Windows Vista December CTP: Build 5276
The December Community Preview (CTP) build of Windows Vista will be build 5276, plus or minus one build, I was told today. Beta testers, MSDN subscribers, and TechNet members can expect to the see December CTP in a week or ten days. It includes a huge number of new features when compared to the previous CTP (October), but is not the feature complete version of Vista that Microsoft promised to deliver in December. That feature complete version will be delivered internally this month, but testers won't see a feature complete CTP until January or February.
Microsoft Cuts Vista UI to Two Display Modes
And speaking of Windows Vista, you might recall that Microsoft had originally planned to deliver three versions of the new user interface, called Aero Glass, Aero Express, and Aero To Go. Those plans have been revised. Now, Microsoft will offer two modes only, called Windows Vista Aero (which includes the glass effects) and Windows Vista Basic, which is roughly like the XP display. However, all of the capabilities of the three previous modes are still in there: Windows Vista Aero is the equivalent of Aero Glass, and you can get the equivalent of Aero Express by turning off the translucency effects while running Windows Vista Aero. The best news? Contrary to rumors, you'll only need a 64 MB video card with hardware 3D capabilities to run Windows Vista Aero on a typical PC (higher resolution displays will require more video RAM).
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