Microsoft postponed the roll-out of the Windows 7 beta Friday, citing "very heavy traffic" on its Web site.
Users who have tried to download the beta have been greeted with messages such as "Server is too busy" and "This site is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please check back in the next business day."
The Microsoft spokeswoman did not know when users could expect to download the beta. "No ETA at this point," she said via
a follow-up instant message.
Although Microsoft has said it would cap the number of Windows 7 beta activation keys at 2.5 million -- perhaps one of the
reasons users felt a sense of urgency Friday about getting the download -- it is not expected to yank the download after that
mark is reached. Users unable to obtain an activation key in the initial rush will still be able to download and install the
beta, then run it under the operating system's 30-day trial.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a string of high-profile partnerships during his keynote speech Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, including deals to make the company's Live Search the default search engine on Dell PCs and Verizon phones, and to link up Microsoft's Windows Live suite of online applications with Facebook.
Speaking to a packed hall at The Venetian Hotel, Ballmer also said that a beta version of the company's highly anticipated operating system, Windows 7, would be released this week.
Unifying the announcements, Ballmer said, was Microsoft's desire to span and connect the three screens that make up the average consumer's daily life -- the PC, the cell phone and the TV.
Microsoft has put on hold any interest in further expanding its operations in Seattle because of the deteriorating economy, a spokesman said Tuesday.
For months, the company had been considered to be in the market for additional real estate in the city, and Microsoft had been in negotiations to lease all 300,000 square feet of office space at 2201 Westlake, a mixed-use development under construction at the southwest corner of Westlake Avenue North and Denny Way.
But spokesman Lou Gellos said in a statement that the company "decided not to continue negotiations because of the economic situation and the changing market conditions."
Lost in the Windows 7 hype, Microsoft also released the beta of Windows Server 2008 R2, which is the companion to the client OS.
While DirectAccess could eliminate VPN infrastructure, users will have to support IPv6 and IPSec on their network in order to access intranet resources.
Bill Laing, Microsoft's vice president of Windows Server and systems, said late last year that a company's entire network
does not have to be IPv6 for DirectAccess to work. The client nodes and some of the network nodes for tasks such as authentication
have to support IPv6. But he did add that users will also need to support IPSec.
Good news: The next version of Microsoft's Windows OS appears to be less of a resource hog than Windows Vista.
Microsoft had indicated previously that one of its design goals for Windows 7 is to give it the same system requirements as for Vista.
When Vista shipped it was seen as too resource hungry for the systems some customers were trying to run it on, resulting in
sluggish performance. Indeed, Microsoft had to extend the life of Windows XP for small netbook computers because system makers
said Vista would barely run on those devices at all.
In the wake of two well publicized zero-day exploits of Microsoft software, spammers have revived an old attack -
sending out a fake e-mail from Microsoft urging recipients to click on the links to patch their systems.
The message, which says it's a Windows Live critical update from Microsoft, bears the Windows logo and has several links purportedly to the software giant.
One urges recipients to click on it to install updates, another to download Microsoft Update to scan their computers, and yet another purportedly lets recipients read Microsoft security bulletins.
Microsoft on Tuesday announced that sales of its Xbox 360 video game console hit 28 million units by the end of 2008, a year that the company described as the console's "biggest ever." Microsoft also made the dubious claim that it has "expanded the product's lead" over rival Sony PlayStation 3, all while ignoring market leader Nintendo Wii, which has a wide and unassailable lead over the other two consoles.
"2008 will be remembered around the world as a pivotal growth year for Xbox at retail and online, even in the face of tough economic conditions," said Microsoft senior vice president Don Mattrick.
It's not clear whether Microsoft is just trying to be overly cautious, but top Windows executive Bill Veghte said the company is telling PC makers that Windows 7 might or might not be ready in time for this year's holiday season.
"I'm telling them that it could go either way," Veghte told CNET News in an interview Wednesday. "We will ship it when the quality is right, and earlier is always better, but not at the cost of ecosystem support and not at the cost of quality.
Veghte also said that the economy is factoring into his marketing plans for Windows, which is in the middle of an advertising push initially estimated at several hundred million dollars over several years.
Microsoft is hoping two new distribution deals will give its Live Search a much-needed boost. The company is announcing on Wednesday a global deal with Dell that will see Live Search be the default search engine and a Windows Live toolbar bundled on the bulk of consumer and small-business PCs sold by the computer maker over the next three years. That deal is in addition to a five-year deal with Verizon Wireless, which leaked out earlier on Wednesday.
As he takes the stage Wednesday, Steve Ballmer has a mighty big task ahead of him.
Not only is he taking over Consumer Electronics Show keynote duties from Bill Gates, he is also aiming to convince the tech world that Microsoft is serious about defending its turf on the PC as well as making headway on the Web, television and phone. Oh yeah, and then there's that whole economy-melting-down thing.
Ballmer hasn't arrived in Sin City empty handed, however. In perhaps the biggest announcement of the night, he will announce Microsoft is ready with a beta version of Windows 7 and he will show off some of its key consumer features.