In a blog post on Thursday, Microsoft revealed a new black version of its iconic “blue screen of death” (BSOD), known for appearing after unexpected system crashes on Windows computers. The new BSOD will look much more like the black screen you see during a Windows update and will also list the stop code and fault system driver, details that weren’t always visible before. Much to the dismay of many, however, the iconic sad emoticon face will be retiring.
This move isn’t just a cosmetic change, but comes as part of Microsoft’s “Windows Resiliency Initiative (WRI),” a broader effort to improve the resiliency of Microsoft’s products following last year’s CrowdStrike incident, which left more than 8 million Windows machines and digital boards across the world with frowny faces.
