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September 15, 2006

Windows Vista RC1 Released To The Masses

Microsoft has finally taken all the wraps off of Windows Vista RC1, and today began offering the public a downloadable version, or the opportunity to order it on DVD (see Public Download Vista RC1 Now Available!.) Microsoft had previously stated that this release would be available to 5 million users worldwide, and in emails today they already have warned that download times may be slow due to a huge response.

When Microsoft released Windows Vista Beta 2 in June, they had to throttle back their servers because of the high demand (see Vista Downloads Overwhelm Internet), and they are expecting an even higher demand for RC1. While many testers have reported that Vista RC1 is much better in terms of stability and overall function, there are still numerous issues with hardware drivers that can cause system crashes or even make installation impossible.

On the positive side, many features are now fully functional, and things like Media Center, which needed a lot of work in the Beta 2 release, have greatly improved. With the time until release getting shorter, Microsoft is hoping that this wide public release will help identify any last minute major issues before they finalize the release code. Although there are still many small issues, many of these will probably not be addressed until after Vista is released due to the possibility of small code changes causing bigger problems.

Microsoft is walking a fine line between delivering Vista on time, and delivering a quality product, and the next few weeks of development are probably the most critical. It is expected that official Beta testers will probably see a few more interim builds to help identify last minute bugs, and Microsoft is hoping to get a lot of feedback from the public CPP testers who are currently downloading and installing RC1.

Posted by jrfree1 at September 15, 2006 07:19 PM