" would take to that?

Which "Big Blue" would that be? Simply type that in a Bing search box and wooooo.... page after page of BB this and BB that!

So I see MS now wants to move away from the 2-3yr. time frame they originally saw until Vista was delayed countless times for a mocking of the Apple time scale. The numbering of 8.1 and 8.5 would suggest SP1 and SP2 re-releases of 8 which would include the service packs much like you saw so far with each previous version.

Instead of seeing "8 with SP1" you would simply "8.1" much like they did with 95, 95PLUS!,98 First Edition, Second Edition, 98Plus!, etc. back when.
 

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    Corsair TX750H 750w -Corsair 500w
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    Antec 900-2 -NXZT Vulcan Mini tower/carrying handle
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    120mm front pair, 120 rear 200cm top - 120mm Front intake 200mm side cover
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    Azio Blue led back lit both builds.
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    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
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On my Bing they are at no 9....
 

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    ASUS VW246H, Samsing Syncmaster 2233, Samsung Syncmaster T200HD
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    1920x1080
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    2 x 500Gb
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    Coolermaster Silent Pro M700
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    NOX
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    Logitech Marble
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    10Mbps
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    Dell Inspiron 1501 with Win 8 CP 32 Bit - flying along!
This gives me hope that may be we get the start button again and boot to the desktop option. This is a good MS strategy. This would enable them to rectify any mistakes made by them quickly and not after two or three years which would prevent Windows 8 to become a failure; another Vista. If anything makes Windows 8 very unpopular, that could be rectified by MS at the soonest and that is another reason that Windows 8 would be a success! :thumb:
 

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More being like apple, releasing half finished OS updates every 12 months and charging for them. In the end over a 4-5 year cycle you end up paying twice as much for the OS as you did buying it once and getting free service packs.

Version churning and constant OS overhauls are nothing to be celebrated. It's just another "Out Apple Apple" strategy to get more money out it's customers...
 

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I doubt a Windows 8.5 or Blue or whatever will cost anything. It might just be like a service pack, you get it free along with other updates. One won't pay until Windows 9 or Blue or whatever. Even still, with Apple, you have to pay around 1,300 dollars BEFORE you can't get 20 dollar OSes. An entry level PC can get new Windows versions for years versus apple where you're constantly being highway robbed every day.



Highway robbery, that's awesome! :D
 

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    AMD FX 8320
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    16 gig DDR3
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    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
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    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
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    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
This gives me hope that may be we get the start button again and boot to the desktop option. This is a good MS strategy. This would enable them to rectify any mistakes made by them quickly and not after two or three years which would prevent Windows 8 to become a failure; another Vista. If anything makes Windows 8 very unpopular, that could be rectified by MS at the soonest and that is another reason that Windows 8 would be a success! :thumb:

Haha, I'll believe it when I see it.
 

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    Barracuda 7200 SATA 280GB
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    OCZ ModXStream 700W
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    25 Mbps/25 Mbps
That's the spirit! Seeing is believing alright! At the same time I wouldn't call Vista a failure but a misconceived OS since MS fudged things up when never setting the minimum system requirements up high enough to start with! It was found to be far more stable then XP to start with but initially lacked the driver support and besides being a larger in size Windows MS made another goof of removing support for Fat brought back in 7.

With 8 however the trashing up the desktop gui and stripping down of features included free with previous versions to now see a money maker Metro Apps store shows where the trend will likely be continued with what comes after 8 or 8 Part #2 or whatever in that sense. Generally once something is removed other then the need for Fat to be returned MS never puts it back in!

Don't worry! Someone with a TechNet or MSDN subscription will be revealing just what is to be seen in the RTM however. Wouldn't you surprized if you suddenly found out the Metro was only one setup option afterall and there was still a more Classic type gui option to be seen? Or did MS foobar the entire OS?
 

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    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
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    Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600mhz 16gb - 2nd case Kingston Hyper-X "Fury" DDR3 1600mhz 8gb
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    MSI Radeon HD 5750 1gb - 2nd AMD Radeon 6450
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    Creative Xtreme Gamer - 2nd case Realtek Onboard audio
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    Acer 19" dual monitor setup - 2nd case HP 20" lcd
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    1440x900 same on both builds
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    1st build
    WD Caviar Black Edition Sata II 1tb two OS drives
    WD RE "Heavy Duty Sata II 2tb two Storage/Backup
    2nd build
    WD Blue Sata II 500gb
    WD Black Edition Sata III 1tb
    WD Green Power Sata II 1tb in external usb enclosure
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    Corsair TX750H 750w -Corsair 500w
    Case
    Antec 900-2 -NXZT Vulcan Mini tower/carrying handle
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    120mm front pair, 120 rear 200cm top - 120mm Front intake 200mm side cover
    Keyboard
    Azio Blue led back lit both builds.
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    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
    Internet Speed
    30mbps
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    two MSI 22x ide dvd burners, 25 usb flash drives used for Linux Live, live data recovery 128gb, and Windows 7, 10 usb installation keys
I just read that WINRT, will be on more a rapid update release cycle, as WinRT isn't hugely feature complete and the update will fill in the gaps.
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    ASUS
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    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I'd be willing to bet this would be a desktop PC upgrade as there are billions of potential desktop platforms out there that might be willing to pay for an upgrade from Windows 7.

Obviously Win8 was meant to be a trimmed down ultra power efficient version made specifically for a tablet or phone so why on earth would they bother making another version of the same thing.
 

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    9 fans air cooled
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    G15 logitech
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    G9 logitech
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    50mbps
"Trimming the fat" would be similar to how 7 was improved over the "Windows getting too large" realization MS had after Vista's release. Only MS is now simply leaving the desktop crowd behind to grab some mobile market shares away from Android by the looks of it.

"Who uses Media Center? We can toss that and sell it separately for anyone that wants it." "Isn't that Start menu too small for touchscreen? No problem we'll just replace that with a full screen of Metro apps!"

With the Start>Programs you see the right click option to set the programs as links or as folder views with all shortcuts tucked into each folder. With Metro all those shortcuts yuo wouldn't want on the desktop but only the main one or two are put on a full screen display. "Clutter"! But they will sell it!

Perhaps MS realized they still needed some type of RT Plus! edition?
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    1st W10 Professional x64/W7 Ultimate x64 - 2nd Remote system: W10 Insider Builds/W7 Professional
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Builds
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz -2nd case AMD Atholon II 3.2ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600mhz 16gb - 2nd case Kingston Hyper-X "Fury" DDR3 1600mhz 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Radeon HD 5750 1gb - 2nd AMD Radeon 6450
    Sound Card
    Creative Xtreme Gamer - 2nd case Realtek Onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19" dual monitor setup - 2nd case HP 20" lcd
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 same on both builds
    Hard Drives
    1st build
    WD Caviar Black Edition Sata II 1tb two OS drives
    WD RE "Heavy Duty Sata II 2tb two Storage/Backup
    2nd build
    WD Blue Sata II 500gb
    WD Black Edition Sata III 1tb
    WD Green Power Sata II 1tb in external usb enclosure
    PSU
    Corsair TX750H 750w -Corsair 500w
    Case
    Antec 900-2 -NXZT Vulcan Mini tower/carrying handle
    Cooling
    120mm front pair, 120 rear 200cm top - 120mm Front intake 200mm side cover
    Keyboard
    Azio Blue led back lit both builds.
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
    Internet Speed
    30mbps
    Other Info
    two MSI 22x ide dvd burners, 25 usb flash drives used for Linux Live, live data recovery 128gb, and Windows 7, 10 usb installation keys
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