Yesterday Microsoft released RC2 (Release Candidate) of Microsoft Windows Vista. So Microsoft made it by the end of the week, as all rumours indicated about a week ago.
It’s now available for everyone for a limited time at:
http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm
Great news about Longhorn Server, a new version (August 2006 Community Technology Preview (CTP) – Build 5600) has been released, it’s available as download for MSDN and TechNet.
Hot on the heels of Windows Vista RC1, we have now released the August 2006 Community Technology Preview (CTP)of Windows Server “Longhorn”. It’s available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers to download.
Marked as Build 5560, the August 2006 CTP is an update to Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 2. You won’t find many additional features over Beta 2, but there are big gains in performance and reliability as we’ve been able to bake in all the core OS improvements that were happening simultaneously in Windows Vista [as well as fix a bunch of our own bugs
].
Source: Windows Server Division WebLog : August 2006 CTP Now Available!
Last week Microsoft released Windows Vista RC1 (Release Candidate 1), as available for participants of the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program.
To download using your browser:
To download with akamai downoad manager use:
Signatures of the ISO files:
32-Bit:
MD5 hash: 22486e815a38feffd9667317dfeec55a
SHA1 hash: e00b4ebbc81fb420cf047973b95a9cfb7cdf51b7
64-Bit:
MD5 hash: f3a385aae6e4dea9226e31d9f1148b56
SHA1 hash: 8e4de7a72c828a3543ff1663243eb0836da07eea
More at source.
Last week Microsoft released the latest build (5536) and now it’s made available for download for all. The ISO can be downloaded with a special download manager from Akamai. But hurry up, they will close at 100,000 downloads!
After downloading, please install and test the build as soon as possible. Most importantly, if there is a crash, hang, or error – please make sure that you send the information back to us using the built-in Windows Error Reporting technology (a dialog box will display automatically). Sending this information is essential to helping us improve the overall quality of Windows Vista – and collecting this information is the primary purpose of distributing this pre-RC1 release.
Once you complete the download you must burn the ISO file to a DVD.
Microsoft has partnered with Akamai Technologies to provide a Download Manager to help you get the ISO file for Windows Vista pre-RC1. This Akamai Download Manager lets you pause, resume, and stop the download of the file. You may be prompted to accept a signed ActiveX control or Java™ applet in your browser. These have been signed by “Akamai Technologies, Inc.” and verified by VeriSign, Inc.
Use this link to download using the Download Manager (recommended):
Windows Vista pre-RC1, English 32-Bit Edition
Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 as a free product now. Earlier Microsoft also released Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 as a free product. SP1 beta 1 for Virtual Server 2005 R2 is downloaded from Microsoft.
Whether Microsoft virtualization technology is an important component of your existing infrastructure or you’re just a Virtual PC enthusiast, you can now download Virtual PC 2004 Service Pack 1 absolutely free. Microsoft is also offering the free download of Virtual PC 2007, with support for Windows Vista in 2007.
Download Virtual PC 2004
Download Virtual Server 2005 R2
Microsoft has today annonced that Virtual Server 2005 R2 product is now available as a no-charge download. Combined with the flexible virtualization licensing now available with Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (Buy the Enterprise version and get 4 Windows Server 2003 std. licenses), this means there is little barrier to adoption for customers who want to realize the benefits of server virtualization.
Microsoft is proberly following VMware who made their GSX Server (now VMware Server) available for free some time ago. Their product is still in beta though.
I find Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 to be a great product, especially for creating certain test systems or maybe setup a server with a development/QA environment. Great for testing or developing web environments.
Read the full Press release at source:
Bringing the Benefits of Virtualization Technology to the Mainstream.
Download it here:
Download or Order Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition for Free.
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