14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 refresh is expected to be released sometime this summer, especially because the Redmond-based technology giant urgently needs to stir up interest in its new operating system.
While company officials confirmed that Blue was only an internal codename for the project, sources familiar with the matter confirmed this week that Microsoft planned to call its next release Windows 8.1, a designation that pretty much makes sense given the fact that it's going to be a Windows 8 upgrade.
What's more, a new leaked set of screenshots with build 9369 suggested that Windows Blue is very likely to hit the market as Windows 8.1, most likely in August, two months after Microsoft's BUILD developer conference.
And speaking of BUILD, it's now rumored that the software vendor plans to use this event to reveal the first public beta of Windows 8.1, especially because it struggles to get closer to developers and thus collect feedback on its upcoming Windows refresh.
Aside from these new screenshots, we've heard that a new build of Windows Blue / 8.1 has been leaked to the Internet, but the ISO file is only available on private torrent trackers.
It may seem like Microsoft has sent a new version of Blue to partners, again for testing purposes, as the company is nearing the end of development for the public build of the OS.
Of course, no download link has been provided, but several online communities have revealed screenshots of what appears to be an improved version of 8.1 packing even more enhancements as compared to the early build leaked about two weeks ago.
Although it's not yet confirmed, rumor has it that Blue could boast a reworked search engine that would make the whole process a bit faster and easier, just like the one offered by Spotlight on Mac OS X systems. Microsoft wants its search engine to look for all types of data by default, without asking users to filter the displayed results.