It's unclear whether efforts by Microsoft to get Windows 7 quickly out the door are based on the generally favorable reactions already being received by early versions of the product. Reviews of pre-beta copies given out to developers in fall, as well as the recently leaked non-public Beta 1 build — also called "build 7000" — have largely praised the beta's stability and reliability.
Part of Windows 7's stability could be attributed to the fact that it's based on the most recent Vista code, which has had a lot of fixes applied over the two years since Vista's release.
Early Glitches?
Like many software industry betas, however, the early stages of Windows 7's newest round of testing still may be a bit messy.
Although Microsoft plans to open the beta downloads to the general public, the current beta testing period officially began on Wednesday, when Microsoft made the downloads available to its MSDN, TechBeta and TechNet Plus subscribers.
Already, some testers who began participating on Wednesday are complaining that they were unable to activate the beta with product keys. The product keys are not required in order to start using the beta, although users' ability to test the product will be limited.
"For customers having difficulties accessing Windows 7 Beta product keys, be aware that the Windows 7 Beta has a built-in, 30-day grace period for installations before product keys are required," said a post on the TechNet Plus blog on Wednesday.
Microsoft plans to have the issue fixed before the 30 days elapse, it said.
A more serious issue that Microsoft will be tackling in the Windows 7 launch: Avoiding a repeat of the "Vista Capable" fiasco. A tech guaranty program during the 2006 holiday sales season landed the company in a class-action suit pursued by consumers who claimed they were tricked into buying PCs that were not fully Vista "capable."
However, virtually all new PCs today — with the exception of netbooks — come with Vista. Since Windows 7 is built on Vista, analysts don't expect the kinds of problems that users had initially with Vista.
"This time, they're working very hard to make sure the hardware is capable," Rosoff said.
InternetNews.com senior editor Andy Patrizio contributed to this report.
