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Microsoft acknowledges Windows Blue, announces next Build conference

Company reveals more about "Blue," sets Build conference for June.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers
Microsoft

Microsoft finally has come clean about its "Blue" code name for upcoming Windows tech, while also announcing its next Build Conference.

Microsoft is "working ... on plans to advance our devices and services, a set of plans referred to internally as Blue," the company said in The Official Microsoft Blog today.

Microsoft quickly qualified this by saying that the "chances of products being named thusly are slim to none."

These plans are expected to manifest as improvements and refinements to Windows in a variety of devices, ranging from phones to tablets to servers.

In Windows 8, that may include changes in personalization (appearance of Metro interface), desktop-style multitasking (tile size, placement), ease of use (easier access to Control Panel), sound recording, a new version of Internet Explorer -- and even simple tweaks, like how Windows 8 is shut down.

The Blog also reiterated a big change in Microsoft's strategy, which the author Frank Shaw describes as "a fundamental shift in our business from a software company to a devices and services company."

Redmond also announced the the next Build conference. Build 2013 is slated for June 26-28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif., Microsoft said.

Not surprisingly, Build will be about "what's next for Windows," including Windows Server, Windows Azure, and Visual Studio.