Recommended Posts

Or, you know, they'll just keep using the same pool of 10k-15k testers they've been using since the Vista betas. I'm still testing stuff for them, SP1 included. Although, they may go for a bigger base and sign people up through blogs again. That's how I got on board. Keep yer eyes peeled I supose.

Go to www.connect.microsoft.com and sign in with a Passport. Look in Available Connections and see if there are any Beta's that you would like to be in. If you get in make sure to do all of the Surveys, participate in Newsgroups. keep up with Feedback. You may not find any bugs, but you can validate other peoples bugs.

You have to know that even doing all of these things you may still not get into a Beta like Windows 7.

Beta Testing can take up alot of time and hard work and at the end of the Beta all you may get is a thank you.

  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
if you're in, you'll hear from Microsoft themselves...

Also even talking about the 7 Beta will break NDAs so most will refrain from talking about it :ninja:

My ass people will keep quiet about win7. There have already been leaks with pre-alpha 1. Besides longhorn/vista was one of the worst leaked os betas MS ever did. I highly doubt win7 will be any different. Look at fiji, it's been out what 1 week and screenshots have been posted.

I tested Vista, and SP1 so I'm assuming that they'll at least offer me a chance to test Win7 when it becomes available. Since I'm not testing it currently, and NOT under NDA, I can safely say that I haven't heard or seen anything on connect about this. Yet. I'm sure it'll happen soon enough, but I'm thinking not for a few more months at least.

  • 1 month later...
  • 5 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
I own a site about Windows Vista. Sure it's not Windows 7 but the user base is there and if I got to beta test, it's a win-win situation because I'll generate more hype for it.

Any chance I can get a beta because of that?

If you go to PDC, then yes!

Otherwise, wait in line like the rest of us (including other, very high profile media members).

I hope not.

A lot of the misconceptions about Vista come from those public releases.

Microsoft has been distributing public previews of Windows since Windows 2000 Beta 3, its nothing new. Only difference is, you had to pay for the Corporate previews of Windows 2000 and XP. With Windows Vista, all you had to do was download 7 GBs of data, you could even request DVDs for a minimal fee. MSDN and Technet subscribers automatically get access to beta 1. So, if you are desperate access an early preview, then that would be the best route.

I am sure they will do the same for Windows 7.

Microsoft has been distributing public previews of Windows since Windows 2000 Beta 3, its nothing new. Only difference is, you had to pay for the Corporate previews of Windows 2000 and XP. With Windows Vista, all you had to do was download 7 GBs of data, you could even request DVDs for a minimal fee. MSDN and Technet subscribers automatically get access to beta 1. So, if you are desperate access an early preview, then that would be the best route.

I am sure they will do the same for Windows 7.

I don't remember ever paying for beta software of Windows 2000 or XP. Both were on what Microsoft now referes to as CTP.

I don't remember ever paying for beta software of Windows 2000 or XP. Both were on what Microsoft now referes to as CTP.

I am not aware of CTPs during 2000 or XP betas, I am aware of interim builds which were not as often as CTPs were during the Vista beta. In fact the idea of Community Technology Previews did not come into existence until Visual Studio codename Whidbey.

Please note though that Corporate Previews were not available to the general public until around Beta 3 and RC1 I believe for 2000 and XP respectively. If you were in the private betas or subscriber to MSDN you would automatically get access to those previews of which you speak.

Hey,

any news on this? I was a beta tester for Vista...Even submitted a few bugs but never via Connect so I never got the free copy. :/

Anyway, I'd love to test Windows 7 too.

Thanks.

So... what you really mean is that you downloaded the publically available CTP version and were not an actual beta tester.. rightt? If you were in the actual beta program, you should have been filing bugs via connect.

It got rid of a lot of bugs in Vista though. I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same again.

How do you know "a lot of bugs" were resolved as a result of the CTP program and not the actual closed beta program? The CTPs are largely just a marketing gimmick.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Samsung is shutting down yet another app used by millions by David Uzondu Samsung has announced that it is shutting down Samsung Max, its VPN service used by more than 50 million people, effective today. Samsung Max VPN, if you don't know, was an Android app born on February 23, 2018, out of the ashes of Opera Max, a very popular data-saving VPN that Opera had discontinued the previous year. Samsung bought the discontinued service, rebranded it, and added a native Samsung UI to fit the Galaxy ecosystem. The app could do things like compress images, help you manage background data on a per-app basis, reduce video data consumption, shrink music files, optimize webpages, block advertisement trackers in incognito mode, and encrypt your internet traffic on public Wi-Fi networks. Image via SammyGuru If you open the app now, you'd be greeted by a shutdown banner warning that all VPN, data saving, and privacy services stopped functioning on June 15, 2026. The creators failed to provide a reason for the shutdown, instead publishing a farewell note that read: "Thank you for being with us over the years. Your support and activity truly meant a lot to us and helped shape this app into what it became." This same message appears on the Google Play Store listing for the app as well. Max VPN is the latest service from Samsung to join the list of discontinued applications from the company. Just two months ago, the Korean tech giant announced that it is completely shutting down Samsung Messages, forcing millions of users to migrate to Google Messages by next month. The only devices that the shutdown won't affect are older smartphones running Android 11 or lower. Some of the features of Google Messages that Samsung hopes will entice users include AI-powered scam detection to block suspicious links, integrated Gemini AI tools to generate quick replies, custom chat bubbles, and universal RCS compatibility for sharing high-quality media with iOS users. The platform also offers seamless syncing across tablets and smartwatches. In addition to that, users gain access to message scheduling, smart classification, and automated category sorting. Via: SammyGuru
    • 1. Define "better". 2. It's still more expensive than equivalent PCs so... And there is not one Windows platform. This is the mistake ALL Apple oriented people make. Apple is one OEM. You could reasonably compare them to one PC OEM, say Dell or HP. But you can't compare them to ALL PC OEMs. Case in point, Apple has NO touch screen MacBooks. No tablet Macs. There are no rugged Macs. The variety of PC OEM design is insane. With Apple, you have... Apple. The problem is that you're starting with Apple as the definition of "good" then filtering out anything that isn't close to an existing Apple product, then trying to homogenise all of those left into a fictional product line and then ignore any innovations to create a minimal feature subset so you can say "See! Apple better!" PS: I was an Apple dev for 17 years and helped develop MacInTalk and disability solutions for Apple, and worked on Microsoft Office for MacOS - and I have several Macs and MacBooks - so tread very carefully.
    • Major Xbox layoffs may claim South of Midnight developer Compulsion entirely by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Microsoft has been making major changes in its gaming wing Xbox for a few months now, including the appointment of a new CEO, a large number of leadership changes, and strategy shifts. However, the company is seemingly also looking at initiating a major layoffs wave at Xbox and perhaps even a studio closure. The new report lands from Kotaku, Xbox first-party developer Compulsion Games is being shuttered soon by Microsoft. For those unfamiliar with the studio, it's the team behind Contrast (2013), We Happy Few (2018), and South of Midnight (2025). Its latest game was quite well received, even winning a Peabody Award for its writing. It even received a 9/10 in Neowin's own review, highlighting its engaging storyline, gorgeous world, and curious characters. The studio joined Xbox Game Studios in 2018, just as Microsoft announced it is acquiring Playground Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory. Despite recent listings for new staff roles, according to the new report, Compulsion Games is being closed entirely, with over 90 staff being let go. Kotaku also added that the studio's leadership is in negotiations with Microsoft about this decision, but no official details have been revealed yet. The report lands just as two senior managers of Xbox leave their posts at Microsoft Gaming. Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O'Connor originally began their journey in Rare and have been a part of Xbox for over two decades. Dunkan has been responsible for games like Kinect Sports and Sea of Thieves, while O'Connor was primarily working on Rare's Everwild project before its cancelation. If this report about the studio shutdown is accurate, this may just be the start of a major new layoffs wave at Xbox Game Studios. There are also rumors of Arkane Studios being heavily affected. As always, take all these reports with a grain of salt until something official materializes from Microsoft or the studios.
    • The flaw with this analysis is that this laptop has a cellphone CPU in it. In the Intel world, that would be an N150 and those are everywhere, even in low end laptops. You can get an N150 based NUC with 16GB RAM and 256GB-512GB SSD... NOT soldered in... for < $500 Canadian (around US$360). The problem is two fold: tech bloggers/writers on most tech site (like this one, ironically) overvalue Apple and apparently aren't in the same earnings class as most regular people. As a result, we get breathless articles about how everyone needs a folding phone when most people just cannot afford one... or really need one. And we get Apple used as the baseline metric regardless of whether that comparison makes any sense. If Dell or HP released a retail laptop with a cellphone motherboard, you'd be all over them for doing that - but Apple does it and it's genius. I see articles suggesting what Samsung - a company that basically started the foldable phone market and has built them for eight years - needs to do to compete with Apple's unreleased, unspecced and unseen folding phone. Sorry, no - if the Neo (really creative name there BTW - still, better than the Go, the other "creative" product name everyone's using) encourages PC makers to make cellphone laptops using lower end ARM processors, we all lose. It's a step backwards and a capitulation to the fact that semiconductor makers and computer OEMs (and tech bloggers) have totally lost the plot.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      ThatGuyOnline earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      507
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      197
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      127
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      82
    5. 5
      neufuse
      73
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!