14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft application compatibility testing for Windows Vista is an extensive process. The line of business application testing for Microsoft's latest operating system involves not only applications produced by the Redmond Company, but also third party products. For Windows Vista there have been a total of seven testing stages. All of them were in accordance with the operating system's evolution.
Microsoft tested application compatibility for Vista Beta1, Pre-Beta2, February CTP, Beta2 Escrow, Beta2, RC1 Escrow and Release Candidate 1. "Well, as you would imagine we've been running many different applications on Windows Vista and testing how they function to ensure that customers have a seamless upgrade experience when moving from Windows XP to Windows Vista. The test results are fed back into the Application Compatibility Toolkit which customers can use to check which of their applications will work on Windows Vista," said James Senior, Vista Technical Specialist.
Microsoft's efforts with application compatibility testing aimed to streamline deployment and reduce maintenance overhead and training cost. "Windows Deployment Service works with the Windows Vista Image format (WIM) to deliver out-of-the-box domain join and user addition to the admin group with no custom scripting. Windows Vista installs on desktop, laptop, and tablet machines from the same WIM. Language packs are a component of the WIM, configurable from Windows Vista setup and allow image to be "localized" at install time," added Senior.