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Vista's last mile
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: November 8, 2006 4:00 AM PST
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Digg thisREDMOND, Wash.--The last stop for Vista is a windowless conference room in Building 26, on Microsoft's sprawling campus in the Seattle suburbs.
Each day, members of the Windows team gather inside this "shiproom" to go over the bugs that remain, and to debate which of these can still be fixed in the days left until the product is declared finished, a milestone that is expected any time now.
The intense "end game," as these final weeks are known, is a well-worn tradition inside the shiproom, which is on the third floor of the Windows development building. The small room, with its dated, dark wood conference table has been the war room for every Windows release since Windows 2000.
On the wall are knick-knacks from past projects, as well as clocks showing the minutes ticking away in a dozen time zones. The clocks serve as a reminder that Microsoft has a deadline to meet. The company has scheduled a November 30 press event in New York to announce the availability to businesses of Windows Vista, while computer makers need to get the final code in order to finish their testing and get Vista on PCs in time for a broad launch in January.
The once-daily shiproom meetings have become twice-a-day events as the product has neared completion. Projected onto a screen is a list of unresolved issues that need to be addressed before Vista can leave. There were about five dozen such issues at a meeting last Wednesday morning.
Sven Hallauer, who heads up the process, moved quickly through the list as about 40 programmers, nearly all with a laptop in tow, worked to keep up. At each sticking-point, the person responsible for tracking the issue gave a one-sentence report on where things were.
In one case, there was a bug in the Slovenian release of Vista. It was quickly tabled as not pressing, given that Slovenian is not in the first or even second wave of localized versions of Vista. Other reports came in--this software program has a hitch, this particular laptop has trouble waking up from sleep.
Some of the glitches were already known. Many were things that have already been fixed, and a few were too new and need investigating. None appeared to be a show-stopper.
Hallauer had predicted that the morning's meeting would be fairly short--maybe a half-hour. After 20 minutes, the group decided that things seemed pretty good. Perhaps they wouldn't need to revise the code again.
At the afternoon meeting, though, the team was forced to revisit that decision. It turned out that there was an issue within Vista's new diagnostics: if a piece of software failed to install properly, the system would nonetheless get a report that it had been successful. Hallauer and team decided to spin one more build.
Weighing changes
It's all part of the process. Several times, Hallauer and others have thought that they had the final version of Vista done, only to find something that meant the team had to put in another fix.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft thought it had something that promised to be the final version. But within a couple of days, two new glitches had surfaced. The issues were arcane, but significant enough. In one case, there was a potential problem with burning DVDs. If a Vista machine attempted to burn information to a blank DVD directly from a network drive, there was a chance that data could be lost, if the network was slow. The other problem had to do with offline folders: Under certain circumstances, applications weren't being notified if the cache was full.
"That could end up with users losing their data or having a really bad experience," Hallauer said.
While it seems natural to go ahead and fix such bugs, changing the code at this point is a big deal. There isn't time for the full regression testing, which investigates whether a fix in one area has some hidden impact somewhere else in the system. Instead, teams must create solutions that only touch a part of the code and count on their ability to not break something elsewhere.
And not everyone agrees which things need to be tackled. The battles inside the shiproom can get testy sometimes. These days, there are certainly folks who feel Vista is ready to send on its way. Others keep lobbying for particular fixes, including some requests made late last week.
Hallauer said he doesn't see his job as just saying "no"--but at this point, it is certainly about only saying "yes" to the right things. "Through most of the product cycle, the teams are fairly independent," he said. "Now that we are at the end of the release cycle, it is more (about) taking stronger reins."
Sharks and limpets
While Vista is not glitch-free, the product is finally coming together. When Microsoft does find a bug, it gets classified into one of two categories.
One is "sharks"--bugs that everyone agrees need to be fixed before the product ships. And then there are "limpets," which are issues that can be fixed, but where the need is less critical. In those cases, the fixes are developed, but don't get implemented unless a shark comes along that they can use to float into the code.
Retiring Windows chief Jim Allchin doesn't like the shark and limpet analogy. To him, nearly every bug is a shark worth fixing.
"(If) there's a fix, I want to put it in," Allchin said. "It should be clear that date means not much to me, that quality is much more important."
But Allchin is finding plenty of resistance these days. Microsoft is under a fair bit of pressure to get Vista out the door.
The latest shark, though, means that he can get in one of the changes he wanted. For months, the company has been struggling with an issue in the Vista set-up process. As the operating system was loading, the screen would appear to freeze up, with no indication that the installation was still progressing--although it was.
Developers put that problem right. But as a result, a dialog box that asked users to identify the type of network they have was popping up twice.
To Hallauer, it was an issue that might or might not have justified a new build. Allchin was convinced it did.
"When I heard about it, I thought, there's no way...(We've got) to fix this," Allchin said.
The unrelated software-installing problem let Allchin win the day.
Coding in the dark
Microsoft has long touted the power management features in Windows Vista. Apparently, the development team for the operating system also works pretty well on battery power.
Last Friday, as Microsoft was scrambling to ensure there were no problems with the latest Vista build, the power went out in Buildings 26 and 27, home to a good chunk of the Windows development team.
In an e-mail to the team, Windows boss Jim Allchin made it clear that no power was "no excuse" for not getting the final testing work done. "If you're in an area that has no power, find some place to continue to work until power is restored," Allchin wrote. "We're almost there. Nothing has stopped us before, and this isn't going to stop us either!"
The outage did knock several labs in the building offline, including the one that cranks out new builds of Windows. Luckily, the company didn't need to spin a new build that day.
"The burn lab is continuing to hand out DVDs, so come get one if you need to get work done," Allchin said.
--Ina Fried
Images
Behind the scenes for Vista
Photos from Redmond, where Microsoft is working hard to get the Windows update out of the door. November 8, 2006
Vista gets the shutter bug
The photo-importing wizard in Windows Vista has raised concerns. October 24, 2006
Security tweaks in Vista
Release Candidate 2 version lets people turn off feature. October 13, 2006
Power plans in Vista
Managing the drain on your laptop battery.June 2, 2006
Vista's got game
Taking advantage of 3D graphics and other features.March 21, 2006
Looking inside Vista
A peek at the Windows Vista Sidebar feature.February 2, 2006
CNET Reviews: Vista slide show
Get a look at Vista features and screenshots. January 5, 2006
Videos
First Look: Windows Vista RC2
Vista still not ready for prime time. Oct. 12, 2006
First look at latest Vista build
CNET's Robert Vamosi shows off Vista RC1 Sept. 1, 2006
A secure Vista
Windows' chief gives tour of antiphishing and parental-control tools. January 27, 2006
Does Vista mean business?
A look at Vista's office functions, including publishing and information sharing. January 27, 2006
A view of Vista
Windows' chief answers questions from News.com readers. January 27, 2006
Vista coming your way
More answers from Allchin. January 27, 2006
Vista for developers
A look at how Vista could be used as a basis for graphics and data presentation. January 26, 2006
Credits
Editor: Karen Said
Design: Andrew Ballagh
Production: Kristina Wood
Very not cool.
I started to learn 2003 Server, so far I just intalled it, having a hard time in adjusting to these connection limitation per license and restrictions, none of which are on Solaris or Linux, or OS X.
Windows will need to adjust that.
Very _not_ cool.
Very not cool.
Where things were AT? Ina, where are you at?
It's too easy to say "it's totally ready to go" when all you run on your boxes is MS.
Proof one way or the other will be post January.
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grrrrrrrrrrrr
But your basically saying the same thing that everyone said before XP, 98 and 95 came out. Vista is as ready as any of the past Windows releases.
I get the feeling you made your mind up long before you even clapped eyes on a vista at all, and that your opinion is based on something other than an honest assessment of its readiness and capabilities.
Personally I don't have time for this kind of "religious" negativity, let's assess it on merit not on prejudice.
"Many of my XP programs don't even run in Vista ..."
This is a feature. It keeps you from running all the old unsafe XP programs.
"The file search functions are still poor "
Microsoft has determined that people spend far too much time looking for old files. Just make some new ones.
"Video Editing and photo capabilities to compete with iPhoto are still poor. "
Why would you want to edit photos or video? That is for pannzy Mac owners.
"The ultimate special effects make it unclear which window is even ontop of one another "
This is one of the best Vista features. Use it to teach your kids about quantum indeterminacy!
If you don't want to get Vista on the first day, move to Communist China.
"Many of my XP programs don't even run in Vista ..."
This is a feature. It keeps you from running all the old unsafe XP programs.
"The file search functions are still poor "
Microsoft has determined that people spend far too much time looking for old files. Just make some new ones.
"Video Editing and photo capabilities to compete with iPhoto are still poor. "
Why would you want to edit photos or video? That is for pannzy Mac owners.
"The ultimate special effects make it unclear which window is even ontop of one another "
This is one of the best Vista features. Use it to teach your kids about quantum indeterminacy!
If you don't want to get Vista on the first day, move to Communist China.
Please forgive this if it is a double post. I posted, but my comment did not show up. After a few minutes I am trying again.
It's like saying that the 1977 Mustang you're test driving doesn't meet up with the standards of the 2007 model. I'd wait until the final code goes out the door before making such comments.
Vista was and still is a nightmare for Microsoft in that it was supposed to be "revolutionary" with WinFS and other such features but slowly and I mean slowly they found that this was not going to be revolutionary but more evolutionary.
Evolutionary in the sense that it is just Windows XP with Bling and more negative aspects than positive.
If MS doesn't crank out a new Desktop OS better than this in the next three (3) years then their days as master of the desktop are over.
I am a windows user and systems admin for hundreds of Windows servers and assist the desktop admin with about 5500 windows desktops so I will still be in the game but I will be recommending we move to another platform.
What platform? There are a few good alternatives to Windows on the desktop now and requiring less resources and costing less.
I never thought I'd see something this bad come from Redmond but then I guess "Microsoft BOB" and "Windows ME" should have been clues.
Like it or not, the public is going to scrutinze every little thing about this operating system. It is well known that it is not ready. But there are shareholders and PC manufacturers to keep happy so the release is going on even though everyone knows it shouldn't. The trick is to minimize the problems. Like that Slovian release. Leaving that bug in makes sense to me given how long it will be until that localized version hits manufacturing. But a setup bug? Come on! Those things are the stuff of Microsoft legends. I would think Microsoft has been raked over the coals enough from incidents like DOS 5.0 and Windows ME to make such a mistake. Fortunately, an executive stepped in but it makes me wonder: Just how lazy are Microsoft programmers?
Reality says you can't stop the presses every time someone sees a typo in the newspaper. You eventually have to run with what you have or you miss the deadline entirely.
Is the bug a show stopper? No. Can it be addressed at a later date without affecting anyone? Yes. Then fix it when it is convenient. There are such things as priorities at work here.
Not only will it be fun to watch the chaos, but will be even more fun when it does blow up and the MS fans attempt to justify it.
I am not excited enough to waste money and join the "party", after all I need to get work done.
Vista will mark the beginning of the end of MS dominance, at it is well earned.
I don't think any other company in the history of the world has worked so hard and so long on so little. They deserve all the ridicule and lost market share that is incoming.
MS Vista-A uneducated mans version of OSX or Linux.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://bbspot.com/News/2001/03/apple_interview.html" target="_newWindow">http://bbspot.com/News/2001/03/apple_interview.html</a>
PS. I like Apple. I own Apple stock.
Sheesh.
And, by the way, software doesn't just fail because of Windows. There are standards out there that many software developers DO NOT FOLLOW. And then people complain that Microsoft did them wrong.
That is just lame.
In this day and age, Windows wouldn't still sell millions and millions of copies if it wasn't halfway decent.
Dude you are so blinded by redmond I would have to guess that you are one of their MVP's, if not you should be because anybody backing this second version of Windows ME on steroids is either Bill Gates brother in law or just plain ignorant of the issues.
And they sell millions of copies not because the system is halfway decent, but because they charge OEM's based on how many computers they ship (not how many computer with Windows, but how many computers in general), and put out tons of ******** advertising and FUD warning about how hard to use everything else in the industry is.
The main beef with M$ is how the corporation has gone about acquiring it's software over the years and pretending it created it - or at least some sort of "I made it" advertising.
A good one - MS DOS. Gates didn't create it. It was bought by Bill from someone who didn't get to reap any of the big bucks of DOS - even if he was an idiot for selling to Gates - Gates should have broke loose with some bucks in the end.
Good business is capitalism - so the winner takes all and capitalises on the weaker and they get kicked to the curb. So what if they die poor. That's the nature of the beast. But, Bill should have given credit where credit was due - and did not and pretended he single handedly programmed MS DOS with his own 2 hands. That was the image of the day back then.
Now - for the next big robbery event #2. Remember that company called Stacker located in San Diego? Well, do you remember that Microsoft just could not get their version of disk compression working and it kept wrecking harddrives...so - Microsoft actually stole the disk compression technology from Stacker and had to be sued a year later to even think about paying Stacker for it. M$ publicly swore it did not steal anything. Suprising though - Stacker had built in code that it opened for the court and out of M$ software came Stacker software. Amazing. Now - Stacker is getting paid big bucks forever for that lying, cheating and theft that M$ committed - and for that payment system M$ gets to use Stacker's disk compression technology - but, without having to tell anyone it really is Stacker technology. You know - everyone is none the smarter for it.
Let's get on to the third (3rd) but, way off from being anywhere close to it's last endeavor - gaining 32bit technology for Windows. Oh - you didn't know that M$ couldn't get their version of 32bit technology to work correctly with Windows 95 Version A? What happened then you ask? Well, since it's experience with Stacker - M$ got smart and bought Digital Research DOS (DRDOS) instead of stealing it (hostile takeover) and implemented it's Digital Researches 32bit technology into M$ Windows 95B (version B). Wow - you Win95B is really DRDOS driven - hmph. You didn't know that either? That worked so well, that M$ was able to finally put together Windows 98, a much superior version of Windows 95B now that 32bit technology gave M$ the wherewithall to fully implement MX technology which was/is based on 32bit technology -- that the Intel and AMD chipsets were being built for.
Point being - when you hear people talking crap about M$ software - that's just what it is...crap. M$ has brought together some of the most usable software systems known to mankind. Think about it - you're hearing people mouth off that can barely scribble a bit of code or barely make sound business decisions or even balance a check book. You don't hear Sun, Oracle or even IBM slamming M$ do you? No - you don't.
Not even Novell slams Microsoft for taking (stealing) Netware NDS technology and actually making it work as good if not better than Novell's own stuff. Put NDS with LDAP and you have voila - Active Directory...which any idiot that can read - can learn.
Novell's idiot staff almost put Novell out of business by being arrogant and like the people who talk crap about M$...but, they don't talk crap about M$ nevertheless...do they. Nope! Sure -M$ AD might not be as secure - but, any idiot that can load a CD can setup a network with it. Something that can't be said for Netware still yet to this day.
You've just read 4 reason's why I could hate Microsoft - but, I don't and they did what I damn well wanted to do but couldn't and still can't....create it myself or bring the best of other peoples software technology together and make it work the best for mankind at the cheapest prices.
Can you imagine what a computer and the software that runs it would cost today had it been left up to IBM, Novell, Sun, AT&T or Apple or one of the other computer companies back then that were trying to squeeze every penny they could from every person that even had a thought about computers.
Seriously - there were times when even if you were to just read a paper about a computer you almost felt compelled to pay one of these old computer companies because you might have felt like it was a privilege to even read about some sort of alien technology being brought to mankind.
So - in the end - Linux may be great - but, I've been using and loving it for 10 years and M$ is still doing more jobs than Unix or Linux and full blown multimedia to boot - which no one seems to be able to perfect any new stuff for Unix/Linux that competes with and runs M$ stuff. You cannot find any Linux Distro that loads as easy as M$ and immediately (in most cases) fires up, plays cool games with adjustable graphics and sound. And when it comes to .Net - M$ rocks.
Thanks and have a great day.
Enjoy.
Most of the software we use was created in house, we do run some Windows computers (Even one application server running an Apple Database that we have not converted to PHP/SQL)We also run a few Macs including one in a mission critical position (Accounting data).
Windows is for games. Linux/BSD is for business.
My Brother in law had a Model 2, you know the huge one that sold for like 10K and then had it converted to a model 12 and had a whopping 5MB external hard drive in addition to his two 8" floppies.