Windows Vista Public Release on Tap ... But When?

Around the world, millions of eager Windows users waited for the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), held last week in Seattle. Microsoft used WinHEC as the platform for the release of Windows Vista Beta 2, which will eventually be shipped to the public as part of a Customer Preview Program (CPP). A week after Microsoft announced the release of Vista Beta 2, users are still wondering when they can get their hands on it.

The answer is vague. Microsoft will promise to deliver Windows Vista Beta 2 only "in the coming weeks," and the company has yet to announce how it plans to distribute the release to users. I've been told privately that Microsoft plans to distribute Vista Beta 2 to more than 2 million people around the world, although it's unclear whether Microsoft will let users download the release or offer it via DVD.

Whenever and however Vista Beta 2 is distributed, eager users might be in for some nasty surprises. Despite huge reliability gains in pre-Beta 2 builds, Beta 2 has proven to be less than satisfactory on my test systems in the past week, with numerous hang-ups, crashes, and even blue screens. It's unclear what happened, but Microsoft would be smart to quickly issue a more stable post-Beta 2 build to users. If Vista Beta 2 is released to millions of people worldwide in the shape it's in, the outcry will be deafening. Vista Beta 2 isn't an OS that can be used as a day-to-day replacement for Windows XP.

That said, Vista Beta 2 is greatly improved compared to last year's Beta 1 build and the Community Technology Preview (CTP) builds Microsoft issued at the end of 2005. In February 2005, prerelease versions of Vista were deemed "feature complete" and since then, Microsoft has been working on improving the quality, fit, and finish. Hardware and software compatibility have also seen steady improvement.

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if beta software were meant to be as reliable as RTM then it would be RTM. I understand your expectations may be high but instead of conentrating in fixing beta two MS should continue finishing the product. Beta is beta.

guruguru May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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BETA is BETA but dey cant even deliver a BETA to public on time, its almost 7 days off schedule now...

AkshayGenius May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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BETA is BETA but dey cant even deliver a BETA to public on time, its almost 7 days off schedule now...

AkshayGenius May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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"BETA is BETA but dey [sic] cant [sic] even deliver a BETA to public on time, its almost 7 days off schedule now..."

Actually, I don't think they made any promises about when Vista Beta 2 would be released to the public. They said, soon after the WINHEC release, Beta 2 would be released to the public too. From what Paul T has to say about it, it doesn't look like Vista is ready for a public beta release. If users keep seeing the BSODs, I don't think it's going to help the company's image in any way. Better to delay the Beta by a couple of weeks than to ship an unstable product. That said, I agree with guruguru that MS should work overtime to fix all the problems with Vista and ship it out on time.

shark47 May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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I haven't seen the BSOD since Windows Me. It'll be sad to see it make a comeback in the final version of Vista. I don't think my PC with XP Professional has ever crashed in the last 3 years. The system has hanged occassionally, but it recovered soon after.

shark47 May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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"I agree with guruguru that MS should work overtime to fix all the problems with Vista and ship it out on time"

It's hard to do that when you're spending all your time trying to copy Google. ;-)

But y'all are right--a "Beta 2" version that features the BSOD would be a public relations nightmare--one far worse than taking a couple extra weeks or so to distribute it. After all the years of development and numerous delays (oops...I forgot. Vista has "never been delayed") this product has been through, a poorly-performing Beta 2 would be a bad thing indeed.

lotsamystuff May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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"Actually, I don't think they made any promises about when Vista Beta 2 would be released to the public."

I hear what you're saying, but based on Paul's coverage of WinWhatTheHeck, I can see how some folks would expect otherwise:

"During his keynote address at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2006.. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates...announced the immediate availability of Vista Beta 2... executives at the show proclaimed they were 'confident' Vista would not be delayed further."

I think the words "immediate availability" made many think it would be IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.

Silly people.

:-)

lotsamystuff May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Lotsa, Vista Beta 2 was indeed available at WinHec. In fact, they distributed copies signed by Jim Allchin :).

"I think the words "immediate availability" made many think it would be IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.

Silly people."

Indeed. People were silly enough to assume that it was immediately available to the public.

Paul also said, "Microsoft will make this release available to the public in the coming weeks through a preview program aimed at IT administrators, developers, and technology enthusiasts."

shark47 May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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"It's hard to do that when you're spending all your time trying to copy Google. ;-)"

Definitely. Google is the most innovative and original company out there. They take familiar applications like an IM client, internet email, photo editor, etc. and add google search to it. There you go! Perfect! :-)

shark47 May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Microsoft takes it one step ahead - it takes a familiar product, adds msn search, and a "live" prefix.

shark47 May 30, 2006 (Article Rating:

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