Microsoft is moving toward a release system for Windows that more closely resembles Apple’s OS releases. The reason is fairly obvious: money. With major new operating system releases from Microsoft separated by several years, and every other release being largely ignored (think Windows Me and Vista), Microsoft just isn’t making enough money on Windows.

So, Microsoft has been working away on their next Windows release, code-named ‘Windows Blue’, and they plan to produce additional releases on a yearly basis. Pricing remains unclear, but apparently the upgrades will be “low-cost”. If Microsoft can make this work, they will have a steady inflow of cash from Windows sales.

In the past, incremental releases were provided in the form of service packs, which were always available for free. Microsoft insists that the new releases will do much more than the old service packs, but that remains to be seen. For now, the simplest way to think about this is that Microsoft is going to start charging for service packs.

The Verge has a series of posts about Windows Blue that are worth reading.

The basic applications that come bundled with Windows 8 were received unkindly by most reviewers. Seeking to redress some of the concerns raised, Microsoft recently began releasing updates for some of those applications, including Mail, Calendar and People (contacts).

The Verge has a useful summary of the changes, which include folder management and speed improvements for Mail, and readability improvements for Calendar. Inexplicably, Microsoft has removed support for Google Calendar from the Windows 8 Calendar app.

If you’re running Windows 7 and have autoupdate enabled, Service Pack 1 is no longer a choice. SP1 will be installed automatically whether you want it or not. If you have a good reason to avoid SP1 (although I can’t think of one), your only option is to disable autoupdates.