Yesterday, Microsoft made Windows Vista Beta 2 available to the public through its new Customer Preview Program (CPP).
It’s an interesting initiative that deserves some merit, but I think Microsoft underestimated how many downloads they would receive following the initial announcement.
Let?s just say that Microsoft had to resort to sending out an announcement from their Switzerland headquarters regarding the availability of the beta today.
Let?s do some math.
100,000 users wanting to download a 3.2 GB ISO of Vista + several high-bandwidth Akamai content delivery servers all maxed out = Microsoft putting up a web page stating that they don?t have enough bandwidth available to serve the requests.
Maybe, Microsoft should have been smarter and set up a torrent to distribute the rather large ISOs.? Anyways, I’ll let you decide.
If you want to get in on the action, do the following (just be prepared to wait a very long time to download the beta):
1. Run the Upgrade Advisor to ensure your system can handle Vista.
2. Ensure you have a DVD writer installed.? Blank media helps 😉
3. A fast broadband Internet connection is a must.
4. Register to download the Windows Vista Beta 2 DVD ISO.
Have fun!