Industry testing begins of Windows Vista RC 1

Date: 06 September 2006	Issue: Two hundred and two (4/9/06 - 8/9/06) (ICT World)
Category: Global News

Following the release of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1), Microsoft has announced plans to make RC1 available for broad customer and partner testing. The announcements signal a major step for the technology industry toward the final availability of Windows Vista, currently targeted for volume licence customers in November and general availability in January next year.

Microsoft first made Windows Vista RC1 available to a small group of technical customers on September 1, and plans to broadly release the code to current Windows Vista Customer Preview Programme (CPP) participants this week.

In addition, Microsoft will re-open the CPP, a popular pre-release testing programme, to new enrolments in coming days. In total, Microsoft plans to make Windows Vista RC1 available to more than five million customers worldwide.

Now that we are expanding the Windows Vista Customer Preview Programme, an even broader audience will get to experience just how much Windows Vista has to offer, says Jonathan Hatchuel, Windows Client business group manager: Microsoft SA.