Microsoft has started to distribute the long-awaited beta 1 of the next Windows operating system, whose name has been recently changed from Longhorn to Vista, to beta testers and software developers.
Windows Vista, whose launching is scheduled for the end of 2006, will be distributed to MSDN's 500,000 subscribers. The new operating system Microsoft is expecting to see on most of the PCs in next decade, is the first edition of Windows that focuses on stability and security.
Up until now, Microsoft has released several pre-beta versions, some of them used for Microsoft events and conferences, but this is the first time the Redmond company announces the beta version. Its role is to acquaint software producers
with the new product, who will have to provide updated versions of their applications until 2006.
Last Friday, Microsoft announced that it will launch Windows Vista Beta 1 on August 3, but it seems that they've preferred to launch it today to prove that the development of the operating system is going according to plan.
By doing so, Microsoft hopes to reassure users that the new operating system will be ready on time.
Some of the features from Windows Vista have already been disclosed, but Microsoft officials warned that this first version is just a preview of what the final version will look like.
New features include:
- A built-in desktop search tool that appears just above the Start button. It lets users quickly find all sorts of files stored on the PC; results are displayed as thumbnail images of the documents that are found.
- A new version of Internet Explorer with built-in tools to prevent "phishing" scams that fool users into thinking they're at a secure Web site. The browser will be available for users of Windows XP in a second phase of the beta process, perhaps by the end of this year or in early 2006.
- New operating modes that make it easier for users to log in and use their PCs without administrative-level control of the system. Most consumers use their PCs today in an administrative mode that makes them more vulnerable to attack; new modes could make it easier for companies to manage PCs.
- A new transluscent desktop appearance and improved display.
- Power management features that enable Vista PCs to power up from a sleeping state in three seconds.
Windows Vista also promises a large number of functionalities for notebooks, more efficient parental control and improvement home networking functions.
The next version beta of Windows Vista is due for early 2006 and if Microsoft will stick to the schedule, this should be the last test version before the final version.
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