Windows Vista Beta 2 Delayed says Thurrott

[treblah]

Allchin: Um, yeah, were not going to hit our internal date for Beta 2.
Gates: Why?
Allchin: That Apple stuff is really hard to copy. But rest assured we got a rockin new Solitaire.
Ballmer: Well, what are we gonna do?
Allchin: Lets drop one of the Release Candidates cause testing really isn't essential, drop some more promised features and ship by Christmas '06.
Gates and Ballmer: Done and done and done.

Gates and Ballmer then lock elbows and swing around in a circle laughing.

Linky.

 

[Lertie32]

delusional Gates

Cute.

Not surprising at all. I now avoid Windoze like the plague - between its overall mediocrity and massive security risks (now even being exploited and made worse by other RETAIL products - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/159412/ )

I will watch the Windows Vista release with a small shred of amusement and shaking my head at another irrational MS arm-twisting of the sad masses of lemmings in society.

(Note - Any harsh interpretations of my opinions above can be blamed on my lack of coffee at 8am, so keep any flames aimed at Redmond, WA).

 

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

From what I've seen and read, it looks like Vista is XP repackaged which is why I am so suprised that it has taken this long to release! It is SLIGHTLY differant looking than XP, but till basically the same. There appears to be minor improvements in security.

This is will be a "blah" release when it finally comes out and when it actually DOES come out, It'll be too late. Where I work will already be switching over to Macs. hahahahahahaha

 

[BakedBeans]

i dont think this will be out till late 2006 or even early 2007... thats crazyness.

 

[RobHague]

Allchin: Um, yeah, were not going to hit our internal date for Beta 2.
Gates: Why?
Allchin: That Apple stuff is really hard to copy. But rest assured we got a rockin new Solitaire.
Ballmer: Well, what are we gonna do?
Allchin: Lets drop one of the Release Candidates cause testing really isn't essential, drop some more promised features and ship by Christmas '06.
Gates and Ballmer: Done and done and done.

Gates and Ballmer then lock elbows and swing around in a circle laughing.

Linky.

After this fiasco with Visual Studio 2005 this news does not fill me with confidence. I remember using XP in the beta test and after Beta2 it was pretty much 'set' for features. What ive seen of Vista so far seems to be XP Second Edition. Maybe thats not a bad thing sure, but I just wonder why its taking so damn long. Also when this finally gets here, as Microsoft's answer for 'Tiger' wont leopard be due? The worlds most popular OS is still going to be playing catch-up.

 

[Will Cheyney]

Hahaha!
God though, even Windows websites are boring! Just look at it:

 

[jdechko]

we got a rockin new Solitaire.

I wonder if it uses the glass effects, all shiny and stuff... its like solitaire rendered in Quartz Extreme

 

[Dane D.]

MS Vista delayed?

Say it ain't so, man MS is letting us down. How hard could it be to copy OS X, while keeping the look and feel of XP? Just goes to show you, MS is what it is, a re-packaging company with NO creative ideas. Where I work, we have 2 PCs, one running 2000 and the other XP, nothing but breakdowns, spyware, faulty hardware. I think MS did this on purpose, so computer geeks can have a job. If they didn't repair PCs what would they do?

 

[JeffTL]

Have there really been any truly big changes to Windows since Windows 2000? XP is a dolled-up 2K, and Vista is a dolled-up XP. Where are the major features?

 

[Lacero]

Windows Vista demo:

http://media.spikedhumor.com/2772/windows_vista.wmv

in WMV no less!

 

[liketom]

please microsoft just release this asap and show the world how bad your photocopiers are

2007 it is then , like i even doubted any sooner

 

[treblah]

After this fiasco with Visual Studio 2005 ...

I had no idea about VS05 but I have the utmost confidence that Vista will end up the same way. MS has said that Vista will ship in 2006 and I'm sure they will regardless of it being ready.

 

[generik]

I had no idea about VS05 but I have the utmost confidence that Vista will end up the same way. MS has said that Vista will ship in 2006 and I'm sure they will regardless of it being ready.

Well, they will ensure it is ready, that's all I can say.

With Gartner's recent study urging businesses to IGNORE vista until at least 2008, all I can say is if Microsoft really doesn't give businesses a compelling reason to stay on Windows it will be off to macs.. or very much more likely.. Linux.

Either way it does more bode well for M$

On the up side they got their Xbox 360s though.. btw anyone knows if their HD-DVD standard will be adopted by the industry? Or will it be Sony's Bluray?

 

[solvs]

in WMV no less!

What did you expect? QT?

Who thought green was a good color for that? I guess I kinda get the black, considering Apple has the shiny white and the brushed metal. Better than XP I guess, but it isn't saying much. I hope it has a Classic look, because if I'm going to be forced to use it at work, I want it not to look like that. I'm sure some of the fancy looking things are useful to some people, but I don't get why it's doing some of that other stuff other than just to look "cool". At least the cool things Apple does usually serve an actual purpose.

 

[DeathChill]

I feel somewhat bad for Microsoft as they REALLY do get the short end of the stick with Vista. Unfortunately for them, since they're a monopoly they MUST maintain backwards compatibility and if they don't then they risk their monopoly (perfect time for Apple to swing in). Microsoft doesn't get the luxury of slowing adding features in OS updates the way Apple does, they have to work from the ground up on many huge features which just results in them being cut anyway.

I think Vista would be doing much better if they didn't have to be backwards compatible and had been built slowly over the years the way OS X has been.

 

[solvs]

I feel somewhat bad for Microsoft

Don't. They dug their own graves. This is completely their own doing, and now they are witnessing the results of their own incompetance and greed. That, and no matter how much it sucks, they will still make a ton of money.

 

[alexstein]

When I first heard about Windows Longhorn (Vista) I got a little excited about all the innovative features it is going to have. Then MS announced an unrealizable date to ship there new product. Now to make matters worse in an attempt to achieve that goal most of the "so innovative features" are getting cut. It's just said to see all this... but in the end people are still going to buy that crippled up OS...whether or not it has new features....and MS again will get away with it.

 

[PCMacUser]

Vista will probably be a good operating system when it is released, despite what the kids on this forum think. I'd rather have a few delays than end up with a turkey. Remember OS 10.0? Or how about 10.1? They were released when there was pretty much NO software available for them, and seemed to be so full of bugs that they were a waste of time. When 10.2 came out, things started to go well. But think, how many variants of 10.2 and 10.3 were there? And now, since Tiger's release in May, 10.4.0 has now gotten up to 10.4.3 and 10.4.4 is on the way! So before we go on slamming Micro$oft about releasing buggy software, just think about our beloved App£e. (Currency symbols added for comic effect only).

Just to clarify another often misconceived point: Vista isn't just XP repackaged, just like OS X wasn't OS 9.2 repackaged and Windows XP wasn't Windows 98 repackaged.

 

[hpzine]

not suprizing I think there is alot of work that can still be done the icons are ugly and besides of updated folders I couldent tell a super differnce

 

[Savage Henry]

Vista will probably be a good operating system when it is released, despite what the kids on this forum think. I'd rather have a few delays than end up with a turkey. Remember OS 10.0? Or how about 10.1? They were released when there was pretty much NO software available for them, and seemed to be so full of bugs that they were a waste of time. When 10.2 came out, things started to go well. But think, how many variants of 10.2 and 10.3 were there? And now, since Tiger's release in May, 10.4.0 has now gotten up to 10.4.3 and 10.4.4 is on the way! So before we go on slamming Micro$oft about releasing buggy software, just think about our beloved App£e. (Currency symbols added for comic effect only).

Just to clarify another often misconceived point: Vista isn't just XP repackaged, just like OS X wasn't OS 9.2 repackaged and Windows XP wasn't Windows 98 repackaged.

But a problem I have with the Redmond way of going about new software releases as opposed to the Cupertino method is that promises made in developer conferences about features of upcoming software have actually been present in the release versions proposed by Apple at a time not far off original expected date. For 3 years MS has been spouting off about their next release and very little, if anything positive at all, has come out to show for it.

I know no OS is perfect, but what this delay is highlighting is a behemoth of a company that is it's own worst enemey at trying to progress.

 

[solvs]

Vista isn't just XP repackaged, just like OS X wasn't OS 9.2 repackaged and Windows XP wasn't Windows 98 repackaged.

It sure looks like it though. They seem to have taken out most of the good stuff. XP did seem to be 2000 with "pretty colors", and ME was just '98 4th edition, which was based on '95. 10.4 was just 10.3 with some new stuff. Vista looks like they started with a great idea, but couldn't pull it off, so now they're trying to update and fix XP.

All it has to do is not suck too much, and I will be pleasantly surprised... my expectations being so low at this point.

 

[PCMacUser]

But a problem I have with the Redmond way of going about new software releases as opposed to the Cupertino method is that promises made in developer conferences about features of upcoming software have actually been present in the release versions proposed by Apple at a time not far off original expected date. For 3 years MS has been spouting off about their next release and very little, if anything positive at all, has come out to show for it.

The only feature I find MS trying to emulate that Apple already has is the desktop search feature. On my PC, I downloaded and tried all of them (including Vista BETA1), and NONE of them even came close to being as good as Spotlight on the Mac. That's a real tribute to Apple. Other than that, there's not really many similarities between the two creatures... although I have had a few drinks tonight so my judgment may be blurred.

BTW, nice reference to "The Third Man" in the avatar...

 

[PCMacUser]

It sure looks like it though. They seem to have taken out most of the good stuff. XP did seem to be 2000 with "pretty colors", and ME was just '98 4th edition, which was based on '95. 10.4 was just 10.3 with some new stuff. Vista looks like they started with a great idea, but couldn't pull it off, so now they're trying to update and fix XP.

Don't forget that XP is used by millions of ordinary people around the world for their day to day jobs. I support these people. If they changed the look and feel too much, the workers would freak and rebel. There would be an uprising - with rioting and debauchery occurring on a daily basis... so they are focussing on changing the way it works behind the scenes...

 

[whooleytoo]

The only feature I find MS trying to emulate that Apple already has is the desktop search feature. On my PC, I downloaded and tried all of them (including Vista BETA1), and NONE of them even came close to being as good as Spotlight on the Mac. That's a real tribute to Apple. Other than that, there's not really many similarities between the two creatures... although I have had a few drinks tonight so my judgment may be blurred.

As I understand it, Avalon is (was? is it still in Vista?) very similar to Quartz Extreme - plus Quartz 2D Extreme.

 

[Spock]

I dont know, I like the look of Vista. Its not close to Mac OS X but it is Windows. But Vista seems more like another Service Pack for XP