Five things every Windows beta tester should know
Last week my colleague Mary Jo Foley reported on rumblings of discontent from the invitation-only Windows 7 technical beta test community.
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2.3.2009 Want to be an Office 12 Beta Tester?
Want to be an Office 12 Beta Tester? Visit the following source to sign up today!
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Windows 7 beta on MSDN?
Just as many are waiting for the Windows 7 beta to be announced at CES, we have a Microsoft blog saying its available on MSDN!
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8.1.2009 Windows 7 RTM and MSDN Academic Alliance MSDN AA Availability Update
At the start of this week, I posted an article informing users of the fact that Windows 7 RTM was available for download via MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDN AA). Looking at the comments that have been piling up I think that an update is necessary to clarify some aspects.
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14.8.2009 Windows 7 Beta ISO Download and Product Key Available for MSDN and Technet Subsribers
Although the public beta for Windows 7 beta will only available on January 9, 2009, the MSDN and Technet subscribers can now start downloading the DVD ISO media together with a genuine working product key to activate the Windows 7 installed.
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8.1.2009 Monitor Tester 2.0.2
Monitor Tester can guide you in setting and adjusting the parameters and controls of your monitor.
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1.10.2007 Microsoft Office 2010 beta available on MSDN and TechNet
Today Microsoft has made the official Office 2010 beta bits available on TechNet/MSDN, so those of you who have subscriptions to either service may now get your hands on it before the official unveiling on November 18th.
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16.11.2009 Office 2010 Beta Available for Download via MSDN and TechNet
The Beta bits of Office 2010 Beta along with Office Web Applications are now up on MSDN and TechNet Plus.
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16.11.2009 Windows Home Server - Now available on MSDN
A key benefit of Windows Home Server is the versatility and power it offers as a development platform. Even when Windows Home Server software was still in the beta stage, we published a software development kit (SDK) so that 3rd party developers could develop interesting add-ins for the product. See the original post, "Developers, Developers, Developers".
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25.3.2009 Windows Vista RTM appears on MSDN
Microsoft Date/Time Posted: 2006-11-16 21:56:18 (UTC).
File: en_windows_vista_x86_dvd_X12-34293.iso ISO-9660 DVD Image
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16.11.2006 Online Windows 7 event: MSDN Unleashed
On February 28, Microsoft organizes an indepth Windows 7 event in Irvine California.
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22.2.2009 Windows 7 To Surface on TechNet/MSDN This Month
Weve received word from a trusted source close to GeekSmack that Windows 7 will be on TechNet/MSDN before the end of the month, so those of us with a premium TechNet/MSDN account will be able to get the official RTM build about 2 months ahead of when Windows 7 will hit store shelves on October 22nd.
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3.7.2009 Download Windows 7 RTM from MSDN & TechNet
Microsoft today has announced the availability of the final version of Windows 7 (RTM Build 7600.16385) for Microsoft Connect, MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers.
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6.8.2009 Windows Vista Iso BillGates to MSDN patch 2
Second Little path for BillGates ISO of Windows Vista RTM to transform this release into legit MSDN release.
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18.11.2006 Windows 7 RC now available for download on MSDN, TechNet & Connect
Microsoft made the first release candidate of Windows 7 available for free download on Thursday. In an unprecedented move for the company, the software will run on a user's PC for more than a year.
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30.4.2009 Windows 7 RTM Available for Download via the MSDN Academic Alliance
Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 is currently available for download via the MSDN Academic Alliance. The past week, starting with August 6th, 2009, Microsoft began offering the gold bits of Windows 7 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
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10.8.2009 Download Windows 7 RTM Wave 3 via MSDN and TechNet
Get ready to access the third wave of Windows 7 RTM downloads from Microsoft. Today, August 21, 2009, the Redmond company will make available for download Windows 7 RTM wave 3 for its developer and IT professional audiences, through their respective portals.
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21.8.2009 Windows XP Mode RTM via MSDN and TechNet
Having released Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC to manufacturing at the start of this month, Microsoft is currently offering the two Windows 7 features for download.
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8.10.2009 Microsoft Windows 2003 Server R2 available to MSDN Subscribers
MSDN Subscribers can download Windows 2003 Server R2 on MSDN now!
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 is an update release of the award-winning Windows Server 2003 operating system.
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9.12.2005 Windows Vista Iso BillGates To Legit MSDN PATCH
Little path for BillGates ISO of Windows Vista RTM to transform this release into legit MSDN release.
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13.11.2006 MSDN and TechNet get Windows 7 RC? Public to wait till May 5
It looks like Microsoft is yet again revealing more than it wants to, according to a Microsoft Partner Program webpage. May 5 looks like the date that Windows 7 RC will be available publicly.
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18.4.2009 Windows 7 RTM coming to MSDN, Technet, and Connect August 6th
After disappointing the many fans that expected Microsoft to announce Windows 7 RTM on July 13th, the Redmond company has yet to announce a date for the RTM.
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22.7.2009 Download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM from MSDN and TechNet
The final bits of Windows Server 2008 R2 (RTM Build 7600.16385) are now up on MSDN and TechNet Plus.
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14.8.2009 MSDN Opens Up to Firefox, Opera
MSDN announced last week that it had tweaked its subscriber download site in order to make it compatible with both Firefox and Opera. There are some issues, such as extra work needed in installing the File Transfer Manager, however developers are working on a new version of the FTM that should correct final problems.
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Microsoft Releases MSDN Wiki
Microsoft has released its Microsoft Developer Network Wiki for developers.
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9.12.2006 XP SP3 Integrated Images on MSDN
Microsoft is pleased to make available integrated retail and volume license installs of Windows XP SP3, to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers.
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3.5.2008 Collection of published Vista SP1 API changes from MSDN
Microsoft might choose not to tell its enthusiasts anything about Windows Vista Service Pack 1, but they cant afford to keep it a secret to the development community. Thanks to pacpis for this article.
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22.7.2007 A short chat with a MSDN Concierge about Vista SP1
Not long ago, Microsoft has hinted towards the availability of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on MSDN if not before the public beta. I wanted to find out if this was the case and who better to ask than the MSDN Concierge - open 24 hours, talk about great service. Thanks to pacpis for this news.
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18.8.2007 Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 RTM will on MSDN within days
Rumors have been flying everywhere that Microsoft's Visual Studio 2005 will be RTM (Released to Manufacturing) and on MSDN in a matter of days. Orginally thought to be on MSDN for download on October 14th, the release supposedly got slipped because the final RC build failed a regression test.
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Microsoft Releases Vista SP1 RC Preview on MSDN
Microsoft has posted download links to Windows Vista SP1 RC Preview on the MSDN homepage for MSDN subcribers.
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4.11.2007Windows 7 beta on MSDN?
Just as many are waiting for the Windows 7 beta to be announced at CES, we have a Microsoft blog saying its available on MSDN! Image Courtesy: MSDN
Blogs It is not sure whether it is available now or will be available soon, but you get the word. MSDN subscribers would be lucky enough to get hold
of Windows 7 beta. If you are a MSDN subsriber, can you see Windows 7 listed in there already?
Read full story.....
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08.01.2009Is a tester ever done with testing?
My name is Suma Sushilendra and I have been a tester in C# IDE team since August 02. I have owned testing C# IDE features for Visual Studio 2003,
Visual Studio 2005 and now for Visual Studio 2008, also known as Orcas. Over these products and the last 5 years, I have owned testing almost all
the IDE features except refactoring and debugging features.
There is so much that can be spoken of testing and here I am setting
stage for a burning question that has continued to amuse me for the past 5 years of life as a tester, at every cycle during a product development.
What I present here is entirely how I feel and deal with it.
When I began my career as a tester, there were a few basic rules of
the road that I became familiar with and got to learn a set of processes and methodologies to follow along with some tools in order to make progress
in the testing tasks I was made the owner of. As time grew, the tasks became responsibilities and owning testing of a feature became really being
accountable for its quality.
Just for the sake of simplicity, lets define (re-define) a few terms for making the point that this
blog post is trying to...
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15.10.2007Microsoft Tester Center Launched
Alan Page: Several months ago, I announced that MSDN now had
forums set up for
discussing software testing issues. Now, I'm happy to say that there's a lot more to discuss on those forums.
Today is the
official launch of the
Microsoft Tester Center. This is an effort to showcase testing
practices at Microsoft, to engage the global community of testers and invite all testers to contribute.
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22.10.2007Wanted: IE8 Beta Testers
Allison Burnett: As previously mentioned in the
IE8 Beta Feedback post back in March, we have several ways to
submit feedback on the IE8 Beta. Currently the only way to directly file a bug with the IE Team is to be a part of the IE8 Technical Beta
program on
Microsoft Connect. Beta 2 is right
around the corner and we are expanding our reach! If you wish to be a part of making IE better by contributing great bug reports then please
email us at
IESO@microsoft.com and tell us a little about yourself
including why youd be a great beta tester.
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31.07.2008Microsoft seeks new Windows Media Center testers
Microsoft is in the midst of a quest for new testers for some kind of new Windows Media Center product, which may or may not be connected to
“Fiji,” the next version of Windows Media Center Edition (MCE).
Late last week, Microsoft posted to its
Connect private beta-tester site a “Windows Media
Center Tester Application” survey, sources said. Microsoft is seeking a pool of testers for some new client-based product and is closing the
tester application process this Friday, February 1, sources said.
One tester said he believes the survey is for Fiji, known these
days as “MCE+1.” Microsoft officials would not confirm whether the survey is aimed at lining up Fiji testers. All they’d say (via a
statement from a corporate spokeswoman, was...
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30.01.2008Becoming a Beta Tester
The following points can be applied to mostly any Microsoft beta program...
Paul Lange: With all the great screenshots of
FSX Accleration being generated and shared on various forums, a lot of users are inquiring about getting onto the beta program.
First of all, it's too late for FSX Acceleration. The beta for Acceleration will be shut down soon, so there isn't any point in joining it. If
you want to be considered for the Train Sim 2 beta, then you should use the fs_ideas e-mail alias to sell yourself to us.
We
won't open a beta for FS11 for a long time so it's too early to apply for that.
When users/developers apply for any beta
program we look for the following:
- How the user interacts with the community (how active in forums, how helpful they are with other users,
whether or not they can logically evaluate issues without being overly emotional about it, etc)
- If they are developers of add-on products
- If an existing beta member that is particularly good is willing to recommend the user for the beta
Being a beta tester isn't an easy
job. First of all it's purely on a volunteer basis with the only thing you receive being the opportunity to see product before it's released and a
final copy of the software (assuming policies don't change). You must be active on the beta forums or filing bugs to stay on the beta long-term. You
have to put up with some nasty bugs and will likely have to install and uninstall software rerpeatedly and remove third party add-ons.
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08.10.2007Microsoft Prepares to release Windows Live Hotmail
Windows Live Hotmail (previous
named Windows Live Mail)
testers have received an
e-mail from Microsoft with the
words " we're getting
ready to launch " although
there is no notice of a date.
Microsoft is also offering two
small gifts for beta
participation: a "Free Beta
Badge" and a "Great Windows
Vista Offer". The link
following the offers the beta
tester three signatures with
the embedded words " I was
a Beta Tester for Windows Live
Hotmail ". The second
offer is for a $100
discount on a high-performance
Gateway FX530 Series PC with
Windows Vista Ultimate with a
2 system limit per customer or
four free (with mail-in
rebate) " hardware
accessories from Epson,
Kingston, D-Link and Artec
with a custom-built system
running Windows Vista Ultimate
from a local PC
builder ".
Windows Live Hotmail is
currently on the tenth
milestone, M10 - released on
April 2, 2007. M4 was
publically released on
November 29, 2005. What does
Neowin think, is WLH ready for
a release?
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
02.05.2007The compatibility constraints of your side effects: Beeping
Raymond Chen: Why does the Welcome screen beep if you hit the space bar after the computer has finished starting up?
For
compatibility with a side effect of the Windows XP Welcome screen.
A beta tester asked us why we removed the beeps that were
generated if you started typing at the Welcome screen after the computer finished starting up. Well, we didn't remove the beeps consciously. That the
old Welcome screen beeped was just a side effect of the way the old Welcome screen positioned focus at startup and how it handled unexpected input.
When the Welcome screen was rewritten for Windows Vista, focus and input were handled differently, and it so happened that the new way didn't beep
under the initial conditions.
The tester in this case was blind and relied upon the beeping to know when the system was ready.
The Welcome screen folks had to go back and take extra care to ensure that if you start the computer and wait for the Welcome screen, then hit the
space bar, you get a beep.
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17.12.2007Windows 7 Beta - When will it arrive?
Still a few hours away for CES, it is known that Microsoft is going unveil the Windows 7 Beta at CES. But it is still unsure when would users be able
to download it officially. Mary-Jo Foley reports that public betas of Windows 7 would hit this week along with the private beta. Now, there is some
information available from this Microsoft blog: Attend an upcoming MSDN Developer Conference and you will receive a Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD - and that
immediate upcoming MSDN Developer Conference is on January 13th, which is next Tuesday! At the worst, expect a public beta release next week as the
private beta testers would get priority even if its released earlier.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.01.2009Meet Microsoft's Ultimate
Beta Tester
With tens of thousands of
external beta testers
examining the latest Microsoft
software, little is said about
the company's largest guinea
pig: itself. Long before a
final release, Microsoft has
put the beta bits into
production -- a process it
calls "eating its own dog
food."..
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17.07.2006Virtual XP for Windows 7 Beta released to MSDN and TechNet
According to Paul Thurrott, a beta version of Virtual XP for Windows 7 has been released to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. The download comes in two
parts. The first is KB958559, an update for Windows 7 that includes Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7. The second, is another exe that installs the
Windows XP with SP3 virtual machine itself. To run Virtual XP Mode, users must be running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate with
preferably 2GB of RAM with at least 256MB available to virtualization, and a processor that supports hardware virtualization. Many times hardware
virtualization needs to be enabled in the BIOS to be functional.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
30.04.2009How to sign up for the Windows Installer 4.5 beta program
I just noticed a set of steps that have been posted on the
Windows Installer team blog that can be used to sign up for the Windows Installer 4.5 beta. If you are interested in trying out
this beta and haven't signed up yet, I encourage you to check out
this post for more information.
Currently, signing up for the 4.5 beta will allow you to access some
white papers about agility in software packaging and how Windows Installer 4.5 can help achieve agility goals. In addition,
according to
this post, the Windows Installer 4.5 beta will be available for download "any day now" to members of the beta program.
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23.08.2007Five things every Windows beta tester should know
Ed Bott: A few Windows 7 beta testers (and some high-profile pundits) are working themselves into a lather over the perceived shortage of feedback
from Microsoft. Ive read many of the complaints, public and private, and I think some beta testers need a refresher course in the basics of what it
means to be involved in the development of a product as complex as Windows.
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02.03.2009Want Windows 7 Beta 1? Here's what you have to do...
PDC attendees got the Windows 7 pre-beta build, and Microsoft told them that a public beta would be available in early 2009. But you don't want to
wait until then, right? You want Beta 1, right now. Well, I can't give you that, but I can tell you how you can get your hands on a physical copy
of the Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD. You'll need $100 and a desire to visit one of the upcoming episodes of the MSDN Developer Conference (MDC).
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
04.12.2008XP SP3 Private Beta Available? Public Beta soon?
I came across a French
blog posting by David Sebban (presumably from Microsoft France) at MSDN Blogs in which he mentions that the beta for XP SP3 is
now available for 12,000 invited testers (mainly manufacturers and retailers?) and that a public beta will be available soon.
David also mentions that XP SP3 will not contain any new functionality except for the addition of the
NAP (Network Access Protection) Client which
has been known for quite awhile.
Following is the
translated text via Google:
In the movement of the vagueness 2008 which will contain SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and Windows Server 2008, 2 Packs Service will
leave in the neighbourhoods the first quarter 2008: the SP1 of Windows Vista and the SP3 of Windows XP.
This last is available
besides since today for 12000 invited beta tester (mainly of the manufacturers and the retailers) and will not contain new functionalities except the
addition of customer NAP (Network Access Protection). This customer is necessary if you wish to integrate working stations XP in an infrastructure NAP
Windows Server 2008.
The SP3 of Windows XP will thus contain mainly updates of safety existing and some new hotfixs and beta
public will be available soon.
winbeta.org -
04.10.2007Google Chrome takes more than just inspiration from Mozilla
A few of the names appearing in Google's promotional "graphic novel" for the first beta of its own Web browser, may ring bells for anyone who
was a beta tester of Firefox 3. So just what kind of browser war does Google plan to wage?..
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02.09.2008Windows 7 Beta 1 to be released at CES?
Bob Familiar, Architect Evangelist working for Microsoft, has posted a blog entry detailing next weeks MSDN Developer Conferences. The MSDN developer
conferences take place across the United States from the 9th December through to the 19th February 2009. In the blog post Familiar states "attend an
upcoming MSDN Developer Conference and you will receive a Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD". It's not clear whether this is post conference or during the
conference itself. However another Microsoft employee, Keith Combs, has confirmed the DVDs will be available on the 13th January.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
03.12.2008Developers: Get Windows Vista
Beta 2!
Windows Vista Beta 2 is now
available to Technical Beta,
MSDN and TechNet members...
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25.05.2006Windows 7 beta key troubles: Microsoft is working on it
Some users wanting to get the Windows 7 beta from
Microsoft Connect, MSDN, and
TechNet have been having trouble getting the beta keys they need. The actual downloads are working fine, but users are unable to activate their
beta copies. Microsoft has issued the following official statement on the problem...
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09.01.2009First full beta of Windows 7 may be handed out next Tuesday
As Microsoft's annual MSDN Developers' Conference nationwide tour begins next week, attendees will be among the first to receive a DVD of Windows 7
Beta 1, according to an online invitation the company posted yesterday...
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03.12.2008
