New ways of working
Although to Microsoft outsiders development appeared to be continuing as normal – if somewhat slowly – behind the scenes there were some problems. Some engineers were describing Longhorn as ‘Cairo.NET’, in reference to an enormous 1990s project that never saw the light of day, although most of its elements did surface later in Windows 95 and Windows NT. To get Longhorn back on track, developers were pulled in from Windows Server 2003 and a more structured way of working was introduced. Some employees weren’t happy and even Bill Gates reportedly resisted the changes, which were seen as liable to stifle creativity.
“It was all just, ‘Hey, bless this process’, which I was unwilling to do,” Gates later told the Wall Street Journal. “They’re just talking about process and I’m frustrated we’re not talking about how the teams are responding to it.” His fears seemed justified when the Longhorn Developer Preview was handed out to developers in April 2005. What they saw seemed to be a step back towards Windows XP.
Looking good
But then in July that same year came the name change to Windows Vista and the first beta test. It looked completely different. In came virtual folders, new high-resolution icons, new search and Windows Explorer interfaces. Under the skin were the promised new networking and audio stacks, parental controls, and a working build of .NET Framework 3.0.
A series of new builds started to appear under the banner Community Technology Preview. Most contained small changes to tidy up minor problems, but some demonstrated substantial developments. The Windows Sidebar reappeared and Microsoft Gadgets was introduced. Then came the public release of Windows Vista Beta 2, which was probably the largest software download event in history, nearly caused a disaster. “If we increased our bandwidth any further,” a Microsoft representative said at the time “there’s a possibility of taking down the internet…” At the same time, Microsoft was looking to get genuinely demanding feedback, none greater than when it sponsored and invited hackers to test their skills at August’s Black Hat conference in Las Vegas.
Almost inevitably, a headline from the event read: “Vista hacked at Black Hat.” What actually happened was a Polish researcher managed to insert malicious code to bypass the Windows Vista security – but she’d only done it after User Account Protection had been switched off. This lead some to suggest that this was akin to ‘hiding’ a house key under the doormat, then complaining the building’s security was inadequate when it got broken into. Demonstrations like these are more than just a marketing ploy. The unprecedented scale of testing has led to Microsoft making numerous changes to Windows Vista, anything from improvements in speed and performance to the inclusion of a check box that enables users to switch off the startup tune.
By the end of August 2006, Windows Vista had reached Release Candidate 1, with nearly all the features nailed down and only a few last tweaks remaining. The final moment occurs when Windows Vista “goes gold” and is released to the world’s manufacturing plants for the discs to be pressed in their millions.
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