Windows Installer 4.5 Beta Accepting Nominations

Windows Installer 4.5 Beta Accepting Nominations

Slimy on 25 June 2007 - 12:27 · 9 comments & 6918 views

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The Windows Installer team has unleashed the beta program for Windows Installer 4.5 on Microsoft Connect. Anyone interested can sign up, provided they have a Windows Live ID tied to Microsoft Connect - there is no survey to fill out. “Windows Installer 4.5 will provide targeted features for multi-package products and advanced servicing. Windows Installer 4.5 will be delivered down level to Windows XP SP2 and above. This down level update will include the operating system independent features and fixes from the Windows Vista only release, Windows Installer 4.0.” There is supposed to be a draft paper entitled “Agility Trends in Package Software” which discusses the problems the team is targeting with the Windows Installer 4.5 release but at the time of posting the link seems to be dead.

Link: Program Details & Application Link

View: Agility Trends in Package Software

News source: Windows Installer Blog

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(3 replies) #1 MrCobra on 25 Jun 2007 - 12:41

Hell, if they keep porting apps and features downlevel then most people will see no need to go with Vista.

#1.1 Lasker on 25 Jun 2007 - 13:07

you have to realized that out there is a big community of XP users who are not interested at this time to upgrade. This community is bigger than the Vista community users.

#1.2 GP007 on 25 Jun 2007 - 13:31

Down-porting a few things like this new installer is a good idea. And it has little to do with people not upgrading to Vista right now. The key here is that many apps will be made to run on XPSP2 and Vista. So MS is moving the changes they've done with the new installer to both OSs. This makes it easier for devs and better, because the new installer is better.

One of the problems with Windows was always the fact that stuff is left behind after you uninstall something. Or when installing something, things are tossed left and right. I hope this version, and future versions make it more clean and organized. That would get rid of one of the problems with keeping systems performence and stability high.

#1.3 EduardValencia on 25 Jun 2007 - 13:38

That sounds great

#2 _dandy_ on 25 Jun 2007 - 14:38

GP007 is on the right track.

If you're a developer targetting both XP and Vista, you simply can't package your software using the "Vista-only" installer, so you're going to use the older one.

OTOH by back-porting the newer installer to XP, developers can slowly migrate to it and rest assured that not only will they not alienate their existing user base, but also if/when their users eventually migrate to Vista, the transition will go smoothly.

#3 Fahad Alashker on 25 Jun 2007 - 19:37

Thank alot

(1 reply) #4 Primexx on 25 Jun 2007 - 21:30

is this for XP only or Vista also?

#4.1 RyanVM on 26 Jun 2007 - 17:50

RTFS

"Windows Installer 4.5 will be delivered down level to Windows XP SP2 and above"

#5 soldier1st on 25 Jun 2007 - 21:38

if you make something for only 1 version of windows then that would force users to upgrade,if you make it for vista and xp where most of the users are then eventualy you can move to the newer one because there wont be any problems with the transition.

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Windows Installer 4.5 Beta Accepting Nominations

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