10 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

Where Vista is headed, From Microsoft themselves

I am allowed to post this

Q: When will you release the November CTP? Only 2 days left of November!

A: There will be no CTP for Vista in November because we are targeting for most features to be code-complete by end of December and resources efforts are going towards that effort. We should have a CTP in December before the Christmas holiday. These interim changes have no impact on our general availability target for Windows Vista. We are on track to deliver a high-quality Windows Vista in the 2nd half of 2006.

Q: When will be get a new server build to test

A: We hope to get one out in CTP form. I don't have a date for you right now, but we're focused on getting to feature complete and driving your feedback into Vista right now. The work we are doing on server is increasing though

Q: What's the minimum machine for beta test

A: Exact details for minimum specs haven't been released yet, but generally if it rund Windows XP well you are in good shape. This can vary depending on availablility of specific device drivers.

Q: Have we offended the Vista team in anyway? Is this why you guys don't tell us anything anymore?

A: No, you haven't offended the Vista team. Please don't take offense that we haven't been communicating as much recently as we have been very busy. Also, we are rarely in the position to communicate things that aren't already disclosed. Sorry for any confusion this may cause and were sure that with the upcoming build releases you will be much more satisfied.

Q: Is Vista getting faster in the later builds you've been testing? Also what about a MCE is that coming soon?

A: Vista performance is most definately improving. I'm not clear on the MCE question?

Q: Can someone clear up what seems to be confusion on the groups over the release of Build 5259? Did it go to selected testers or TAP because date of release and extent seems confused. I notice Mario mentions it today.

A: A specific, small group of partners received access to 5259. It is an IDW build and has not gone through the CTP testing process.

Q: What is the Windows Team doing to be more transparent with testers when it comes to updating us on the progress of Vista, in terms of notifying us of problems during development and last minute glitches?

A: We try to give you as much information as possible, but we are sometimes limited in what we can say because of the open nature of beta programs. Unfortunately we share information and it gets around the Internet instantly. Given that we can sometimes only tell everyone on the techbeta what we could tell the rest of the world.

Q: Speculation is rampant across the Internet, enthusiast sites, forums and even in the Longhorn newsgroups, how has this affected the development of Windows Vista and what is your opinion on this new trend?

A: The interest and feedback we get from the CTP's is helpful and has driven us to get to feature complete faster so we can get more useful feedback. The speculation and rumors that appear don't really have a direct affect on the development process. While we appreciate everyone's enthusiasm, speculating on features, release dates and build numbers doesn't really add value to the overall process of releasing a quality Windows.

Q: I had issues with nVidia networking and VPN connections. Will this be resolved in future builds or is it a driver issue that must be resolved by nVidia?

A: The current release 5231's VPN functions do not work fully, however in the newer builds it appears that VPN functionality works fine. The best way to test this is re-test this scenario when the newer release is avaliable. Also, if this is a Nvidia driver issue, it could get messy and will probably require Nvidia to get involved.

Q: Install times seem to be incredibly long with my machine. Athlon 64 3200+ takes over an hour to install both x86 and x64 versions. Is this due to the beta status or will the final builds take just as long?

A: The retail product should be much faster. In beta 2, staged builds should be implemented and average install times are supposed to be around 20 minutes, on average machines.

Q: Is this chat NDA?

A: Contents of this chat should not be shared beyond beta participants until after 2PM Pacific today. After that you are free to share.

Q: As a programmer I'd be very dissapointed if Microsoft does not release a CTP in the near future so that I can use the new SDK and the final version of the Framework. Will the recently released SDK be compatible with the next CTP? Does the 2.0 Framework com

A: I completely understand. We are working on releasing a December CTP before the Christmas holiday that you can use for this.

Q: Upcoming builds will have better driver support? At the very least, I'd like to see all the drivers from WinXP on Vista as well!? Can't tell you how many drivers are missing from our various platforms and thus REALLY making it hard to test.

A: Depending on the supplier of drivers, and what type of driver (x86 x64), we do plan to include more drivers for furture builds. Because we do not create 3rd party drivers, it is very difficult to ascertain exact build dates for new driver implementation. As a beta customer, we encourge you to write up driver request bugs for the devices you are having trouble with.

Q: What does IDW and CTP mean?

A: A lot of people get confused by this because these terms get used by different teams at Microsoft for different things. IDW is an internal term that has made its way to our techbeta. It stands for Interim Developer Release. Basically the quality is good enough for us to release it to the general technical population inside and (now) out side Microsoft. This is still lower in quality than out beta programs.

CTP = Community Technology Preview. This is a generic term that could potentially apply to any Microsoft pre-release. For Windows it generally means the releases that we make available to Techbeta (all of you) and MSDN.

Q: Will more SATA/RAID drivers be included in Beta 2 and RTM? It seems odd that for what is pretty standard HW these days you have to manually load drivers during setup.

A: Yes! We do plan on implementing a lot more SATA/RAID drivers for furture builds. We understand that during the early beta stage, thier was a lack of Core Storage support.

Q: What is the Windows Team doing to be more transparent with testers when it comes to updating us on the progress of Vista, in terms of notifying us of problems during development and last minute glitches?

A: We try to share things with you as we can via the newsgroups or chats like these. We also are working on getting features added to the Connect site that will allow better communication. Keep in mind that if we share information and it leaks it makes it less likely we'll again share similar information.

Q: When will we see a new startup screen?

A: This area is already changing in some of our test builds we have. I don't believe all of this is in our builds yet either but the basic answer is yes you will be seeing it in upcoming builds. When depends on the release of the next build (See answers to those many questions)

Q: Is it not possible for the TechBeta to have builds other than CTP? Even if its more of a 'try at your own risk' to me, thats what beta testing is about. Emphasis of the techbeta group seems to of changed from that of other betas.

A: We really feel that we owe you a build that has a known quality level. Anything less than CTP builds have unknown quality levels and usually contain problems that would cause certain groups of people significant pain. Also, we need to get builds into a state where we are prepared to get feedback. It's not particularly productive to sort through feedback on a build that winds up having significant problems which we already are aware of or have since fixed

Q: Are we allowed to report bugs on leaked (like IDW) builds?

A: You could, but the real question is should as an official Microsoft beta tester should you even have a leaked build installed on your machine?

Q: What wil hapen to the way IE7 will handle the Interent and protect me from today spyware and viruses?

A: There are a lot of ways that we have increased security measures and connectivity in general in IE7. Our new phishing filter helps detect potentially harmful sites that attempt to steal your information. We have many other features in addition to this that you haven't even seen yet that are designed to protect your privacy, security and overall health of your system.

Q: I know this is a risqué question, but - how's the sidebar going in developement ? Is it being included in current builds?

A: Definitely Risque! How about I just say that I haven't seen or heard anything on it yet.

Q: Can we get the home page button back in IE7?

A: The home button IS in every version of IE7. In Vista 5231 and IE7 for XPSP2, you simply need to hit Alt and then right click and select "Standard Buttons" to view the buttons. For earlier builds, it was slightly different.

Q: Have any OEMs refused to participate in driver construction? - how do we apply pressure on them to rectify that?

A: I don't know about specifics, but your best bet is to contact them directly to see if they have drivers availalbe. If the don't and aren't planning on developing them you can always ask. I can't talk about other companies, but here at Microsoft when we hear from people we do pay attention to the feedback.

Q: Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS (WDM) - Any improvements in the sound not crackling?

A: We believe we have found the error that was causing the crackling, we have notifed Creatve what we think could be the problem. Creative Labs hasreleased new Vista Drivers on Nov, 11. We encourge you to download these drivers and submit any bug reports if you are still having problems.

[m.oreilly]

very nice Nvyseal. glad you asked about the storage drivers. if we're
still using mechanical hdds, we're going to need that raid0

[EPA]

Very fine, dude. You helped us all to find light at the end of that tunnel!

Please, use this source often!!

[Neon]

Good info Nvyseal, thanks

[tc1]

Very nice, Nvyseal, thankyou

[EPA]

And let me add this:

Quote

Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Will the Real November Vista Build Please Stand Up?
By Mary Jo Foley

A new Community Technology Preview release of Vista, made available to select testers last week, may or may not make it out to a wider group. What's going on with the Windows CTP program?
..........

More:
http://www.microsoft...,1893935,00.asp




Please klick inside the picture!

Edited by EPA, 30 November 2005 - 02:32 AM.

[ShadowFox]

So is 5259 ACUTALLY the Beat 2 or is another one of those things where we all just believe and call it Beta 2

[Neon]

No thats just on the watermark...no idea why but Beta 2 isn't out yet

[m.oreilly]

i thought 2 would be around february...2nd month, beta 2...

[ShadowFox]

I thought so karl, thanks for that, I wasn't sure, so many people say "Beta 2" so often It's like the boy who cried wolf. I don't know what to expect LOL!

[oldladyfan]

Thanks for the info--but I wish I had my XP back!