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Microsoft Is Updating the Windows Console Colors For the First Time In 20 Years (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the hot-minute dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Microsoft is giving its Windows Console (Command Prompt) a color overhaul. Windows 10 testers will be able to try out the new color scheme in a new build (16257) that will available later today. Windows Console's legacy blue is getting a subtle change to make it more legible on modern high-contrast displays, alongside color changes to the entire scheme. Windows 10 testers will only see the new colors if they clean install build 16257, and if you upgrade you'll keep the legacy colors to ensure any custom color settings are not replaced. Microsoft is planning to release a tool soon that will allow Windows 10 testers to apply the new color scheme and a selection of alternatives. Developers, you can thank Microsoft summer intern Craig Loewen for the overhaul.

15 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. It's blue?! by the_skywise · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've always changed mine to the proper white on black. Or green on black for that 1984 Hackers look...

    1. Re:It's blue?! by dbwells · · Score: 2

      The article isn't worded very well, but looking at the pictures, I think it simply means wherever the console *used* blue before, that blue color will now be brighter. AFAIK, the default *background* has always been black for good old cmd.exe.

    2. Re:It's blue?! by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't see how this is a "new feature". You've been able to change the colors to anything you want for as long as I can remember.

      Properties --> Colors

      I guess they've given up on fixing the billion other things that are wrong with Windows 10.

    3. Re:It's blue?! by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      Yep..I always just go to black with green text on every CLI I set up to work on....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    4. Re:It's blue?! by Jeremi · · Score: 2

      I guess they've given up on fixing the billion other things that are wrong with Windows 10.

      When every bug you fix introduces two new problems, the only way to win the game is not to play. :(

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    5. Re:It's blue?! by TWX · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't talk about Fight Club.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    6. Re:It's blue?! by RhettLivingston · · Score: 4, Informative

      I think you've misunderstood a bit. I had the same first reaction as you, but then read the article.

      They changed the colors used to represent the colors you can change to.

      For example, I've always changed mine to a yellow or bright green on dark blue background. If you look at the examples in the article, you can see that was a very high contrast but somewhat restful combination before. It is now actually reduced in contrast and I can't see a color combination in the new example that I would find comfortable.

    7. Re:It's blue?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I concur. There's no way to tell the difference between the two shades of purple on most backgrounds now, either. Good old Microsoft "fixing" things that weren't broken. :(

  2. It's a black and blue issue... by thegreatbob · · Score: 2

    I could've sworn the legacy console colors were black and not-quite-white. I've only seen the blue scheme in PowerShell.

    --
    There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
  3. "Nothing new under the sun" ANSI.SYS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    See subject: This is an old trick you could do in DOS via ANSI.SYS loading in config.sys ala DEVICE = C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS & then in autoexec.bat using $e[xx;yy;zzm
    where xx = attribute code, yy = foreground color code, and zz = background color code.

    A table of the color codes follows:

    Code Color
    0 Turn Off Attributes
    1 High Intensity
    2 Normal Intensity
    4 Underline (mono only)
    5 Blink
    7 Reverse Video
    8 Invisible
    30 Black
    31 Red
    32 Green
    33 Yellow
    34 Blue
    35 Magenta
    36 Cyan
    37 White
    40 Black
    41 Red
    42 Green
    43 Yellow
    44 Blue
    45 Magenta
    46 Cyan
    47 White
    For example, the following command will result in a bright red C:\> prompt and bright yellow text on a blue background.

        C:\> prompt $e[1;31;44m$p$g$e[1;33;44m

    APK

    P.S.=> See subject - it's been done, long ago.. apk

    1. Re:"Nothing new under the sun" ANSI.SYS by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3

      They have actually redefined the RGB values of those colours, supposedly to better suit LCD monitors.

      You couldn't do that originally under DOS because the various graphics adaptors of the day emulated ancient text modes that only supported digital colour and half-bright. That is, each of the red, green and blue channels could be binary on/off and a binary half brightness applied to all of them, so the available colours were (hex RGB values):

      000 black
      00F blue
      0F0 green
      0FF cyan
      F00 red
      F0F magenta
      FF0 yellow
      FFF white
      007 dark blue
      070 dark green
      077 dark cyan
      700 dark red
      707 dark magenta
      770 dark yellow
      777 grey (default text colour in DOS)

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. Command Prompt is black. Powershell is blue. by ITRambo · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm not sure where the information came from, but I presume that the change is to Powershell and not to the Command Prompt, which in Windows 10 defaults to a black screen with white text. Powershell defaults to a blue screen with white text.

  5. Wow, just wow by marcle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We should all be grateful that the insanely talented coders at Microsoft were able to perform such a thrilling technical feat. It must have been incredibly difficult, as evidenced by how long it took.
    This is no doubt why Windows 10 is so buggy, since so many team members were slaving away adding colors to the terminal window instead of actually, you know, trying to fix the operating system.

    1. Re:Wow, just wow by rogoshen1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Do you have *any* idea how much telemetry they need to go through? Every click, every window, every interaction -- everything!

      Once Team Windows gets that telemetry data back from the NSA, they still need to sift through it, and then look for ways to improve the OS.

      But once they start getting caught up, you'll see more game changing improvements out of Redmond.

  6. Reeks of advertorialism by sombragris · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From TFA:

    It’s a minor change, but if you’re familiar with the Windows Console then it’s a welcome addition that developers have been asking for. It’s also a particularly relevant change now that Microsoft is supporting its own console alongside Bash, and another example of Microsoft paying attention to the small things that matter in Windows 10.

    Yeah right. If MS is paying attention to small things that matter and things developers (and other people) were asking for, why then they did not restore Classic style? Or disable telemetry...? Or refrain from forcing updates down our throats...?

    The original article is nothing but blatant ad copy thinly disguised as editorial content. In other words, an advertorial.

    --
    -- Look to the Rose that blows about us--"Lo, Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow..."