Microsoft expected to release Vista RC1 today

Microsoft allows the intrepid a free download of release candidate 1 for consumption. The real question is, "will anyone be able to use it?"

By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service August 28, 2006

Reviewers will soon be getting their hands on the first release candidate of Windows Vista, which means Microsoft could be on target to deliver the OS to business customers according to schedule before the end of the year.

Microsoft is expected to give product reviewers access to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) as soon as Tuesday, and the code looks set to drop publicly as early as Sept. 5. Microsoft has maintained it would have Windows Vista RC1 available by the end of September.

When Microsoft makes available the first release candidate of a product, it means the software is in its final stages of being ready to head to the manufacturer. The goal of making RC1 available is to show testers as close to a final version of the product as possible so Microsoft can identify and get rid of all of the last-minute bugs before putting the product on CDs.

"It's like throwing one of those roach bombs in an empty apartment and see what comes out," said Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research of the RC1 testing process. "They're looking .. [to see] if there any bugs hiding in the walls somewhere."

Read all about it here, courtesy of InfoWorld.com:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/28/HNrc1imminent_1.html
-Eric