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Vista Evaluation

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by jiminpa

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Does anyone out there know if Microsoft is planning on releasing an evaluation edition of Vista? My group would like to start testing how Vista is going to play with the primary application we support. Some of you may be thinking why not just buy a copy to load on a test PC, the cost isn't that much in the grand scheme of things and I would have to agree however, our group has zero purchasing ability.
:)

9 replies

by cmiller5400

Why not ring Micro$oft and ask them for one. I am sure that they would provide one for eval...

by older mycroft

What the hell is the point of getting an evaluation copy?

If you are blinkered enough to eventually like it - you won't be able to buy it! :D

by jdclyde

Is that after they test it and can build a case supporting it, then it can go through the purchase channels. They just can't get anything on their own, and can't get approval for testing.

Of course any company that isn't looking to overhaul their hardware shouldn't even consider Vista as a viable solution.

by jiminpa

It isn't a matter of liking it, it is a matter of one day the "powers that be" will say hey we're gonna upgrade our desktop environments to Vista. I work in a hospital and the application support model is not the most well concieved and the people making the desicions don't always think things the whole way through. Big shock right. My motivation is more of a proactive approach to attempt to stay ahead of the curve. Novel concept. Also some of our doctors will begin buying PC's which they will log in from home via VPN using their spanking new Vista PC and wonder why they can't run the app or wonder why it doesn't look the same. We had the same issue when IE7 came out. The hospital took the stance that IE7 was not approved but the doctors started to whine and administration said make it work.

Such is life.

by dumphrey

a technet membership with MS. Their download only is like $380 (after tax) for a ton o non-time limited software for testing and evaluation. (No home or media versions, just business type software.) Its also tax deductible. Thats how I got Vista and a ton o Info on Vista. I have since erased it from my hard drive and gone back to XP, but I used it daily for just about a month.

by jiminpa

Which on of the selections I would need? It says to choose the one that is right for you but includes no documentation to guide you. I am assuming you only need one but could be wrong.

by thechas

In addition to the trial version, there are other options you should consider.

For the long term, you should work with your manager and purchase a MSDN subscription for the group. Among other things, this gives you access to all current Microsoft products.

For your current needs, consider downloading the VHD version of Vista and testing your application in a virtual environment. Again, the VHD version is time limited. But, you do not need a separate system to install it on.

Chas

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