Darrin--
Last nite Vista was compared by a developer to a hooker. But tonite we have
Virginity--a very emphemeral concept in my country.
The CTP or *** roughly monthly build model was birthed in the Beta testing
of one of the servers--Windows Server 2003 R2 in 2005 was one I think, and
has expanded tomany other apps or features of Beta software:
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1916296,00.asp
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+expands+Vista+testing/2100-1016_3-5862654.html
The idea/objective is to allow more frequent shots at bugs for the
non-public beta testers and in that way to have more complete, maybe more
nuanced fixing of more bugs. What happens is that roughly each month the
closed Beta testers are given a new build.
Another objetive of the CTP format is to give developers more time to adjust
and give feedback.
This also shuts the beta testers up for a couple days while they yammer on
endlessly and boringly about how fast the downloads are from which server,
how they couldn't sleep until they had the thing on their box, the miriad
setup problems they inevitably have because they couldn't burn the ISO or
refused to CRC test it to get the cue to reburn it, and puts a 2-3 day end
to the incessantly stupid posts by infants in adult bodies "Wendy mommy can
we please have another build" when they should be focusing on finding and
fixing bugs and better reports --or drilling some of the features of Vista
they never heard of, and learning how to use them.
It is obviously also done to build marketing hype in a company who prides
sales over substance and to create a sense of elite snobbism a little like
adolescents using thier fake ID to get by the rope line and into the VIP
room at the club.
MSFT learned long to try to convey the perception of elitism that so and so
was "the chosen one" by getting access to something that Joe Blow unwashed
doesn't have.
The next public release of a Vista Beta will probably be some build with the
name RC1 slapped on it. I'll lay you odds that Windows' File Protections
switches will not work in it; and after its release to the TBTs 2-3 weeks or
more weeks before the public gets it--the ezines and blogs will be awash
with the jitters that Vista is going to ship with a lot of bugs unfixed
because no fix can be worked out. They'll be right.
CH
