http://www.osnews.com/story/17034/Microsoft_Offering_Free_Vista_Test_Drive_ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:28:14 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread?204656 http://osnews.com/thread?204656 This is not news. Its been avaiable for weeks. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Angel Blue01) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204657 http://osnews.com/thread?204657 ... it works only on IE > 6.0 . Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (youcha) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204665 http://osnews.com/thread?204665 Bah. This silly web page had me install an ActiveX control, only to tell me *afterwards* that i am "outside the geography" for the test drive.

Well who cares, really.Edited 2007-01-23 00:22 Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (eivind) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204691 http://osnews.com/thread?204691 I had a quick look, and I seem to have missed the link to let me download the vmware image referred to in the title. Could somebody post it for me? Ta. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tristan) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204702 http://osnews.com/thread?204702 I gave it a try on my XP machine since I never tried Vista and was curious to see how it looks like in action. So far, it has failed to start twice, showing me a "Preparing Windows Vista Test Drive" message with a full progress bar for more than an hour...

While I am not biased against MS-Windows, the first thing that came to my mind was: Buggy as ever. While I am fully aware that a Web test drive is no substitute from a real test installation, advertising something that doesn't work is certainly not the best way to generate positive feedback... Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Wrawrat) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204704 http://osnews.com/thread?204704 Microsoft is marketing this test drive to people who only use Windows. Notice you have to have Internet Explorer 6. My operating system doesn't support Internet Explorer. Guess they won't get my business. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Shadowmane) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204721 http://osnews.com/thread?204721 Sweet, so you I can't use it because I don't use IE or use Active X, plus are out of the geography range.

Seems as crappy as the real thing =)
So it really does give you a good feel of Vista!, Problems problems problems.

Hehe, I'm joking btw, hard to come across in text.

I don't really see the point of this honestly, isn't this just a webpage that you can interact with?
That really doesn't give you a good test of Vista, all it gives you is what Vista looks like, which you can find from Screenshots. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 02:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Finchwizard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204753 http://osnews.com/thread?204753 As was said by shadowmane, this isn't helpful unless you're already running an operating system which supports IE6. I like to try and maintain a healthy, unbiased attitude toward operating systems. I currently run Ubuntu because I feel that it is currently the best option for me personally. I would be more than happy to switch to Windows Vista if I felt that it would provide a better alternative. This "test drive," however, presupposes that I am already running a Microsoft operating system (or possibly IE6 on a mac?), so I'm not really sure how this is meant to help people who are considering switching to Vista. I mean, let's face it, if you already are running Windows you're going to upgrade sooner or later. There aren't too many people still running Windows 98 anymore (NT is another story..), so I'm not sure what the legitimate purpose of this could be. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Jawbreaker4Fs) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204788 http://osnews.com/thread?204788 that the hot new features of Vista could actually be implemented on a simple interactive web page?

On the bright side, maybe they should think about that twice and seriously go after Google? :p Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (korpenkraxar) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204806 http://osnews.com/thread?204806 Why not use a LiveCD?

Wait... the OS is too big.

Ok then, a LiveDVD.

Oops, still too big!

Maybe Live-Blueray or Live-HDVD might work... Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Darkelve) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204817 http://osnews.com/thread?204817 ... what makes people think that this is a genuine Microsoft site?

Should you really be visiting websites like this with no evidence that they are the real thing? Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Rayz) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204820 http://osnews.com/thread?204820 Well, this site may have made me convienced of switching back to Windows, unfortunately I can't test-drive Vista using Firefox under Gentoo Linux, damn ;-) Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:27:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (el3ktro) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204836 http://osnews.com/thread?204836 You should care....

You have just opened your IE up to every Tom, Dick and Harry Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204837 http://osnews.com/thread?204837 It is all part of the "denial of alternatives" attitude that Microsoft has had for years.
They do not want the general public to think of Linux/BSD/Solaris as an alternative to Windows, so, they deny their existence.

By making sure the demo can only be viewed by Windows users, it maintains the idea in Joe Publics head that the computer IS Windows......

Also, Microsoft need to target XP users, as that is where the majority of uptake of Vista will come from.

Can you honestly show me 1 Linux user that is even tempted to switch to Vista ? Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204839 http://osnews.com/thread?204839 This is Joe Public you are talking about.
Of course they will visit, and of course they will download everything blindly....
Especially one that netcraft cannot locate, exsilioinc.com !


Look a few posts above about ActiveX


Ohhhhhh the fun of IT support Edited 2007-01-23 10:22 Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204843 http://osnews.com/thread?204843 You have just opened your IE up to every Tom, Dick and Harry

I work with computers. People who work with computers don't actually _use_ IE for anything productive. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (eivind) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204852 http://osnews.com/thread?204852 Well that's just it.

I mean, the folk who contribute here, are supposed to be 'net savvy', but look at the number of them on this thread alone who fell for this!

No official notice from Microsoft.

The site is called 'windowsvistatestdrive' - do me a favour!

And a quick domain check would show that it isn't even registered to Microsoft! Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Rayz) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204856 http://osnews.com/thread?204856 perhaps they shouldnt disallow people to login and actually try it. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Redeeman) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204870 http://osnews.com/thread?204870 it doesn't work for swedish customersEdited 2007-01-23 12:40 Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Mellin) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204872 http://osnews.com/thread?204872 "And a quick domain check would show that it isn't even registered to Microsoft!"

Indeed, why would Microsoft register a domain via proxy for an official project? Doesn't really add up.
It is also noteworthy that the site isn't uusing SSL making it even harder to verify if it's an authentic MS site. If this actually IS an official MS site it's not very well handled and doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence.

Exsilio Consulting does exist though:
http://www.bristolagency.com/ Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204878 http://osnews.com/thread?204878 "And a quick domain check would show that it isn't even registered to Microsoft!"

After some more cursory investigation it appears the vista live test is hosted on the same machine as exsilio's website. Still pretty sloppy for a MS project though but maybe it's not actually official yet and arch has beaten the official launch.
I can't help but also notice that exsilio's admins are some of those misguided souls that wrongly think that blocking ping and traceroute serves some kind of purpose. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204916 http://osnews.com/thread?204916 W2K works just fine. Does everything I need to do. W2k runs all of my apps and drivers. W2K is fast, stable, and requires no hardware upgrade.

Give me something *worthwhile* and I might consider upgrading. I won't upgrade just to put my money in msft's bank account. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (walterbyrd) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204931 http://osnews.com/thread?204931 Sure, a live HD-DVD would be fun. Just make sure you have 10 GB of RAM and a 4 GB flash drive in the USB port. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bolomkxxviii) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204966 http://osnews.com/thread?204966 It looks like a VM is generated on the fly for you.

A quick look at the VM indicates:

* I'm logged in as Admin
* There are other user accounts: Melissa, Toby and Abby.

This could be a hack-and-a-half if someone wanted to have fun!

I love this! The UI rocks! Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (linuxh8r) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204967 http://osnews.com/thread?204967 That first bag is always free, don't talk to strange web sites and stay in school kids. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Sphinx) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204974 http://osnews.com/thread?204974 Hmmm, I have to have IE6 or better...I have to enable active X and install a plugin... In other words, I have to already be running a Windows operating system to try this out. I find it silly that Microsoft presupposes that users trying this site area already running Windows. If they wanted to maximize the impact of this site, they would have paid close attention to users NOT running Windows. No thanks...I'll be sticking with Linux. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (cmost) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204976 http://osnews.com/thread?204976 Soulbender: I can't help but also notice that exsilio's admins are some of those misguided souls that wrongly think that blocking ping and traceroute serves some kind of purpose.

Have you never heard of the dreaded ping attack? That's when a ping with a red headband and a bare chest infiltrates your system, kills the scheduler and frees the POWs from the quarantine folder. Traceroute is even worse, it uses blue light! Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (B. Janssen) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?204986 http://osnews.com/thread?204986 Thanks Microsoft, but I think I 'll stick to my Suse 10.1 Professional Linux system. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (vasper) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?205032 http://osnews.com/thread?205032 I've been waiting for 10 minutes for the thing to finish loading-I hope the *real* O.S. doesn't take this long to boot Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elektrik) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?205198 http://osnews.com/thread?205198 So, the domain itself is owned by domainsbyproxy.com out of Scottsdale Arizona. It is hosted on a server with an IP address owned by hosting.com, and is a ptr to ngci.net. Besides all of these are registered through godaddy.com.

Yep, smells pretty nasty to me. Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DrillSgt) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?205254 http://osnews.com/thread?205254 WTF has LiveCD doing fact that you can run it thru internet. You dont have to install anything or reboot your computer! Totally different than some crappy LiveCD. Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:31:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Karitku) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?205307 http://osnews.com/thread?205307 It has nothing to do with MS .... Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Rayz) Comments