January 9th, 2009
So where are those Windows 7 Beta bits?
For many, it was a day of clicking and realoading Microsoft’s Windows page to no avail.
Two hours ago, around 3:00 p.m. ET, Microsoft officials said they were adding more servers to make sure users would have a good experience downloading the promised Windows 7 public beta on January 9.
It’s now 5 p.m. ET. A lot of folks are calling it a day and heading home with no public Beta bits in hand.
(Some testers successfully used Neowin’s trick to get the Windows 7 bits. But if you were looking for a product key, you’d be out of luck.)
A few questions readers have posed today for which I have no answer:
- Given the team knew it was planning to release the beta to the public today for quite a while now, why wasn’t the infrastructure put in place to handle the downloads over the past week-plus?
- How many servers is Microsoft bringing on?
- What time will Microsoft release the Beta bits? Is it still on for today or has it been postponed a day or more?
Microsoft execs confirmed on Wednesday that they planned to make the public Beta of Windows 7 available for download on January 9 to the first 2.5 million downloaders. The build that Microsoft is making available is the same one that hit torrents right after Christmas.Once the bits are available from the Windows page, I’ll update this post.
Given how tightly controlled everything about Windows 7 has been to date, I am surprised that today’s public beta release has been so … unscripted.
Update (10:20 p.m. ET): I gave it one last check tonight. No update from Microsoft on when it will allow the public to get the Beta 1 bits from its Windows page. But Neowin posted a guide as to how to get a product key to accompany the bits from Microsoft’s direct download.
Update 2 (January 10): The Windows download page is now finally working. Information on Windows 7 Beta code and product keys is available as of Saturday.
Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 20 years. Don't miss a single post. Subscribe via Email or
RSS. You can also follow Mary Jo on Twitter.
Got a tip? Send Mary Jo your rants, rumors, tips and tattles. For disclosure on Mary Jo's industry affiliations, click here or to see Mary Jo's full profile click here.
| 01/10/09
