There's Still Work To Be Done
As with any beta, there are rough edges. Some people have reported installation woes. And device support is problematic, especially for wireless networking. Vista refused to recognize the Wi-Fi adapter built into my Dell Inspiron E1505, for example, and had trouble recognizing a NetGear USB wireless adapter as well, although I eventually got that working. Similarly, it didn't recognize the Wi-Fi adapter, Bluetooth, and other adapters on an HP/Compaq NC6320 laptop.
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• Better User Account Control • Search Is Finally Here • Improved Firewall, Fit And Finish • There's Still Work To Be Done |
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Given that this is beta software, all this should come as no surprise. But it does not necessarily bode well for Microsoft meeting its stated shipping date of January 2007 for consumer availability. Once Vista is in the hands of many thousands of people, other device problems will be found as well, and tracking every one of them down may take some time.
In fact, if there are going to be Vista delays, as analysts expect, and has been hinted by Steve Ballmer, it's likely they'll be caused by driver problems and hardware compatibility issues more than anything else.
The Bottom Line
So what's the bottom line for this beta? If you're thinking of installing it, give yourself plenty of time for potential hardware problems and realize that wireless networking in particular may be problematic. (For an account of how the CRN Test Center handled various installations, check out Windows Vista Beta 2: An Improvement?)
Once you've got it installed, you'll find that Microsoft Vista Beta 2 is a big improvement, especially for search and UAC. It's also cleaner than earlier versions, and once you've managed to track down the "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security" screen, you'll have a great deal of control over the firewall options.
You can find the download of the latest Vista beta on Microsoft's site.
