Microsoft confirmed that it will deliver the beta 1 version of Longhorn Server on August 3, along with the beta 1 release Internet Explorer 7. They’ll be available along with the beta 1 version of Windows Vista, the next-generation Windows formerly known as Longhorn, which Microsoft announced friday morning.
It will be good to finally see if Longhorn stands up to all it’s brewhahah.
Will the new windowing system be included in this beta?
I’m sure Microsoft knows the new GUI is sort of the “Main Event” to most people and would want to keep it under wraps, but its still software that may include bugs.
I believe we won’t see that till beta 2 of vista, IIRC
Right, the GUI will stay under wraps until Beta 2. Beta 1 is targeted at developers and IT professionals and will have around 1/3 of the planned featureset.
Right. That’s worth pointing out again – beta is mainly for IT pros and developers, it won’t include a lot of stuff that will appear in later betas. It’s almost like that HEC build.
btw, I think I read somewhere that Microsoft won’t show Aero until as late as RC1. Don’t know if this still holds true.
Doesn’t beta generally mean feature complete?
It used too…
Atleast now I know when IE7 is coming out to mess with it.
Though can’t get the windows vista name though my head yet.
I really hope MS tackles some of Windows’ main design flaws, those that made it easy for virus and malware to flourish. If they can do that and deliver a stable and secure by default OS, I’ll be happy. This is more important than features.
The problem Microsoft faces is their commitment to backwards-compatibility. I’m sure that if they fixed their flaws, Vista would be too different to be compatible with other versions. I suspect we’ll be seeing some additional hackish security layers that will be broken in no time.
i personally can’t stand the name vista…
But if Longhorn ah i mean vista improves my pc experience i won’t care . The problem is vista has been stripped of alot of features while still maintaining bloat.
Hopefully i’m proved wrong.
Please enlighten us on what features Vista has been stripped of besides WinFS (which will still appear in SP1)?
NGSCB, formerly codenamed Palladium
Ripped out? No. Scaled back? Yes.
With all crazy capitalizing being done lately here,”friday” looks odd.
No. For MS, mainly the core infrastructure components are complete for the Beta 1 stage (kernel, driver model, APIs, etc.), but higher level features and applications may be added later. Beta 2 is usually the cutoff point for new features, though some product schedules may contain more than 2 Beta milestones. IIRC, the final UI can be added as late as the first Release Candidate build, and there may also be tweaks to default settings and other things based on further feedback received during this period.
After several RCs, with all internal tests passed and a lack of “show stopper” issues being reported, the final RC transitions to the Release To Manufacturing build.
Along with the major milestone releases are several interim releases that usually only go to the private beta testers. The transition from each stage is based on internal quality metrics and external feedback. There may be some features planned for and built against internal builds that don’t make it into the current milestone or release.
The new version of Windows will ship with some glitzy desktop features, and a massive media campaign with rock stars. Dell and the other PC vendors will be eagerly on board, talking up how wonderful it is. A year or two later, Microsoft will get around to shipping a feature-complete product, the one they had planned to ship the first time. That’ll be called “Service Pack 1”. Then come the service packs responding to all the security and robustness problems.
Paul G
What has MS actually done lately? They’ve had like 3+ press releases a day but what’s actually shipping that we can try…..
<crickets>chirp, chirp….</chirp>
it seems lately they’re just releasing “me too” statements to keep themselves in the news when everybody else is actually releasing stuff. This is worse than the “linux is ready for the desktop” articles we get… come on eds… wait to post until there’s real news!!!
MS has a BIG problem. First, I just had dinner with just a regular computer user and he asked, “So, what is this longhorn all about anyway? What I have works just fine…I don’t see a need for that..”
Is Longhorn going to be basically WinXP with a pretty face? What are the REAL advantages to the end user for this upgrade?
What is COMPELLING about this Longhorn release without the WinFS and whatever else they decided to remove, at least initially? Will Longhorn actually do something more and different than WinXP does now?
These questions haven’t been answered adequately by either the Top Brass at MS or the marketing department.
In the mean-time, they have to push WinXP with a new Advertising campaign. You aren’t going to sell Longhorn to the people who just bought WinXP within a year.
This is a nightmare for them…and I see the kingdom eroding around the edges.
Just my opinion….
Partial list at http://www.activewin.com/longhorn/thestateoflonghorn.shtml
Linux AeroVista
that’s a flying agency that has been out of buisness for over 3 years.
“Vista” in Latvian means “chicken”
Good joke going round on what V.I.S.T.A stands for :
Viruses, infections, spyware, trojans and adware
or how about:
Visually impaired software for total a-holes
That about sums it up for me!
MS sued Lindows. The name appears to be way to close for comfort.
Just Another Motherfuckig Itchy Eccentric ASSHOLE;)
VISTA:
——
Viruses
Infections
Spyware
Trojans
Adware