If you're interested in the "same build (5536) released last week to Technical Beta and TAP customers" (according to Shawn Van Ness), you and 99,999 of your closest friends can download the pre-RC1 of Vista...

...news is now nearly a day old so i guess there will only be a few slots left - so be quick!

Or, you could wait till the weekend / early next week for the offical RC1(Source: random idle chat on various blogs)

---

</David Christiansen>
Glasgow, UK

Well, the fat lady has parped her last note...

The offer is now closed.

---

</David Christiansen>
Glasgow, UK

So... anyone install any of these Vista bits yet?  Any initial comments?

I hate to admit it, but I've been in the beta for maybe a year now and haven't bothered to download a single release... mainly because I simply haven't had time, but also because I realized I just don't care that much.  My computer works pretty well with Windows XP, and I really have a much more conservative view about the latest and greatest than I used to, due to the fact that every moment my computer is down means lost revenue :-)

Therefore, living vicariously through others is how I'll experience this beta.  Please regale us with tales of Vista!

---

Looking for an advanced SQL Server 2005 book?

Expert SQL Server 2005 Development

Have you checked out Microsoft Virtual PC yet?  If you have a beefy enough system then you can experience the untamed glory of whatever beta applications you want from the comfort and safety of a Virtual PC image.  When the beta explodes, you can retreat to the confines of your normal system none the worse for wear.  And since you have the option of not persisting any changes from a Virtual PC changes to the virtual disk, you may even be able to rewind your Virtual PC to the point before it blew up.

---

Damon Armstrong, Technology Consultant
[Blog] [Articles]

Update: Vista August Beta 3 (oops!) i mean CTP is now available to all MSDN subscribers via downloads.

---

</David Christiansen>
Glasgow, UK

Whilst Damon is correct - Virtualisation is a god-sent for testing beta software - the Vista experience is somewhat dull when it's virtualised. I have yet to install the CTP on my virtual server (gimme a break, i only got it 10mins ago!) but I am guessing that I ain't going to be all glassed up.

I have been running Vista since beta 2 in a 'live' environment (i.e. My laptop) and I have no regrets. I have come across a couple of things that are quirky (hey, its a beta afterall) but all in all it is such a refreshing experience to be playing with something completly new... when was the last time you had to learn a completly new windows UI to learn your way around :)

CTP is currently being installed on a new Dell Optiplex GX620 as we speak...

---

</David Christiansen>
Glasgow, UK

Also, worth mentioning the golden word FREE... Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server 2005 are both FREE downloads...

• Get Virtual PC here - Good for development workstation environments / testing
• Get Virtual Server here - Good for setting up complete server environments / labs

I have used both extensively for a year or so now - from cloning standard workstation configurations to setting up 10 server Highly available web application and SQL 2005 clusters - would anyone be interested in me telling my story?

---

</David Christiansen>
Glasgow, UK

Actually i believe teh Vista RC1 is now released. I must admit the betas i didn't have very many problems, but so far with this version i've had no problems what so ever. I find the new windows to be very helpful in so many ways. Searching and Indexing is number one, while being able to tag files with numerous bits of information is another. Don't forget the cool Visual effects. Some things that are a bit of annoying though are the security features installed, such as everything prompting the user to give admin rights to run certain files or default things such as not allowing word or outlook to automatically open up links within them. However, these can all be changed and i assume this is for the best for the basic user. Anyways... I'm excited to see the final release. It's come together nicely and proves that mirosoft is coming a long way from DOS... haha