Did Microsoft listen to beta testers after Vista?

Mike Halsey | Jul 07, 2009 | Comments

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As the beta for Windows 7 draws to a close there are questions over whether it was a ‘good’ beta process or not.  I’ve been a technical tester for Microsoft for some years now and I’ll be writing a full unbiased review of the beta soon.  However one of the most important questions to ask was “did Microsoft learn any lessons from the Vista beta?”

After that beta ended Microsoft invited about a thousand or so beta testers to join “Windows early feedback”, a programme where testers could suggest features and upgrades for what later became Windows 7.  I was lucky enough to be invited onto this programme.

Now, let’s start by saying that I don’t think some people in Microsoft like me very much, I have to say I don’t much like some of them either but this comes from my wanting Windows to be the best product it can be.  I’ve rubbed some people, including some very senior people, up the wrong way by being one of the blogosphere’s harshest critics of the new taskbar and the way libraries work.  I have also heavily criticised some of the feedback given to technical testers during this beta through the connect website, but more on that in my review of the beta itself.

That said, I’m also fair and even handed and want to give credit where credit is due.  The Windows early feedback programme has long since disappeared from the Microsoft Connect site but I do remember what the top two suggestions, as voted for by beta testers, were.

  1. Virtualisation
  2. Family Pack Licence

And, especially if recent rumours about a three PC family licence are correct, it looks like they listened and they came through.

We all know that virtualisation has been built into Windows 7 in a big way with XP mode.  This, I’m sure is just a taster for full 32-bit virtualisation for Windows 8 (I predict that’ll be it’s name as 8 it’s a lucky number in the far east and China, two important markets for Microsoft) that’ll finally see the stripping out of all the legacy code.  It will also be interesting to see just how fast and reliable it will be, and how few patches will be required, after this happens.  Frankly I can’t wait.

I can’t remember what the other items were on the programme, if anybody does know, why not post them here.  But hat’s off to Microsoft, they do actually listen when it matters.

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About the Author: The author of the new Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Twitter or on his own website The Long Climb

  • I believe that this has been the most receptive that Microsoft has ever been to feedback - both from the public and from Beta testers.

    Almost certainly this came as a result of the Vista PR disaster.

    While there have been instances of MSFT specifically responding to feedback from the public (UAC etc), it seems that in general, the smoothness and simplicity of 7 is a response to Vista sluggishness.

    Overall, a great job.

    Onuora
  • nomadewolf
    Microsoft HAD to listen to users. People didn't like Vista, didn't bought it (willingly), and most of those who did, changed back to XP.
    Also MS lost a considerably, never thought of, market share to Apple and Linux. So MS had no choice.
    Still, i think it could do much better. Apart from the (slight) faster boot speed, and the new taskbar W7 is Vista. Which makes it Vista R2...
    There's nothing really new...
    Only a handfull of people will make use of family pack (or whatever) and just about few companies might make use of XP Mode.
    It has fancy new stuff, but there's no use for them...
    And, because in European, it won't have Internet Explorer!!!! How am i supposed to download Firefox then???

    Here's the really useful stuff i was hoping to see in W7:
    - Faster (i mean, REALLY faster, not just a few seconds at boot)
    - Smaller (and again, really smaller, not just a couple GB. ~<5GB would be good)
    - A new File System (maybe)
    - No more BSODs
    - Full 64 Bit
    - Ability to choose, before install, what to install, like:
    . Internet Explorer
    . Media Center
    . Windows Defender
    . Windows Media Player
    . Movie Maker
    . Other crap
    - Keep the three power schemes in the power options (Power Saver, Balanced, High Performance). It was the only thing they got right on Vista...

    And THAT would be a new OS. Not just some R2.
  • Nikademus
    I love how people want their OS to do EVERYTHING under the sun and still be under 5gb, WHY? 1tB hard drives are 200$ or less now. Well you people in "European" sued MS and told them that you didnt want IE, so guess what, reap what you sow. Have fun getting your firefox now...

    And i have seen people put this OS on a computer that would NEVER run vista and not only did it run, it ran BRILLIANTLY, and had a decrease in load times by aprox 1minute. for a laptop that is 1.1ghz and 1 gig of ram, that is impressive.
  • anonymous
    This has been my first experience following a beta from start to end and I feel the process went well for microsoft and myself. The suggestions I did make were all met by the next build release... maybe just because of me or maybe because they were obvious!

    I believe the glossier finishes to just about everything, while making the OS generally smoother and faster is exactly where Microsoft had to go with Windows 7. Furthermore I feel these changes are large enough to warrant it being called Windows 7 and not Vista R2. Users are already nervous of upgrading due to Microsofts last OS release, and by making the OS drastically different you are more likely to scare them off. Instead Microsoft kept it similar, added XP virtualisation and promised that all Vista software and drivers will run. I agree Windows 7 may not be revolutionary but by keeping it familiar Microsoft made the best move they could to regain the trust of their consumers. And still I think this Microsoft OS is massive leaps ahead of any of their previous ones. Lets hope Windows 7 is as successful as predictions say and see where Microsoft can go with Windows 8 now they have demonstrated an ability to listen to feedback and produce a great OS again.
  • George Manouris
    I am not a tester and I never had Vista (only Win 2000 and later Win XP). I downloaded the Win 7 last week and little by little I will find out what is going on with all these new to me operations they are full with.
    I do not know too many things about Operation and Software systems, as the majority of Computers users all over the world, but what I want to mention is that I do not understand why producers of various things, when they introduce a new thing, they forget the good things an older one could have ?
    I would like to mention a very simple (and perhaps stupid) thing, but important for us who are not experienced. On Windows XP when you are pressing the green Start icon and lets say you want to turn off or restart your System, you were guided to 3 small coloured icons, which were helpfull to us. On Windows 7, you are guided to a small list, with small letters (not even bold), which they mention what action to take (rstart etc). It is a very simple thing that MS could have added to WIN 7 as well.
    As I said I have not checked the various parameters of WIN 7 in order to find out other problrms (even minor like the one I mentioned), but I felt like mentioning it.
    Sorry if I posted in the wrong place and sorry for my English as well.
    George
  • Scott
    Firs day today using Windows 7. To me it is very much the same dog with 1 or maybe 2 less fleas. I totally bypassed Vista other than testing it from Alpha on. I do not like the new ways of hiding the users from the file locations, turning off all the menus in all explorer windows and the overall look and feel of the Windows since Vista. I was very excited to try Win7 thinking that maybe Microsoft had actually learned there lesson with Vista. Unfortunately Win7 looks and feels exactly like Vista. The only thing that is better is the option to turn off all the Warnings. (Nanny Nags) However by default the Warnings are still turned on. Here is the biggest thing that I suggested back in Vista. Have a version of Windows for beginners, and a version for experienced users. I have used PC for years, I know how to work them, how to setup a network, where my files are. I have to completely customize any version of Windows before I use it. Like turning on the file extensions, Un-hiding system files etc. Let the new users experience the Microsoft way to do things with Wizards, but don't force experienced users to turn off all the junk just to get something done.

    Scott
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