Five Things You Didn't Know About Windows Vista

Microsoft's latest Windows Vista beta, in the field less than a month, has been getting a thorough going over from developers and early adopters.

Where are the games?

In a world where many PC users are heavy secret Solitaire players, curiosity abounds as to what games will come with Windows Vista. Two sites (here and here) have posted screenshots, apparently obtained at Microsoft's September 2005 Professional Developer's Conference, exploring this recreational angle.

Did you know that Microsoft isn't the only entity that's registered 'Windows Vista' as a trademark?

Microsoft is certainly covering all its legal bases when it comes to protecting the Windows Vista name. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Microsoft has registered Windows Vista at least seven times as a trademark.

What's a quick way to learn to write Vista-aware code?

On his blog, Tim Sneath, a Microsoft Windows Vista Technical evangelist, suggested setting up a series of developer challenges (essentially, coding tests), which would help programmer familiarize themselves with some of the different parts of Vista.

Want to work on Vista?

Like the Vista beta 2 so much you want to work on the OS for real? You're in luck. Microsoft's career site has posting for nearly 200 jobs which have at least something to do with Windows Vista.

What's the official Windows Vista launch Date?

Therein lies the apparent seeds of Microsoft's "Guess the Launch Date Contest" contest. Unfortunately not open to U.S. residents, it's hosted on Microsoft's EMEA site and is aimed at residents of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Winners get a trip to the international Vista launch event in the USA, whenever and wherever that may be, along with three nights in a four-star hotel. Interestingly, second through fourth prize winners might consider themselves even luckier, since they win a new Xbox 360 system.