Microsoft makes Vista Beta 2 generally available

Microsoft makes Vista Beta 2 generally available

Microsoft has announced the general availability of its Windows Vista Beta 2 Customer Preview Program. The program can be downloaded in English, German, and Japanese and supports both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

Microsoft is hoping that around 2 million testers will use this opportunity to give it enough feedback so that the final version, which is slated for a January 2007 release, is prefect. However users are advised not to use the test version on the main computer at home since it corrupts existing files.

“Beta 2 is intended for developers, IT professionals, and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista,” Microsoft said in a note on the Vista site. “Before you decide to use Beta 2, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting.”

However the high demand for the product meant that it was difficult to get hands on a copy since the server appeared to be overwhelmed with a huge number of requests. “We are currently experiencing a high level of demand and cannot process your request at this time,” said a posting on the download site.

Windows Vista is the most eagerly awaited offering from Redmond in recent times. The product has been delayed so many times that it is no longer easy to count them. But Microsoft has insisted that it wants to release a perfect product rather than a half completed one, which leaves it vulnerable to hackers. Needless to say, security is the byword for Windows Vista and Redmond is keen to ensure that nothing goes wrong this time.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer assured users that Vista was on track. But analysts feel that there is still some way to go before that can be ascertained. “Microsoft is significantly expanding the pool of possible beta testers, going from a relatively limited pool to hundreds of thousands of people,” Carmi Levy, of the Info-Tech Research group said.

“Now it needs to accept the feedback and work to rapidly and efficiently incorporate it into the code. With a product as large and complex as Vista there will always be surprise so it depends on to what extent the company has anticipated many of the issues.”