Comments on: Microsoft holding off on Windows 7 public beta

The company says it needs to add some more servers before making the code publicly available. Heavy demand on Friday was leading to site problems for Microsoft.

[FREIGHTz]

Disappointment comes to mind

[TeoGee]

Continued Failure from a Failing Company!!
And these are suppose to be the brightest minds in the business???
After 20 years of daily frustration with PC's and Microsoft self destructing products, I went to the other side and purchased my first Mac!
It is a truly amazing, almost FOOL-PROOF O/S. even IF??? it would fail, a simple force-quit of just the open application and with-in a few seconds(not days or weeks) the system is FULLY operational again!

Bottom Line???--------Thanks Microsoft!!! for finally allowing me to SEE-THE-LIGHT!! My I-Mac----Rocks and Rolls------with-out failure or frustration!! And I truly sleep well now-----Nightly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teo

[Vegaman_Dan]

I don't think Microsoft could have anticipated the heavy demand for a *beta* of this OS. Not to this level, at least. I know that even internally at MSFT that servers are having a hard time keeping up with the interest for this new product.

Failure? Hardly.

[Penguinisto]

@Dan: the bottleneck is at the cd key. How hard is it to distribute 2.5 million copies of a >1k file?

[SeizeCTRL]

Nothing like a Microsoft article to bring out the MacIntrolls...

I think someone is a tad jealous that Windows 7 is getting more attention than your precious little MacWorld where nothing of interested was unveiled. MacWorld was the real disappointment of the week.

Not being able to keep up with the amount of traffic with people wanting to get the Win7 beta does not seem like failure or disappointment. Seems to be the complete opposite!

[Jonathan]

TeoGee,

Your iCrap may have rocked in rolled. My MBP just crapped and ****ed. Biggest pile of crap I've ever owned. OS X are for tards who don't know how to run an OS. Pure and simple. Only idiots get infected with a virus. Only tards can't figure out how to install or uninstall an app. Windows is Darwinism in action: They weed out the idiots and force them over to Apple. Who gives you everything on a plate and slaps your hand with a ruler if you dare to ask for something that they don't provide you out of the box. Apple is such a cookie cutter design for an OS that it's painful for those who like tweaking their system the way THEY want it. I lost count of the different ways I can configure Windows Explorer. Finder? HA. Its either Apple's way or get lost.

[Penguinisto]

Eh?

(dunno about the rest of ye, but a quick peek through my comment history shows that I clearly state "good riddance" to Macworld... go figure the MSFT cheerleading crowd would be too ignorant to at least learn something)

[JamesXFree]

So Microsoft is excited that I'm excited to get the Windows 7 beta. What I think they're missing here is that the only reason I am excited to get it is because I HATE Vista and want it GONE forever from my PC! I use a Windows supplied laptop from my company but for home and family, we made the switch to 3 Macs completely based on our disappointment with Vista. I expect and have generally received quality from both Microsoft and Apple but once Vista invaded my life, I expect more from Microsoft than a flimsy excuse that they were not expecting the amount of traffic to their website. That shows total ignorance of the tech market, and as the market leader they are, that's not too bright a move.

[Brian]

@TeoGee:

You better buy a 2nd Mac (preferably a Macbook) because when your Mac fails and you have to bring it in for service, you will be without a Mac until it's fixed (it happens to allot of folks).

As long as you have purchased Applecare, you should be fine.

But when it happened to me and I was without my Mac for nearly a week, I did some research and purchased a Macbook shortly after getting my Mac back.

You see, Macs do fail -- but don't worry about it, you'll find out.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Penguinisto:

"@Dan: the bottleneck is at the cd key. How hard is it to distribute 2.5 million copies of a >1k file? "

Ah, I wish you would tell Microsoft that then since the problem they are *actually* experiencing is getting the content replciated to enough servers to support the demand. The CD key... isn't even part of this. That's easy to get. Getting the actual installation files-THAT is the part taking time.

Here is an area where I do have personal real life experience on the support side of the issue. I'm - 'in the know' as it said. You don't have to believe me, you can make stuff up, or you can just dance a little jig if you wish. :)

If people look at your comment history as you suggest they do, then they would clearly see you have a very biased and negative view on any and all things Microsoft, taking every opportunity to assault the company in any way possible regardless of the actual topic. That is your comment history. You even did it right here in this thread.

It's a new year. Start fresh. :)

[Fil0403]

Professionalism comes to mind.

[globalist_agenda]

This is like the Cuil product launch. Did MS hire that CTO to run this thing?

Or like the Firefox 3.0 Launch which was supposed to be the biggest download ever and crashed within minutes.

[sythara]

They didnt expect such interest. With all the M$ bashing in many years they must have thought the computer enthuseasts(sp) wouldnt be interested. Guess they were wrong.

At least they are not releasing it for people to download at 56K speeds.

[zenrook]

I agree when it comes to disappointment, I don't think it should have been limited to only 2.5 Million licenses either. If it weren't for the limited licenses I don't think so many people would have been up tight about this. I skipped CES this year, I wonder if they handed out media at the show? I would be upset if I had been at the show and not had a chance to get a license for Win7 Beta. I've seen an exhibit with Win7, and I can say I'm impressed however, I wonder how it would run on a older computer. I think that Microsoft should have had more PR on the Public Release of Win7, detailing how things are going to work, and how people are going to get the key. I would even go as far as placing the button on the webpage, and just not put out the url. I'm currently downloading a copy from a link that was posted on LifeHacker. But I have no idea if I'm going to need a key, or where to register if I do need one. Or even if I'll be assigned one once I get WIn7 installed?

[Super2online]

I tried the link, it worked, started downloading. Then I watched estimated time to download rise from 45 minutes to 23 hours and 30 minutes over a period of about 10 minutes. I clicked cancel- enough said.

[MajHavoc]

OMG ! Cmon M$ this is a joke, you hosed the OS with Vista, then you say you are only releasing 2.5 million keys and now you cant even get those. Geez you would think you guys could figure out how to make things work with all those people over there !

Cmon Get it together.

Or are you just preparing the public for another Vista Fiasco ?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Are you so desparate for a beta copy of the OS that you cannot wait a couple of days? It's not like this is costing you anything.

Be patient.

[tm_anon]

Pretty funny. Ubuntu delivers an OS online through a website and the worst that happens is slow downloads at peak hours. MS does it and they have to take it down. The numbers aren't even that different when upgrading to a new version of Ubuntu, plus there's no limit to the number of people for Ubuntu meaning the numbers could potentially be much much higher.

[walk2k]

Wow... really? You're comparing some obscure flavor of a niche OS to Windows?

Microsoft Windows?

Yeah see, the difference Windows has about 50 MILLION TIMES as many users as "UbuntU". What does that mean anyway? Sounds like baby's first words.

[Penguinisto]

To be fair, Ubuntu has a metric assload of mirror servers and domains to redirect download requests to (nearly all are volunteer maintained), and they (as well as their mirror sites) use Apache to serve it. Also, Ubuntu requires no license keys.

Also, Ubuntu has an alternate means of download (BitTorrent).

MSFT is OTOH stuck with one site / domain and IIS, no P2P, and world+dog has to go through a big-arsed bottleneck just to distribute their license keys.

You tell me who has the smarter distribution model... :)

[wolivere]

Ubuntu would wet themselves to have this many people trying to download.

[SeizeCTRL]

Let's be honest here... 18 million people are not going to download Ubuntu in a 24 hour period. I would imagine that even with their world wide mirrors, many of them would choke just the same.

[Penguinisto]

Actually, thanks to P2P (Bittorrent), I'd have to ask you what it is that you think you're talking about, kid...

[Vegaman_Dan]

Wyould really trust downloading a Windows OS install media set from anyplace other than MIcrosoft? THAT would be reason enough to not use the same model that Ubuntu did. Relaibility, integrity, and security. Too many people would love to seed malaware or distribute bad copies intent upon causing mischief.

[Penguinisto]

Well Dan, it can be done... if MSFT itself posts the torrent links they use and does the seeding, no problem.

You do know how Bittorrent works, yes? You get the exact same file, just that you get pieces of it from other folks who happen to have those pieces. As more folks get more pieces, the distribution is spread out more evenly, and bandwidth pressure on the source gets smaller and smaller. Folks who play World of Warcraft already use this technology to get their game patches downloaded.

Unless you click the wrong torrent link to begin with (like, say, you click one on a site not hosted by MSFT), it would be physically impossible for you to get a trojaned copy. Why? because if you got bad pieces, they're rejected by the checksum check, and your client seeks out the correct one. Since someone can only give you a piece of that file and not the whole thing, there's no way to inject something nasty into it, because the resulting file would end up corrupt.

[jabungad]

how much longer? 3, 5, 10 more hours?

[DDD2323]

Downloaded Windows & yesterday because my company is gold partner. I am very impressed. At first glances I've noticed initial resource use on startup is half that of vista. After installing some programs I have noticed how much sleeker and quicker it is for me to navigate. IE8 is fast, and I like the way the indexing is done when putting in URLs, it makes it very quick to find the one I want. After installing OFFICE 2007 and indexing my emails, When i went through my email box and searched it, the response was INSTANT! No displaying the closest match and continuing to search, it displayed every eamil with that word I was looking for as soon as i released enter.

The downsides so far are some compatibility issues with programs, IE logmein.com doesnt support IE8, but i downloaded mozilla and worked around that, VNC does not support it either but there is a java work around to that.

No issues installing hardware drivers. Nvidia already has a SLI driver available on the windows update site for my 2 7600's! As for the rest, anything that worked in vista worked in windows7.

The new way it tabs everything at the bottom is slick. I like it a lot. Hard to explain on here but no more thousands of tabs to go through at the bottom of the screen when you got 100 windows open.

Any problems I have had I have found a work around for it.

Remember this is a BETA initial release! It already stacks up better than VISTA did on its gold day! Im highly impressed.

If you install it as your main OS remember this is a BETA and not everything is tested out, I recommend keeping a Virtual PC of winxp incase you cant do everything you want.

The windows background changer is a nice touch too. I was wondering when they were going to come out with something like that.

[tm_anon]

Can you make a youtube vid of your desktop? Might be a bit more informative than any of the CNet articles I've seen so far.

[omaryak]

Why don't they just use BitTorrent to handle the demand?

[Penguinisto]

Because they have that stupid CD key requirement for starters...

[Jonathan]

Because MS would get the crap kicked out of them by users if someone started distributing a copy with a Trojan. Remember MS will always be the scapegoat for idiot users.

[ddesy]

BitTorrent is too open for a company like Microsoft to ever embrace.

[Penguinisto]

Actually, you can distribute a torrent without the worry of a trojan. WoW, Ubuntu Linux, Fedora Linux... they do this all the time. You provide the tracker link(s), the encrypted checksums, and the download is just as safe as it would be if you downloaded the thing off of the corporate website.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Penguinisto:

The CD key requirement is tiny and is not involved in this issue. It's the sheer demand from the public to download the installation media and has nothing to do with the CD keys.

Trust me on this one. I know far more than you do on it and have to deal with the back end operations for this. It's my day job.

[Penguinisto]

@Dan:

...so explain why the site chokes at that stage?

[harryjerry21]

Here's a link to direct download and Windows 7 beta download guide that is WORKING

http://harryjerry.com/windows-7/beta-download-guide/

[Hep Cat]

Shoulda used Apache on Linux...

[0xa11a]

tm_anon: clearly the numbers are not the same. There are far more than 2.5 million people trying to get at those 2.5 million keys. You have to face the fact that the interest in thirst for a new version of windows still vastly exceeds that for a similar release of ubuntu.

[Penguinisto]

I sincerely doubt it. Why? Simple: the bottleneck was/is in getting the cd keys, which are very small files.

It isn't rocket science to code a gate to only allow 2.5m successful key requests, and then lock the site to everyone else saying that things are closed for the day (then maybe open it later when you generate more keys). That would limit the whole shebang to 2.5 million (once you get past the gate, you redirect to somewhere else and clear the path for whoever comes in after you).

Considering that Firefox 3.0 by comparison managed 17m initial download requests in a 24-hour period without the massive resources at MSFT's disposal, but with only a minor initial glitch (a problem with Akamai IIRC) I'd say that MSFT screwed the pooch on this one.

/P

[ddesy]

Many of those trying to get keys are probably people desperate to see if the next version of Windows will save them from their Vista bugs. And yes, those do exist contrary to MS fanboy statements.

[Vegaman_Dan]

The CD key issue is a misleading bit of information. It's the installation media downloads that are tying up the bandwidth of the avaialble servers. More servers are being brought online but even then you still have to replicate he files.

The CD keys are t he *EASY* part and unrelated to the issues of massive demand for this product download.

[Press any key]

I am very disappointed in Microsoft.

I think it would be easier to get non-legal software in the future.

[zimz2689]

Direct downloads from microsoft work (I am currently downloading the iso), but I dont have a key. (Current Time is 6:17pm EST. And I am downloading at 162 KB, which is the speed of my connection) If only they had a seperate site for the keys....

[efear123]

Maybe bill has the HYB people he loves so much running this show.

[jahrends]

@walk2k
Your an idiot and it shows. You try and say that ubuntu is obscure but you don't have the intellect to actually do a simple google search?
A Zulu word, literally meaning ?humanness.? Ubuntu is a social and spiritual philosophy serving as a framework for African society. ...

If microsoft had a clue they would have seeded this beta with a torrent. Just like you the company is clueless.

[ddesy]

The problem is obviously only the keys. I just started downloading at over 500kb/s from a direct link!

[soakwashrinsespin]

I just managed to get a key for the 64-bit edition, so it looks like Microsoft has started to open the floodgates:

"Windows 7 Beta 64-bit Product Key

You may use the following product key to activate your evaluation copy of Windows 7 Beta 64-bit.

Product key: <removed>
Please print this page for your records.

Downloading the Windows 7 Beta could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your provider, bandwidth and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won?t have to answer any more questions ? you can walk away while it finishes. If it gets interrupted, it?ll restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details."

If you're already logged in with your Windows Live ID and managed to enter your details earlier, you can get your keys from either:

(64-bit) https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-64/enus/default.aspx
or
(32-bit) https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-32/enus/default.aspx

[Vegaman_Dan]

Yeah... Microsoft is using the keys to help control the demand on the servers for the installation meida. Unfortunately this is being misintepreted as meaning that the key management is the issue, but is in fact the way they are preventing the servers from crashing from the heavy demand.

The keys are... well, working the door to the download. They unlock access to the rest of the file server- kind of like .... a key. :)

[spectator1]

Microsoft is probably still fixing driver that the OEMs did not certify years ago.I am a season IT Support professional I did not have any problems with Vista or Windows 7. Because I understood the challenges for most scenarios, like the OEMs not digitally certifying the drivers for Vista. Right now everyone is talking about Google has this browser, Apple has that browser etc. Microsoft had a new browser twenty years ago maybe more than that and it keeps getting better. Some of the companies and corporation need to stop being frugal and hire some IT support professional and stop expecting Microsoft to answer their questions about things other Windows.