Why change the blue screen to black now? Did the viral images of Times Square rendered useless by the BSOD cause that much reputational harm?

The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has served as something of a Grim Reaper for Windows users since the 1980s.

The Blue Screen of Death we know today, fit with its frowning emoticon, is a relatively new development in the history of Windows.

After 40 years of delivering the tragic news of a PC crash to Windows users, Microsoft's infamous "blue screen of death" is going away.