Windows Blue hints BaseFS, MinKernel and Windows Defender modern app

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Although, the first leak of Windows Blue a few days ago has already surfaced a considerable amount of changes and tweaks that Microsoft is preparing for the next Windows 8 upgrade. Now deeper under-the-hood changes are becoming known.

Windows Blue still a work in progress, but even at its early stages is showing that Microsoft is putting a lot of effort to improve the modern UI introduced in Windows 8. However, it’s worth noting that the forthcoming upgrade isn’t yet a final product, this means that there is no guarantee that all the features that are being uncover today will ship in the final release.

All that aside, Sandro Villinger, a Microsoft writer at ITWorld.com, is hinting several possible inclusions in Windows Blue:

Perhaps one of the most interesting finding are the Microsoft’s references to BaseFS and MinKernel in Windows Blue. Mary Jo Foley at All About Microsoft has some insights suggesting that BaseFS isn’t a new name for ReFS (the new file system for Windows Server 2012). Instead is more like an internal concept that is related to shared functionality across the different file systems.

MinKernel, on the other hand is a small amount of functionality that is shared between all the Windows kernels that run in different architectures (x86, ARM, Xbox and Windows Phone). In other words, MinKernel is the base on which platforms are built, and in the same way BaseFS may be the base file system that different platforms have in common.

Villinger has also discovered internal references to a “Windows Defender Modern App”, which will indicate that Microsoft may be building a Windows 8-style version of its popular antivirus solution — although there isn’t a new interface to confirm it at this time –. According to the same ITWorld article, there are two new features (“TetheringStation” and “TetheringManager”) included in the latest leak of Blue, which hints that Microsoft could be adding 3G/4G tethering with the upcoming upgrade.

Under Power Options, there is a new “Latency sensitivity hint processor performance” settings, which Sandro describes that it could define that the “CPU performance increases when the system demands low-latency applications (e.g., Metro apps, games).”

Source ITWorld via AllAboutMicrosoft

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.