Windows Vista December 2005 CTP (Build 5270) Review

[Chris]

I think people are going to be surprised by how good the Windows Vista December 2005 Community Technical Preview (CTP, or build 5270) really is. After years of painful delays and an uncertain couple of months since the last CTP, Microsoft shipped a near-feature-complete Vista build to testers this week, and the prognosis is extremely positive. From what I can see, Vista has turned the corner. The December CTP is an exciting release, stable and full of new features. In this review, I'll examine those new features, and the features that have changed since the previous CTP, build 5231 (see my review).

From the new install look and feel to the subtle improvements you see immediately upon first viewing the 5270 desktop, it's clear that Microsoft has been busy fine tuning Windows Vista. The fit and finish work is apparently throughout this build, though there are of course still unfinished bits and rough edges here and there. But there's an attention to detail now occurring in Vista that we haven't seen since the PDC 2003 demo ware that Hillel Cooperman and Tjeerd Hoek first showed off (see my interview with the two for more information).

If you're looking for a broader discussion about the CTP program, please refer to my recently released showcase, Inside the Windows Vista Community Technical Preview (CTP), which explores the ways in which the Windows Vista CTP program has changed the way Microsoft develops Windows Vista, hopefully for the better.

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