RC2 will definitely be public and this has been confirmed on a number of
MSFTie employee blogs, including Nick White's from the Vista Launch team.
They haven't been specific with how many downloads will be allowed, but
since the Redmunsters seem to be aping Steve Jobs in trying to learn to
create a little foreplay mistique, they will probably limit the quantity so
get there early. I suppose they are playing the shuffle with their Get
Vista CPP site because that's the usual fumbling of put it up take it down
put it up that MSFT does probably purposefully to whet your whistle or to
create foreplay excitement.
As people have said all over the web, the same thing was done with 5728 now
it's up/now it's down on the MSFT site and it creates buzz and MSFT tries to
make up in marketing for what it can't fix in their software--for example
As to the announcement on CPP RC2 or at least the first build of RC2 since I
know that at MSFT Redmond campus they know
"a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds adored by little
statesmen and philosophers and divines."--Ralph Waldo Emerson
and "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year
ago"--Bernard Berenson (American art critic, 1865-1959)
It is par for them to put up links, take them down, put them up. Enjoy the
ride.
As to feedback, it often means *NOTHING TO THEM --look at these examples of
feedback they ignore:
1) The upgrade advisor is full of delusional information that is not
accurate as to what hardware works on Vista and Microsoft refuses to fix
this.
2) Vista setup team has not fixed false information messages that Vista
can't setup from a dual boot and probably doesn't intend to as bright as
those guys and girls are because hey they're MSFT and they can do what they
wanna--just give them your money so they can smile more. They refuse to fix
it.
3) Device Manager does not convey driver integrity and has not since Window
'95 "started you up" RTMing with Mick Jagger on August 25, 1995 but hey
they're busy and they've only had a short time of 11 years to fix Device
Manager so it will stop saying "driver is working" when driver is in fact
trashed and a new one is needed. They refuse to fix it over eleven years.
Maybe Blackcomb/Vinenna-Redmond.
4) Desmond Lee's (PM Win RE) Startup Repair apparently the point guard for
fixing "no boot BSOD stop" Vista only works a part of the time. They should
test this at MSFT Research or in some Vista shop to see what the percentage
would be on 1000 boxes the way a pharmaceutical company tests the side
effects or non-efficacy of a drug.
5) You aren't going to be able to fix a no boot Vista accessing Win RE's
startup repair even if they improve it's efficacy if you buy an OEM box
without purchasing a retail Vista DVD or an OEM DVD. Be warned; if you try
to restore with a recovery disc or hidden or non-hidden partition on a
volume basis those don't work--there is always the case report of the guy
who says it worked fine for me but if you are in the habit of fixing these
every night on a MSFT Chat or a news group they don't work consistently so
be prepared on this. It happened in XP; it's going to happen in Vista.
Best,
CH
