RSSMicrosoft Cancels November Vista CTP
By Nate Mook | Published November 29, 2005, 5:21 PM
Microsoft announced in a conference call on Tuesday that no Windows Vista CTP would be released for November, with the development focus shifting to a "quality based schedule, rather than a calendar date one." Instead, a December CTP will be issued before the Christmas holidays.
Amitabh Srivastava, who heads up Microsoft's Windows engineering efforts, explained that the company was endeavoring to finish the code for all Windows Vista features by the end of December, with a feature-complete build of Vista shipping "early next year."
Although Srivastava characterized the Vista development schedule as accelerated, he refused to comment on what the previous roadmap looked like. Officials would also not disclose what new features to expect in the December CTP build, but said many notable additions will have been made since the October CTP.
A November Windows Vista build, which is deemed IDW or Internal Developer Workstation, will only be available to TAP customers. "It hasn't gone through rigorous testing of a CTP build," Srivastava said.
Dodging the word "delay," Srivastava detailed a new engineering process employed for Vista in which Microsoft "developed tools to catch bugs early on in a really automated way." Because the system "verifies the quality of the code before it is integrated into the process," daily builds are of "good quality," he said.
But the "quality based schedule" marks a significant change from Microsoft's initial plans for Vista. At PDC 2005 in September, the company said it "will continue to release CTP builds on a monthly basis throughout the Windows Vista development process, and all feedback will be processed through the MSDN Product Feedback Center."
Neil Charney, director of Windows Product Management, reiterated Microsoft's commitment to the CTP program, despite backing away from monthly releases.
"One of the other things we found is that more communication is better than less for everyone," explained Charney. "We're looking to make these conference calls a standard part of the process."
Charney would not offer any hints as to when to expect Windows Vista Beta 2, only stating that more information would be shared as development progresses. "We're going to start communicating details of subsequent CTP releases in a format similar to this call," he said. "We will have more to share next year."
However, a late December CTP means Vista Beta 2 could arrive after the expected January timeframe.
Nonetheless, both Charney and Srivastava repeated that Windows Vista was still scheduled for general availability in the second half of 2006. The next Windows Server release, still code-named Longhorn, remains set for a 2007 debut.
Whoa! Does mean I can have a Vista Computer by summer 2006?
Score: 0
|I, for one, believe everything Microsoft says. They didn't become the greatest software, nay, the greatest company of any kind, in the world, by failing to deliver on their promises.
So if they say Cairo is almost here, I'm down with that.
Score: 0
|M$ is the largest company of any kind just because users are (as usual) dumb enough to buy Windows. Add to this their severly critisized business deals with other manufacturers.
If you dont believe that, check how much people (that's us) spend on music download in a day!!! enough to revive all of Africa for a month. Also, while you're at it, check how much actors earn on a single movie (which we gladely give to them just because they look cute... em.. like VISTA).
Score: 0
|I would much prefer MS get it right the first time as opposed to releasing another XP "Gold" type OS. Don't get me wrong, my XP SP2 runs great and I only get viruses if I intentionally download one or an email attatchment. However, I forgot how extremely insecure XP Gold is--reinstalled XP recently and got infected with download trojans before I could download the SP2! I would rather *some* security with the original Vista, even though inevitably flaws will be discovered...
Score: 0
|SP2 can be slipstreamed to create an updated XP SP2 installation CD, you can add the majority of pre-SP3 hotfixes as well. There are some guides to do it on the 'net.
Score: 0
|Come on, guys. What does "CTP" mean? You toss specialized acronyms around as if everyone already knows what you mean. Why not at least spell them out on first reference? That's the method recommended all the most popular editing guides.
Score: 0
|CTP = 'Community Technology Preview'
Score: 0
|£0£!1!11 ¥0µ Ð0n'7 |{n0w wh47 (7P m34n$? Wh47 4 ƒr34|{1n9 n00b.
Score: 0
|Lol, He might not know what that means, but I would hope that he is able to read that. Seeing how people stopped typing like that in the late 90's.
Score: 0
|I'm glad they're taking their time with this, trying to weed out bugs before they get into the real program. I'd rather them take their time and get it right the first time, than just give us a snapshot build full of holes and bugs b/c of a date on a calendar. Good job MS!
Score: 0
|ok, Vista is set for the 3rd qtr of 2006 right? that is...5 years since XP
Think about all the other OS M$ has released
95 to 98 .... 3 years
98 to ME .... 2 years
NT4.0 to 2kpro ...2 years
ME to XPH .... 2 years
2KP to XPP .... 2 years
2KServ to 2k3 .... 3 years
From what I can see, M$ is actually AIMing for a quaility product this time...atleast I hope so lol
Score: 0
|I normally hate MS, but lately a lot of things have earnt them points in my book. I'll try Vista, and if I like it, I may make the switch back to win...
Score: 0
|"NT4.0 to 2kpro ...2 years"
You kiddin'? NT 4.0 was released in 1996, not 1998! You're right about the others though...
Score: 0
|- The idea that M$ takes time to bring us a safe product is just... rediculous. It's time proven that (since win95, 98, the MIGHTY ME, 2k, XP and 2k3) we consumers we'll just end up with a buggy not-completed OS and we're stuck with it because this is what they use at work or comes pre-installed.
- The idea about M$ and wine!!! oh please don't!!! Half the world would get gastro then, god forbids.
- What exactely is in Vista that a knowladgeable current XP user can't achieve? (theoretically and practically). Even more, what's new in it that none of the open-source free distros can't bundle/package in a matter of 1 week? (AND JUST DONT START WITH THAT FILE SYSTEM that no one ever saw).
- Talking about M$ achievement and innovation in development... again??? BE REAL (that is GIME A BREAK). Try to mention Windows ME (after re-visiting all the media about it then) to anyone at M$ and they would look at you... em... strangely.
Score: 0
|Ah, and the rumour in Redmond is that they had to upgrade and patch the AUTOMATED CODE CHECKER (ver. ME) as it was not designed to number code lines past 999,999,999 lines. Somethin like the Year2000 bug, i've heard.
Score: 0
|Automated code quality checking before integration ? Geez... yeah, sure.. Argh! Marketing hype as usual, no more than marketing hype.
Anyone that knows how development, design, coding work should know that automated code checking practically doesn't exist and can be used only up to a certain point... The current level of automated code checking tools and techniques offers limited advantages over classical code inspections and many still question who is checking the validity of the automated code checkers/analyzers... It's not about writing a complex parser and setting rules and it's all done, that's way more complex indeed and that's the reason why there is no industry standard solution to the problem, yet. Not with current programming languages, theories and tools at least.
So, whatever automated stuff Microsoft claims to be using to make their code bullet proof, well, that's just a marketing trick to claim that they did something magic and better than in the past and better than the competition but that's not the case. It just doesn't work that way. Their automated code checking can easily be, and probably is, either too limited to be really useful or way flawed or both...
Score: 0
|IMO this is good - quality can be impacted when product release are date bound.
Windows XP works just fine, I would prefer MS release a quality VISTA product rather than rush it to meet a date
Score: 0
|Mike, I agree 100%.
Score: 0
|Now that's a shocker.....not.
Score: 0
|Delay, delay, delay. Why don't they just cancel it. This is getting ridiculous.
Score: 0
|It hasn't been delayed, its not even scheduled for a time yet, so how can it be delayed? Its planned sometime to be released.. its still in Beta 1. WTF!
Score: 0
|I would rather they delay something than to give us buggy crap, wouldn't you?
not saying that they are delaying anything. I mean damn it's still in beta.
Score: 0
|They are going to do that anyway. Also, the beta is what is delayed. All these delays mean the final gets pushed back more and more. If I remember correctly Vista was supposed to be out over a year ago originally. I will be surprised if it's out before 2008.
Score: 0
|Vista has been delayed many many times over the past several years, and yes a CTP was scheduled for this month which as the article said means Beta 2 is going to be pushed back even further. It was just recently delayed until January; it was supposed to be out. So yes, it's delayed again.
Score: 0
|I think it was suppose to be out at the end of this year, the first release, but I understand what you mean. I know it may not be until late 2007, LMAO.
Now I agree with most of you posts (other than Opera), but I think this may endup being a good thing. I beta test for MS myself and the little bit of money and prizes they give are nothing next to the feeling that I know they are releasing a better product after the long beta test. Office 12 is in "Beta1" yet I have been using it longer, but it has only gotten better with time. Much like wine, it gets better with time. :-)
Score: 0
|if your view is that it will be buggy and crap anyway, you obviously won't be using it when it comes out will you. so why do you care if it's delayed or not =)
Score: 0
|Because it's an OS and I'm a hopeless geek. :D
Score: 0
|The problem is that Microsoft is now the biggest software house in the world and in a monopolistic regime on its own. They obviously either have too many low-level programmers/coders/designers and/or they can't coordinate them properly to achieve the results and mantain any time schedules.
Score: 0
|No! They aren't open source that gets updates every week or everyday. They work VERY hard to be sure that you are safe the day it comes out. However, MS is not perfect. They have Millions of a******s doing everything they can to corrupt every thing they do. No other software company has to deal with that many people out to get them!. It's BS that people like you want to bash the programmers when they most likely work harder that you have in your whole life. MS works very hard to produce a great product and they get bashed for it every day. No other company works that hard.
Score: 0
|Thats the best idea I've ever read :P
Score: 0
|I bet you work for Microsoft at a certain level, right ? Or you have some relatives, friends and such working for them or what ?
Microsoft working so hard it's a funny and silly fairy tale, nothing more than that. Open Source it's even sillier and I still think that behind the whole Linux/GNU thing and such there was and there is Bill Gates. It's thanks to the pathetic Linux thing that Microsoft managed to get a real monopoly kicking IBM out of the market when OS/2 was still a competitor. And real UNIXes like FreeBSD existed at the time already and while Linux it's a communistic/socialistic attempt to break the market and kick out competitors (and many Companies got bankrupt thanks to Linux and the whole Open Source propaganda) one after another, FreeBSD was and is a real UNIX and not an hacked one based on ancient software technology.
Being a monopoly Microsoft is the only one actually getting any real drivers support with all the needed optimizations for its OSes.
Microsoft never invented anything. Everything they got was invented by other smaller Companies and the Microsoft Vs DoJ demonstrated that Microsoft was guilty of some gang-style behaviour and it's a real shame that no one can touch Microsoft and Bill Gates. Microsoft destroyed the competition during the last 15 years or so, they are anti-capitalistic and just monopolistic that don't accept competition and a free market and they demonstrated that they would do anything to avoid a free market with real competition. The whole Linux/GNU/OpenSource thing is Bill Gates' best trojan horse ever to smash down any possible competitors' attempt to release a new OS that could get some market share out of the Windows monopoly.
Score: 0
|Must be nice to live in your own world.
Score: 0
|You are a sad, strange little man... - Buzz
Buggy
Score: 0
|I worked in the Windows division for more than 6 years. While there are many good people there, working hard, there are goof-offs who should never be allowed to touch code, too. There's nothing superhuman about the people there and as the ratio of blue-badges to orange-badges go down, expect MORE problems, not fewer. Entire functions, including the majority of documentation, are done by contractors now, which can't be good for quality.
MS has created many of its own problems by refusing to cooperate with others in the industry and by innovating in fits and starts with little internal coordination. I won't switch from XP SP2 until Vista has really proven itself.
Score: 0
|I never said they were perfect. I too won't be one of the first to upgrade, as I have learned from the past. I do feel that they are working hard to produce a better product this time around.
Score: 0
|