Windows Vista February CTP

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Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 19 reviews
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Product summary

Microsoft's latest release focuses on enterprise deployment, but there are some new features for the home user.

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CNET editors' take

Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
Edited by: Allen Fear
Reviewed on: 02/22/2006

For more details, see the Windows Vista February CTP slide show.

For the latest news, see Microsoft opens window for new Vista test.

Today's release of Windows Vista February 2006 CTP build 5308 provides, perhaps, a final private glimpse inside the new Windows operating system before the software goes into public beta later this spring. This release is, however, almost exclusively geared for the enterprise customer, with many new features tucked deep inside the operating system and beyond the reach of most home users. The ability to deploy Windows Vista in large corporate environments is crucial to the software giant's success, so the delivery of new tools necessary to customize and roll out secure copies of Vista to hundreds of workstations is the cornerstone of the February CTP build 5308. There are two new end-user features worth noting in build 5308: Windows Welcome Center and Windows Sidebar/Gadgets.

Welcome Center: At first, this feature seems innocuous: a screen that pops up upon boot and informs you of any pending actions necessary for the continued smooth operation of your operating system. However, there's controversy in that Microsoft also made it possible for OEM manufacturers to advertise in the white space. By default, the Welcome Center is the first thing you see when you turn on Windows Vista, but you can easily disable this feature if you don't want the ads.

See more CNET content tagged:: IPSec,; IT administrator,; Microsoft Windows Vista,; staff,; workstation

User reviews

Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 19 reviews
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5.0 stars

7 out of 12 people found this review helpful

"Blows OS X and XP out of the water"

by thefox84 on February 23, 2006

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0.5 stars

"FRUSTERATING BEYOND BELIEF"

by TANK3283 on February 13, 2007

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2.0 stars

"Needs More Work"

by webterractive on March 24, 2006

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Windows Vista February CTP

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