Windows 7 in official closed beta, on track for wider beta by December?

September 12, 2008 · Filed Under Recent News

Microsoft is on tap to talk publicly about and show off Windows 7 at two of its upcoming tech conferences this fall. But that does not mean the Windows team necessarily will be distributing bits at those shows.

A small and select group of testers (read: MS supporters more than likely) already have gotten their hands on Windows 7 builds. Microsoft has released two M (or ”milestone”) designated Windows 7 builds (M1 and M2), plus various interim updates, to select customers and partners who have been sworn to secrecy. And the Windows client team is in the midst of putting finishing touches on M3, if you believe the whispers.

But Beta 1? Currently it’s not in the cards for Microsoft to release this code to testers until a week before Christmas, according to folks claiming to be privvy to Microsoft’s Windows 7 schedule.

Might there be some kind of pre-beta — something like a Community Technology Preview (CTP) build — that Microsoft will deliver to a broader set of private testers than those currently getting regular internal builds? Odds are this may happen, but the consensus seems to be not to expect Microsoft to distribute Windows 7 bits more widely until the Windows 7 is feature-complete or very nearly so. After the Vista incident, this may be a very smart move.

On September 10, Microsoft acknowledged that it plans to use its Connect site to sign up potential Windows 7 testers at some point. Christina Storm, a program manager on the Windows Customer Engineering feature team says: ”When we release the Windows 7 beta, we will also be collecting feedback from this (Windows Feedback) panel and asking for participation from a set of Windows 7 beta users. Our current plans call for signing up for the beta to happen in the standard Microsoft manner on http://connect.microsoft.com. Stay tuned!”

If Microsoft does release Beta 1 of Windows 7 in mid-December, that will mean the company is aiming to deliver the final Windows 7 product less than a year after the official beta begins. (Microsoft has said, publicly and privately, that late 2009 is their target date for release of Windows 7. The “you can’t claim we’re late” date remains the first part of 2010.)

Would a less-than-year-long beta be unprecedented? Not really. Short betas of products pretty much cast in stone aren’t unusual from the Office team. But looking at MS’s early track record with bugs in initial releases, I can’t say it makes me feel better that its on track this “quickly”. I’d much prefer they take their time, and get it right.

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