Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Windows Vista Beta 1 is about what I expected to see in April, when Microsoft released build 5048 at WinHEC 2005. On that note, it's not a horrible disappointment like build 5048. However, because it lacks the end user niceties we'll see in the PDC 2005 build, in Beta 2, and in the final product, it's not something that will excite average users. From what I can tell, Beta 1 is primarily designed so that IT administrators and developers can check out custom application compatibility issues. And that's just fine. For the rest of us, seeing how the virtual folders will sort out is somewhat interesting, and I'm eager to use this organizational system full time, as I'm anal retentive about creating specific document folder structures right now anyway. Beta 1 is all about possibility and promises, and that's OK. My only real disappointment is that it took so long to get to this point: I first saw many of these features almost two years ago and now I want more.

On that note, as long as Microsoft can continue to meet and, God forbid, exceed expectations in future builds, then Windows Vista is on the right path. It might be worth comparing this build to Whistler Beta 1, which at the time only barely hinted at the goodness to come. But Windows Vista Beta 1 is much further along than was Whistler Beta 1. Maybe this thing isn't a train wreck after all.