Microsoft job post gives more info about 'Windows Blue'

new job posting by the company verifies that Windows Blue will include user experience improvements, not just under-the-covers interface tweaks. Bonus: There's a reference to "Windows Phone Blue" on Microsoft's job site, too.

 

If there's any doubt that the Windows client team is laser-focused on the coming Blue refresh of Windows 8, a new Microsoft job post makes it even plainer.

A February 15 post for a software development engineer in test on the Microsoft Careers site (to which Charon at Ma-config.com alerted me), mentions "Windows Blue." According to that posting, the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE) is involved in making improvements to the start screen, application lifecycle, windowing and personalization. Windows Blue will "build on and improve" these OS components, the posting says.

Here's an excerpt:

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."

Blue is the codename for the next wave of Windows-related operating system and services updates from Microsoft, according to my contacts. There will be a Blue update to Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows Phone 8 and the Windows Services like Hotmail and SkyDrive -- all of which are slated to wash up in roughly the same timeframe, my sources have said. Last year, one tipster told me Microsoft was aiming to deliver Windows Blue around late summer 2013.

Blue isn't simply a fancy new name for a service pack. With Blue, Microsoft is working to transition to a more rapid update pace.

On the Windows and Windows Phone fronts, Blue is expected to include new features and even new programming interfaces designed to bring the different flavors of Windows closer together, from an app model/development model perspective. That said, it's not just Windows internals that will be updated with Blue. As the job posting above verifies, user interface and experience updates will be part of Blue, too.

Microsoft officials have declined to comment on Blue. It's unknown what Microsoft officially will name Blue once it's released, but it's likely to be positioned as a refresh to Windows 8, not a whole new version of Windows (like a Windows 9), I continue to hear.

By the way, there are plenty of mentions of "blue" on Microsoft's career site that have nothing to do with the coming Blue wave/refresh." Blue links," "blue screens" and "wavy blue lines" all show up -- and have nothing to do with the upcoming Blue refresh.

Update: @h0x0d (Walking Cat on Twitter) just found a Microsoft job reference to Windows Phone Blue, too. Here's his screen shot of it: 

 

As he notes, there's also a reference to "Excel MX" in that job post. Excel MX is likely a not-yet-delivered, fully touch-optimized and Metro Style/Windows Store version of Excel -- similar to the OneNote MX and Lync MX versions of two of Microsoft's Office apps that are in the Windows Store now.

 

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Microsoft's 'Blue' not just for Windows

Blue isn't just the code name of the next version of Windows. It's also the code name for updates to Windows Phone, Windows Server, and Windows Services, sources say.

As we've known for a few months, the Windows client team at Microsoft is working on its first "feature pack" update for Windows 8, supposedly due this summer/fall, which is code-named Blue.

But it turns out Blue isn't a Windows thing only, according to one very accurate tipster of mine who doesn't want to be identified.

Blue also is the way Microsoft is referring to the next substantial platform update for Windows Phone, the Windows Services (like SkyDrive, Hotmail, etc.), and Windows Server, according to my source. In other words, Blue is a wave of product refreshes which are not expected to arrive exactly all on the same day, but which are meant to be released more or less around the same time.

Before these various Blues come to market, there will continue to be minor fixes, firmware updates, and new features added to Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Services, and Windows Phone. On the phone side of the house, for example, the first minor update, code-named Portico, already has made its way out to a number of Windows Phone users.

Blue represents a major change in how Microsoft builds, deploys, and markets software and services. To date, many Microsoft teams like Windows, Windows Live, and Windows Server have been focused on delivering major platform updates every two to three years. The challenge is to get them to pivot around yearly platform updates, the first of which will hit as part of the Blue wave. 

On the Windows side, the changes required to make this happen will be especially far-reaching and pronounced. Instead of releasing a new version of Windows once every three or so years, and then hoping and praying that manufacturers can get the final bits tested and preloaded on new hardware a few months later, Microsoft is going to try to push Blue out to users far more quickly, possibly via the Windows Store, my contact said.

There's still no word on specific new features coming to any of the Blue wave of products and services. But tweaks to the user experience, new developer-platform related bits, as well as new versions of Internet Explorer, Mail, Calendar, Bing, and other integrated apps are likely to figure into the Blue picture, my source said. Blue will include some kernel and driver-level updates which could help with battery life and overall performance, according to my source, but backward compatibility with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 seem to be a priority.

I know there are still some Blue doubters out there, but Charon at Ma-Config.com found a recent mention of Blue in a member of the Windows team's LinkedIn profile:

 

Windows 9 is still seemingly on the road map, too, by the way, but it's not clear when Microsoft intends to deliver it. Charon also found a LinkedIn poster mentioning his work on Windows 9 recently:

For the time being, as executives like Windows Chief Financial Officer Tami Reller have said repeatedly, Microsoft envisions Windows 8 as something more than a one-season wonder. (Reller has said Microsoft considers Windows 8 a product "of multiple selling seasons.") That makes more sense if you think about Blue -- and Lilac and Fuchsia or whatever Blue's successors are code named -- as updates to Windows 8, rather than as Windows 9, 10, and beyond.

I very, very seldom post a single-sourced rumor. But go ahead and Tracour this Blue update. I'm feeling pretty solid on this one.

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