Microsoft’s Windows Blue Leaks To Torrent Sites

[Guest Ethan]

Microsoft’s Windows Blue Leaks To Torrent Sites

This sort of software leaks are quite common and usually they’re just the spark to ignite the users’ anticipation, a quick peek at what the company is working on.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has been sometimes openly bothered by the frequent leaks concerning its products, others times the company itself has been suspected as using this method to promote its software - this time the new “release” is one the company’s upcoming projects, Windows Blue and since this week can be found on filesharing sites (here, for example).

Apparently, the 2.63GB ISO file is thought to have been released by one of Microsoft’s service partners from France. From tomshardware.com we learn what this leaked version reveals:

Current users of Windows 8 still have access to the File Recovery option, but it takes a little digging to find it. It’s located in the Control Panel under “All Control Panel Items” and allows users to back up their data to an external drive. This supposedly isn’t in the next release at all.

Another “hands-on” report claims that Microsoft has pushed most of the PC settings controls from the desktop to the new Modern UI overlay. These include settings for SkyDrive, Network, Apps, Accounts, Update and Recovery, Time & Language, and others. “If you were looking for any further proof of the desktop being eased out going forward, look no further than this,” said Paul Thurrott.

The leaked update also reveals a handful of new apps including Alarms, Calculator, Movie Moments and Sound Recorder. There’s also a new updated Snap mode that allows users to open two apps side by side, each one consuming half the screen – currently only one takes up 75-percent of the screen. Snap may even accommodate up to four at a time.

Also seen in this build is the ability to manipulate the size and arrangement of tiles, and to name Start Screen groups without going into semantic zoom mode. The update even provides the ability to customize the desktop’s background and color schemes directly from the blocky Modern UI.

There is also a functional copy of IE included in the leaked ISO but for now there’s no info about the updates to it.

Microsoft will make Windows Blue available this summer as a preview and will officially release it near the end of this year.