Windows Vista Released to Manufacturing

Applause for the Microsoft Vista Team! Vista has been released to manufacturing (RTM). RTM is the term frequently used for this stage. Microsoft's Nick White explains more about RTM in "Windows Vista releases to manufacturing".

It has been a long haul, but I can almost hear the huge sigh of relief across the country from Redmond. As Jim Allchin said, "Its Time!" Now that I've mentioned Jim Allchin, there is another time coming. You may recall that he will be retiring from Microsoft the end of January, 2007 when Vista is released to the public and the end of the Jim Allchin era. Be sure to take the time to visit Mary Jo Foley's "All About Microsoft" blog "Vista RTM marks the end of an era" where she interviews Mr. Allchin. For another interview of Jim Allchin, see "Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition", Blogcast Show #1 - Jim Allchin Interview"

Back to Vista. Although the Vista Team needs to take some time to sit back and reap the praise, the work isn't done for them. As Nick White indicated in the above-referenced posting:

"But before we get there, we’ve got some really, REALLY great things to come, much of which will be disclosed or discussed on this blog -- so keep your eyes peeled!"

Read about some of the recent accomplishments as posted by the Windows Vista Team:

• Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 RC for Download

• Saving the Day with Remote Assistance

• News: Revision to Windows Vista retail licensing terms

All of the positive information isn't coming just from the Microsoft Team. I checked to see what Ed Bott had to say in "Will Windows Vista be worth the wait?" and found this great list of Vista-only features:

A radically revamped Windows Explorer with integrated Desktop Search capabilities

A completely rewritten networking stack that supports IPv6

A two-way firewall that increases protection for many existing Windows services

New audio, display, and power management architectures

User Account Control, IE7 Protected Mode, and Bitlocker Drive Encryption

Windows Photo Gallery, with industry-standard support for saving metadata in image files

Excellent backup tools, including the ability to recover previous versions of a file

SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, and other performance-enhancing innovations

Tablet PC support

A slick and stable upgrade to Windows Media Center

I tend to agree with Ed's prediction that there will be some irresistible upgrade offers. To help you adjust when you do upgrade, see Ed's "10 tips and tweaks for Vista experts".

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Will Windows Vista be worth the wait?
10 tips and tweaks for Vista experts
Vista RTM marks the end of an era