[Mrafcho001]

Windows Vista was released publicly not too long ago.

I was just wondering what you guys think? Will having a public beta help microsoft to buld a less bugy operating system unlike their previous systems which seemed to have been very buggy at their release time.

Discuss...

P.S. Here is a link where you can get it:
http://www.microsoft...dy/default.mspx

[Amadeus]

Well, it depends on your take of the release. The public line is often simply a cover for real intentions. As has already been noted on major technology sites, the release of the beta is more likely an advertising gimmick and public relations repair mechanism than any serious attempt to better the product. Failry or unfairly, M$ has taken a lot of heat over it's operating systems in the past, and Vista is no exception. Many people feel that it is resource intensive, and does not actually represent many real hardcore changes (as evidenced by the removal of the three key pieces driving Vista...the new file system, the new command shell, etc...). As such, there has been a large indication from the tech market that very few (and remember, this is a relative term, it would still equate to millions and millions) will actually buy Vista to upgrade a current machine...indications note it is far more likely that people will adopt Vista when they buy a new machine that comes with it. This beta release is an excellent way to get people used to Vista, and therefore more likely to upgrade to the full product. It's a common marketing technique, especially in the software industry.

Having said that, it certainly is possible that a public beta will result in improvements (although your average user who doesn't know a CTRL-ALT-DEL sequence from a registry edit may not be the best to point out problems)...if it does, then good for them. I'd applaud such a result.

Whatever motive you attribute to the release, I say try it out if you want to! I've tried all the Vista betas for test purposes...but of course, it's not my main OS.

[MarkoDaGeek]

I downloaded and installed it early last week.







Meh, I expected more.