Monday, 25 September 2006

Microsoft Releases Interim Build of Windows Vista

Microsoft has released an interim build of Windows Vista to 100,000 Customer Preview Program (CPP) participants, and made the new build available on TechBeta, TechNet, TAP and MSDN.

The build, 5728, is the first public release of a new Vista version since the debut of Release Candidate 1 (RC1) on September1, which had a version number of 5600. Microsoft does not view this new build as a milestone or major revision and released it primarily to get feedback on the upgrade and installation experience.

The build includesa number of specific enhancements and changes, including the ability to turn-off start up music, general stability and bug fixing, as well as performance enhancements. Microsoft is still working on Vista’s availability to volume license customers in November, with general availability in January 2007, a company spokesperson confirmed.

In conjunction with the build, Microsoft has also released an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) so developers and software vendors can develop applications on top of the new release, said Mike Burk, a Microsoft product manager for Windows Client.