The software maker is doing similar things with many application compatibility issues. For example, there are Windows programs designed to check what version of the operating system is running. If the system responds with anything other than XP, the application won't run. In a workaround, known as a "shim," Microsoft essentially lies to those programs that will otherwise work and says it is, in fact, XP.
But those are the easy compatibility challenges. Harder are issues like firewalls and antivirus software, which talk deeply to the plumbing of Windows. "If you touch the kernel, those things break," Jones said, adding that the company has been working for a long time with the major makers of those kinds of software.
Another challenge Microsoft faces as it expands its testing is separating the widespread issues from the isolated incidences. Historically, that's been tough for the company. This time though, it is counting on new technology to provide a critical boost as it races to meet its deadline.
"It's significantly changed the quality and the amount of feedback we get and the ability to respond," said Jones, a Windows veteran.
For years, when applications quit unexpectedly, Windows has asked whether it can report back to Microsoft about the problem. By knowing how prevalent an issue is, it can constantly tackle the biggest thorns.
With Vista, Microsoft has extended that to several more areas of the system. Microsoft can learn automatically when a Vista user has a device that has no driver, or if they are running a program that won't run or is constantly seeking administrator credentials.
Many eyes
Another challenge that Microsoft will face this time
around is the fact that each Vista glitch will be so much more public. With
Windows 95, the discussion was confined to tech geeks conversing in CompuServe
forums. Today, it's a blog, and then instant headlines.
"If nine out of 10 people have a great experience, and the one is the person who writes (about their negative experience), that perception is hard to change," Jones said.
Overall, though, Jones said that the new technology is a boon, thanks to all the early and automated feedback.
"I think we're ahead of the game versus where we were with XP," he said.
Microsoft has already seen the benefit.
After a recent bug hunt, in which Microsoft employees were asked to upgrade XP machines at home, Windows chief Jim Allchin was worried when they found they couldn't get those PCs to update to Vista. It turned out, though, that all the problems boiled down to two specific bugs.
"We just need to get more people to use it now," Allchin said. "The thing that's most important, right now, is for people to give us the feedback fast."
Gartner's Silver said the key is whether there are issues that aren't so much bugs as poorly designed features. The things to watch out for, he said, are "design issues, rather than bugs that need to be ironed out."
Robert McLaws, who runs Vista enthusiast site Longhornblogs.com, said that the Beta 2 version appears to be a modest improvement on recent builds, but is a big improvement over Beta 1.
Still, McLaws said he is seeing significant battery life issues, as well as a glitch with his Hewlett-Packard printer, in running Vista Beta 2 on his machine. In addition, he said, "application compatibility is still a huge problem."
That said, he recommended enthusiasts put the software through its paces. "Overall stability was a big surprise," he noted.
As for businesses, Silver said companies should worry less about performance, particularly on existing machines. Instead, he said, companies should focus on whether key business applications are working on Vista.
And, as to the big question--whether there are any issues big enough to cause a major delay--people will have to wait and see.
"All indications are good," Allchin said in an interview last week. "And I spend most of my day worried."
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