Windows Vista RTM Is Imminent

My Microsoft sources confirmed this past weekend that the company is set to finalize Windows Vista as early as Monday and release the product to manufacturing sometime this week. The final build number is expected to be 6000.16386.061101-2205. (Readers might recall that, back on August 25, WinInfo broke the news that Microsoft would iterate Vista to build 6000 for the final release.)

In its quest to finalize Vista, Microsoft has faced two hurdles in recent days, one technical and one a bit unusual. The proposed final build was marred by a few late-breaking bugs, which the company expected to squash over the weekend. Meanwhile, a power outage in the Windows build lab on Friday prevented Microsoft from creating a new Vista build that night.

As I've related in my "Road to Gold: The Long Road to Windows Vista" series on the SuperSite for Windows, Microsoft was angered earlier this year after it granted analysts at Gartner unprecedented access to Vista's bug database, and Gartner published an opinion stating that the company would delay Vista past its January launch. This week, however, Michael Silver, the research vice president at Gartner, finally admitted that his firm's repeated predictions about further Vista delays were wrong, delighting those on the Vista team.

"It appears that Microsoft will beat our prediction," Silver wrote in a Gartner blog. "We will congratulate Microsoft as they hit their dates." Prepare to issue those congratulations, Mr. Silver: Microsoft is set to finish Vista this week.

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It's unfortunate that Microsoft feels they need to release this product to manufacturing at this time.
While this is just a guess on my part, I have a sneaking hunch that they are going to regret this.....I know that I personally won't be purchasing this product which will be the first for me since I have used Windows from the time of its birth. But Microsoft's recent poor decisions in licensing and in several other areas (as well as my experience with the latest build....it was a dud) has turned me toward Open Source Linux and even a bit of experimenting with BSD. The difference has been like night and day. But seriously, if I was Microsoft I think I might give it another month before sending out a buggy product and yes, it will be full of bugs over time.

treeorc November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Just so you are aware, Microsoft has reversed its decision regarding their licensing. The activations for Vista are now unlimited as long as you uninstall it off your old device; similar to how it is in XP. You can see this at the following url: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/11/02/news-revision-to-windows-vista-retail-licens
ing-terms.aspx

eshudnow November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Another zero-day exploit for Windows announced, using Internet Explorer 6 and 7 as its attack vector:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927892.mspx

I'm sure it's going to be more of the same for Vista as well. Just recently, the Department of Homeland Security's border screening system was taken out by the Windows Zotob worm. Embarrassing.

Preseton November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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From: http://www.activewin.com/awin/comments.asp?HeadlineIndex=37139

Paul Thurrot has mailed me about our exclusive story yesterday evening about Windows Vista hitting RTM. Here is the quote he said post:

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Vista won't RTM until November 8th at the earliest.

I guess you can quote me on that if you'd like. But Vista has *not* reached RTM and won't before Wednesday at the earliest.

Paul"

bond07 November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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I am aware of the reversal of licensing from Microsoft and it would help if everyone read the EULA carefully because you simply do not own your software and the reversal does nothing to change that....

treeorc November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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You don't own any commercial software unless you develop it yourself. The entire commercial software industry has been like that for years now. What's your point?

Waethorn November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Oh God...not another "RTM Imminent" story. This is becoming comical, watching one site attempt to scoop the other..."Vista RTM Now really truly almost nearly Imminent!"

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I have lost interest. It will get here when it gets here. Move along folks, you know the drill.

Elitist Snob November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Waethorn, evidently we are talking about two different things? Indeed the entire industry has not been like that for years and my point is simply that when you purchase software at the shelf level it is entirely ridiculous that you can't use your copy on however many machines you have available. I know what you are driving at though and I agree Microsoft isn't the only one out there that runs a ridiculous license system. The bottom line though is that software shouldn't be licensed like this when it is merchandised on the shelves. However, at the integrated level where it is purchased pre-installed on a PC, I feel that is different. I won't get into that aspect here but compare shelved software to a book if you will....should I have the right to let my friends read the book or do they need to go get a license or their own copy? How about a CD? Oh yeah...piracy....whew....well the fact is that sharing music spurs record sales.....then again the industry wouldn't want you to know that....

treeorc November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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treeorc, your friends can use your copy of Windows just as legally and simply as they can read your book. What they cannot do is use your own purchase as a substitute for your own, just as you cannot install more than one copy of an OS.

To stay with the book analogy, while your friend is welcome to use YOUR book, he is not allowed to photocopy it completely, and then peruse it at his leisure.

tom275 November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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tom275,

you are absolutely correct which is exactly my point...however, my friend can photocopy my book whenever he/she wishes if necessary.....which would be rather rare....

again, the bottom line is that to some extent, a person really does not own the copy of Windows purchased at the shelf level...just as I don't really own my copy of Steinberg Cubase SX with the famous dongle of which I can however, purchase another at about $100 approx.

My point here is that I think it is unnecessary and a bit disturbing when the product ends up being less than adequate....but then I guess everybody is used to the remarkably well marketed Microsoft world of desktop computer operating software....no matter how it performs and how wide open it really is....

treeorc November 05, 2006 (Article Rating:

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