Microsoft wants more Vista testers It hopes to have about 5 million testers checking out latest version of Windows update, as it tries to stamp out bugs. By Ina Fried Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: September 14, 2006, 10:34 AM PDT Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this Microsoft said on Thursday that it is looking for more people to give Windows Vista a try. The software maker said that the Release Candidate 1 version offered up earlier this month is now being opened up to consumers who were not already testing the new operating system. Microsoft is looking for more testers, as it works to iron out the bugs in Vista. After several delays, the company hopes to release Vista to large business customers in November and start selling it broadly in January. "RC1 represents a significant industry milestone on the road to delivering Windows Vista, and customer participation and feedback are integral parts of the development process," Microsoft said in a statement. "The feedback received thus far from testers has been extremely valuable, and Microsoft expects that by expanding the (customer preview program) with RC1, the Windows Vista team will gather even more worthwhile input." In all, Microsoft expects to make the latest test version available to about 5 million people. http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6115744.html?part=rss&tag=6115744&subj=news go here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/default.mspx
Windows Vista RC1 Now Downloadable By Anyone By Mary Jo Foley Windows Client First, it went to a select group of technical beta testers. Then to those who had tested Beta 2. As of September 14, however, Windows Vista Release Candidate (RC) 1 is now available to anyone interested in testing the product. The bits can be downloaded from the Vista Get Ready site. Microsoft's goal is to allow up to 5 million individuals, total, to play with this near-final test build. After RC1, there are no more public Vista builds coming – just an undetermined number of private ones before the product goes to manufacturing. RC1 CPP Now Available to General Public Windows Vista Team Blog A quick update on CPP status: Windows Vista RC1 is now publicly available. This means that 32- and 64-bit downloads for all three languages (English, German, and Japanese) are live. If you did not receive and email in the previous wave, you can now both download the ISO image and request a product key (PID). More importantly, how do I get access to the RC1 build? Go here. Filed Under: Windows Vista, Windows, Shell, Windows Vista RC1, RC1, Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 Comments # Code Thread :: Windows Vista RC1 CPP registration now officially open Thursday, September 14, 2006 2:29 PM by Code Thread :: Windows Vista RC1 CPP registration now officially open PingBack from http://farhanahmed.net/blog/?p=295 # re: RC1 CPP Now Available to General Public Thursday, September 14, 2006 2:31 PM by TH_John Help. Just installed VISTA candidate 1 and now: 1) my HP 4110 all in one printer is no longer working. 2) HP says that the problem stems from IE 7.0 and they are working on a fix but in the meantime they suggested that I A) remove IE 7.0, B) Install 6.0 C) perfrom a level 3 uninstall of the exisiting HP driver software BUT... 1) It appears that I (system admin of my own machine) lack the authority to remove IE 7.0 2) You can't reinstall 6.0 over 7.0 3) I can't reinstall my previous XP home OS since VISTA ensures there is no going back. 4) I can't even find IE 7.0 in my list of installed programs using VISTA's control panel. In addition to the chock-full-of-fun I'm having trying to undo the voodoo that you do so well, I am also having issues with other program that had previously been working under XP sp2. System restores are worthless and other than scrubbing the hard drive, I am beginning to think I've made a grave mistake. Sincerely- TH_John http://blogs.technet.com/windowsvista/archive/2006/09/14/456068.aspx Do You Want to Help Improve Windows Vista? Windows Vista Customer Preview Program—RC1 Update The final major pre-release of Windows Vista—Release Candidate 1 (RC1)—is now available through the Customer Preview Program (CPP). Customer participation and feedback are integral parts of our development process. If you decide to install and test RC1, thank you for being part of the Windows Vista team! Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a primary computer in the home. RC1 is intended for developers, IT professionals, and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use RC1, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007. Access to the Customer Preview Program is limited. Once the program capacity has been reached, the program will be closed and no new orders will be accepted. How to get started Release Candidate 1 is available in three languages (English, German, and Japanese) and in 32-bit and 64-bit editions. There are two ways to get Windows Vista RC1: 1. Order the DVD kit and have it shipped to your home or office. 2. Download the ISO file to your PC. (An ISO file is an exact representation of a CD or DVD, including the content and the logical format. Once you download the ISO file, you'll need to burn it to a DVD before you can install the software.) To get started, please choose one of the following ordering options and select your country or region. Then we will ask you a few questions and register you for the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program. As a part of this program, you will receive an e-mail newsletter that will keep you up to date with information and tools to enhance your experience with Windows Vista RC1. (You can unsubscribe at any time through a link in the newsletter.) If you registered for the Customer Preview Program with the release of Windows Vista Beta 2 in June, you do not need to register again for RC1. Please refer to the e-mail message sent in early September announcing the availability of RC1 for details. Please read this important information before proceeding * System requirements View system requirements and information on Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PCs. * Release notes View the release notes for Windows Vista RC1 (available in English only). * Upgrade limitations You may not be able to upgrade your installation of Windows Vista RC1 to the final, commercially available edition of Windows Vista. To upgrade, you will need to acquire the final edition of Windows Vista and you may have to do a clean installation. * Time-limited software Windows Vista RC1 is time-limited, pre-release software that will expire on June 1, 2007. * Beta support policy This is pre-release (beta) software distributed for trial and testing purposes only. Microsoft does not provide technical support for beta releases. Although formal support is not offered for this beta, we have provided newsgroups to help answer questions you may have related to the installation and use of Windows Vista RC1. To join or read postings in these newsgroups, please visit http://windowshelp.microsoft.com. * 2007 Office System Beta 2 compatibility If you are using 2007 Office system Beta 2 be sure to download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 Technical Refresh, the most recent update. (The Technical Refresh is required to use Office Beta 2 with Windows Vista RC1.) * Installation limitations There are three installation scenarios for Windows Vista RC1: 1. You can do a clean installation. This process will overwrite any data that you have on your hard disk or on your installation partition. The overwritten data will be lost and unrecoverable. 2. You can upgrade an existing installation of Windows XP. 3. You can upgrade an existing installation of Windows Vista Beta 2. No other installation scenarios are supported. Upgrading to this beta from any other edition of Windows requires a clean installation, as described in option 1. In addition, once you install Windows Vista RC1, you cannot roll back to the previous operating system installation—you will either have to acquire and install the final released edition of Windows Vista or reinstall a previous edition of Windows. Before installing Windows Vista RC1 on any computer, please remember to back up all your files. Upgrading from Windows Vista Beta 2 Please install any Critical Updates from Windows Update before upgrading from Beta 2 to RC1. Go to Start, All Programs, Windows Update, and click the "Check for Updates" button. Note: Please close any open applications before beginning an upgrade. During installation, we recommend that you have an active Internet connection and choose Go online to get the latest updates for installation. Order the Windows Vista RC1 DVD kit Choose this option to have the Windows Vista RC1 DVD kit sent to your home or office. This option requires payment to cover DVD production, shipping, and handling costs. (Cost will vary by country based on local taxes and delivery charges.) To start the order process, please select your country or region from the following list. (Shipping is only available to the countries and regions included in this list.) Order Now Download Windows Vista RC1 http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx Choose this option to download Windows Vista RC1. The download is an ISO file of Windows Vista RC1, which is about 3.0 gigabytes (GB) for the 32-bit edition or 4.0 GB for the 64-bit edition. You will need: * Broadband Internet connection (highly recommended) * DVD burner and blank DVD media to convert the download into a bootable DVD that can be used to install the operating system To begin, please select your country or region from the following list. Download times will vary based on your Internet connection speed. This table shows approximate download times at common connection speeds: Connection speed: Connection type: Approximate download time: 32-bit edition (3.0 GB) 3.0 mbps Fast Cable/DSL 4.5 hours 1.5 mbps T1 9 hours 768 kbps Cable/DSL 18 hours 256 kbps Cable/DSL 54 hours 64-bit edition (4.0 GB) 3.0 mbps Fast Cable/DSL 5.5 hours 1.5 mbps T1 10.5 hours 768 kbps Cable/DSL 21 hours 256 kbps Cable/DSL 64 hours Download Now http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx
Microsoft deliberately blocking disc burning software in Vista, claims Alcohol Posted by: Digital Dave on September 14, 2006 11:49 PM Really? Na... they can't be that stupid. To their own frustration and to the frustration of their users, big CD/DVD burning companies Roxio, Alcohol and Ahead Software (makers of Nero) are facing a huge problem in getting their software packages to work with Vista. According to Alcohol Soft, the maker of Alcohol 52% and 120%, Microsoft is blocking its ability to ensure compatibility: - apcstart.com Microsoft deliberately blocking disc burning software in Vista, claims Alcohol * 14 September 2006 To their own frustration and to the frustration of their users, big CD/DVD burning companies Roxio, Alcohol and Ahead Software (makers of Nero) are facing a huge problem in getting their software packages to work with Vista. According to Alcohol Soft, the maker of Alcohol 52% and 120%, Microsoft is blocking its ability to ensure compatibility: They have actually placed a hard block on the device drivers for the time being, to stop the virtual drives from loading. It is more than likely in place to help them beta test Vista without having reports from beta users regarding virtual drives, which might complicate things. We are working with them at the moment to ensure there are no incompatibility problems in the future. As a result, “As of this time Alcohol 120% will not work in Windows Vista Beta, although we do hope to support it once we get past the RC1 release and further,” Alcohol Soft says. Roxio and Nero cannot be definite about the compatibility of their product either. Roxio says that EMC Version 9 is Vista compatible, but Vista is a moving target, so we can’t assure 100% compatibility until after Vista is final and released. We may have to release an update at that time, but we are committed to doing so if necessary. Nero is “currently working on” reliable compatibility but could not commit to anything more definite “at this stage”. However, Vista RC1 users report that Deep Burner (shareware) and ImgBurn (donation-ware) are working. APC gave Microsoft ten days to provide a response to Alcohol Soft’s claim, but at the time of publication, it still hadn’t responded since its initial acknowledgement of the enquiry. RELATED STORIES * No Nero for Windows Vista beta 2 yet * Burn slower, or risk data loss: Microsoft http://www.apcstart.com/site/tgaden...disc-burning-software-in-vista-claims-alcohol
ZIppyDSM they do quote How does this work? One of the biggest changes in Vista is a technology called "Protected Video Path." This will essentially keep video streams encrypted and inaccessible as video is being sent from a DVD (or other copy-protected source) to the monitor, TV or other display. The operating system will also check what the computer is connected to (a monitor, a TV, and so on), do another check to make sure the device really is what it says it is, and then see what kind of plug, or output mechanism, is being used to connect the computer to the device. go here to read more http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/387776#2332805
ireland I know about that but I was thinking they were going to do that to ALL video including whats on the the HD or downlaoded or streamed stuff.
No HD in 32bit vister eh? SO whats happens when open source people make a decryption thing in 2 or so years after vister is released is MS going to somehow release patches so these programs wont run? Don't they see a losing battle here ,if they keep on moveing over to the mifaa they will sink with them...0-o
ireland So no copy protection no play? its not been implemented yet has it? because I hear alot of noobs drooling over that they have Vista and it runs great *rolls eyes* I also here vids work find from non noobs. So games with movies will also be blocked because they are not copy protected?
It's just plain stupidity written with capital M$. In the long run, a losing battle, the way I see it.
tranquash its liek enws media outlets trying to bash video games they are loseing thier younger viewers to keep a alot of older viewers that are not going to last a decade or so....
