Microsoft will release the next beta of Windows Vista in April, according to a popular blog that follows the company.
In a blog posting on Tuesday, Stephen Bink (http://bink.nu/), a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer who writes from Amsterdam, said Microsoft will release another test version of Windows Vista, called a Community Technology Preview (CTP), on Feb. 21, with Beta 2 of the OS set for release in April.
Through a statement sent via e-mail by its public relations firm Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft said Tuesday that it will release the next CTP of Windows Vista in February, but it did not confirm the exact date in February nor confirm the date of the second beta release.
Microsoft originally planned to release Beta 2 of Windows Vista before the end of 2005, but Microsoft Corporate Vice President Amitabh Srivastava announced in November that it was pushing that test release back to early 2006.
At the same time, Srivastava said Microsoft would release interim builds of the next major update to the Windows OS on a more regular basis. However, Microsoft changed the criteria for when those would be delivered, looking for completion of individual features of the OS rather than planning monthly releases.
In addition, Srivastava said in November that the company would have a feature-complete test release of Windows Vista available in early 2006. It is not known at this time whether the Beta 2 release expected in April will be the promised feature-complete release.
Microsoft is still on track to ship the feature-complete release and still expects to ship Windows Vista on compatible hardware before the end of the year, the company said Tuesday.