Windows Vista Product Guide Published, Then Pulled

Published: April 12, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Wondering what kinds of exciting new features to expect with Windows Vista? So are we in the IT Jungle. And that's why the availability of Microsoft's new Windows Vista Product Guide intrigued us so much. This 300-plus page tome is jammed with information about the forthcoming "greatest Windows ever" release. We're sure of it. We've done the downloading bit. Now if we could only get it to open.

It seems that the best way to view the new Windows Vista Product Guide is to have Windows Vista running on your computer, which doesn't make a lot of sense in terms of attracting new blood. Sure, if you're a Windows Vista beta tester, you would automatically have the right WinFX components installed on your machine to view the XPS (XML Paper Specification)-based document. (Apparently good old Word didn't have the required fidelity.) WinXP users can also view the guide, reportedly, if they first download the latest CTP of the WinFX controls that lets them view the XPS documents. That didn't help the bits line up properly, and the result was a lot of ugly XML filling Notepad.

Fred Pullen hosted a download of the Windows Vista Product Guide on Monday at his blog at ts2community.com/blogs/fpullen/archive/2006/04/10/1143.aspx. By Tuesday afternoon, he had pulled the link, stating that "it isn't quite ready for public consumption so I was asked to remove the link." Hopefully, it will be ready in time for a holiday season 2006 teaser before the main event next year.