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Microsoft Windows' iconic blue screen of death is being retired

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

All right. What's blue, now black and means your computer is starting over?

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Would that be the Windows blue screen of death?

SHAPIRO: Correct.

CHANG: This thing that pops up when your computer suddenly restarts? I hate that thing.

SHAPIRO: Yeah, well, RIP because Microsoft announced this week that the dreaded BSOD is no more.

CHANG: Yeah, the company shared in a blog post on Thursday that now, if your computer needs to reboot right in the middle of that very important thing that you're doing, the screen will go black, which somehow seems more fitting.

SHAPIRO: The change is slated for this summer on Windows 11, version 24H2. Microsoft says the change will make systems recover from crashes faster and it better fits the overall layout of their operating system.

CHANG: Users may remember being bathed in a sea of blue light last year when the CrowdStrike software outage crashed millions of computers.

SHAPIRO: Sounds like next time, it'll be a much darker affair.

(SOUNDBITE OF LOLA YOUNG SONG, "CONCEITED") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Manuela López Restrepo
Manuela López Restrepo is a producer and writer at All Things Considered. She's been at NPR since graduating from The University of Maryland, and has worked at shows like Morning Edition and It's Been A Minute. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat Martin.
Jeanette Woods
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