We already knew that that Windows Blue, Microsoft's forthcoming OS update that will put the Windows platform on a low-cost, yearly update schedule, was scheduled to launch sometime later this year. Now, we're seeing the first official mention of Windows Blue via a job posting on Microsoft's careers site. The job is for a software development engineer who will join the "Core Experience team" to work on "most of what customers touch and see in the OS." The first paragraph of the listing reads (relavent areas bolded for emphasis):

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.

That's the only mention of Blue in the posting, but it does give us a hint of what to expect the OS update to represent — it sounds like it'll focus on UI and how users interact with their computers rather than under-the-hood changes. We're expecting to see Windows Blue debut mid-2013, so we know soon how successful the new OS is at smoothing out any of Windows' rough edges.

A second job posting also confirms that Microsoft will bring Blue to Windows Phone — a listing for a senior development lead in the Office team says that the applicant will "help realize the vision of building high quality excel app [sic] for Windows Phone Blue." We recently learned that the Windows Blue initiative would extend beyond just Windows for the desktop and encompass other Microsoft services and software — this job posting makes that plan seem even more likely.

Thanks, Bleedorang3!