Feb CTP 5308 quality
Since we released the February/Enterprise CTP, build 5308 of Windows Vista, I have spent a few minutes each day reading through our beta newsgroups, microsoft.beta.longhorn.mce.*. Unfortunately I see a lot of posts about black screens, blue screens, glitching, freezes, etc. And that’s if the user was able to get the build with drivers installed!
I wish you were all having a better experience. Understand that we feel your pain. For instance, I’m running 5308 here at the office on a slightly older Dell machine and see the same issues you see. At home, I’ve been installing weekly builds since December. So every week, at least once, I go through the pains of trying to install Windows Vista, configuring it and MCE for my tastes, and then using it. The good news is that 5308 is a snapshot of where we were at a certain point in the development cycle and that quality improves every week. I haven’t yet switched over to using my Windows Vista machine 100% at home but expect to do so any week now. Expect our next pre-release to be higher quailty than what you’re struggling with today.
So hang in there. Your feedback is valuable!
Please do make a post when you do finally switch over.
Do you know when Media Center Extender functionality will be added to the Vista Builds? Specifically, XBOX360 support. I would try dual boot if I could get extender support.
Michael
I loaded build 5308 on my Dell Optiplex GX280 (3.0GHz, 512MB RAM, Integrated Intel Video) and the install went without problems. However, testing Media Center was tough, because it was very sluggish. Menus would take a while to load.
Feature Request:
It would be nice for “My Movies” in Vista to contain the functionality that’s included in the third-party component “My Movies” by Brian Binnerup (www.mymovies.name). The IMDB integration is very cool.
Also, in the next release of Media Center, is it possible to change the Start Page Menu Order. I’ve noticed that in MCE 2005, that after adding programs to the start menu they don’t end up in a logical order I’d prefer. Can we get the capability to “sort by name” or manually sort.
Thanks!
I’m looking forward to the next major build of MCE. It will be a VERY important release.
IMHO the database functionality in MCE needs dramatic improvement. I’m having so much trouble trying to get my music library correct. And when you deselect a folder from your library it should dissapear from your library.
Some nice to have’s:
- MCE Webbrowser + Bookmarks
- RSS Feeds
- Email support
- More options for recording TV
- Videochat (Like XBOX360)
I know plugins are available.. But who doesn’t want these to become default in the nextgen MCE.
I’m really looking forward to the Microsoft version of iTunes in combination with my Mediacenter. It would be so cool to simply buy an album/video online and getting it downloaded into your library…
Can’t wait!
February CTP Quality Issues?
Matt Goyer, Program Manager for the eHome division at Microsoft, posts about what he’s seen…
Hi Matt,
there is a chance to be include into a Vista Beta testing ? Actually I’m working on Beta office 2007 and will be very useful if i can test both new desktop products
Thanks a lot
Cesare Balena
MS Beta id 641313
MS Connect id 1208351