First feature-complete Vista beta released

Microsoft Wednesday released the first beta of its Vista client operating system that is feature-complete and focused on corporate users.

The Community Technology Preview (CTP), as the betas are now called, includes for the first time the complete set of deployment tools built into the operating system and designed to ease the creation of Vista images and the distribution and installation of those images on desktops. The February CTP also includes the first release of Vista’s Sidebar feature, where users can link to mini-programs called gadgets. Microsoft is including a few gadgets in the CTP, including an RSS viewer and world clock.

The CTP, the fourth since the initial release in September, is the earliest Microsoft has ever released a feature-complete beta in any OS development cycle. Vista is expected to ship by the end of the year.

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Microsoft Wednesday released the first beta of its Vista client operating system that is feature-complete and focused on corporate users.

The Community Technology Preview (CTP), as the betas are now called, includes for the first time the complete set of deployment tools built into the operating system and designed to ease the creation of Vista images and the distribution and installation of those images on desktops. The February CTP also includes the first release of Vista’s Sidebar feature, where users can link to mini-programs called gadgets. Microsoft is including a few gadgets in the CTP, including an RSS viewer and world clock.

The CTP, the fourth since the initial release in September, is the earliest Microsoft has ever released a feature-complete beta in any OS development cycle. Vista is expected to ship by the end of the year.

But Microsoft officials admit that Vista could still be subject to some gyrations.

“We still take feedback, and there are still design change requests that are put in, and it is possible to see some features come and go,” says Mike Burk, product manager in the Windows Client division.

Microsoft had planned to release a CTP every month, but skipped the December CTP, pushing it out to February as part of what would normally be called Beta 2. The February CTP is expected to reach 500,000 testers. It is available to those with subscriptions to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet, as well as those in Microsoft’s early adopter programs.

For February, the highlight is a complete version of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), a collection of deployment tools. The kit has been included in previous CTPs, but only contained the XImage tool, which is used to capture and edit Windows Imaging Files (WIM).

The February CTP adds the System Image Manager and Windows Deployment Services. Together, the tools provide what is needed to create and edit OS images and deploy them to desktops. Also included is Business Desktop Deployment, best practices guidance for rolling out Vista. In the second half of this year, Microsoft will add the Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

“If we do really well this time around [with Vista tools], then the next time people don’t blink about deployment,” says Manu Namboodiri, senior product manager in the Windows Client division.

The tools complement two new features of Vista: its modular design, which simplifies adding optional components to the OS, and WIM, which is a file-based imaging format that replaces the much less flexible sector-based imaging. For example, users can overlay the new image on the existing desktop image without deleting what is already there, and the images don’t have to be tuned for specific hardware. XImage is the tool that is used to manipulate the WIM files.

Microsoft hopes the tools allow users to reduce the number and size of images, which is designed to make patching and servicing more efficient.

System Image Manager (SIM), a visual drag-and-drop tool, lets users configure the components in an image and build images based on deployment corporate-wide, by department or for specific job function.