Bill Husted of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is another clever writer, and at least he spends most of his early review of Windows Vista Beta 1 poking fun at his own mistakes. He buried the lede, though. This graf is near the very end:
The problems may involve one of two things: my own incompetence, or the fact that I’m working with a beta copy. In fact, Microsoft discouraged me from even loading this copy and asked that I wait for the next, more polished, beta release. This first beta is intended for software developers and technicians more interested in the inner workings of Vista than in fine-tuned features that will be part of the finished product.
But since Windows is used by so many people, it made sense to take an early look.
The review starts with his description of trying to install the software on three different PCs and failing each time. Horrors! What a terrible beta! Oh, wait:
When I finally tried it on a fourth computer at work, I realized that the disc was a DVD, not a CD. Have I mentioned I can be a bit dim-witted? None of the machines I used had a DVD drive.
The mainstream media is doing an excellent job of setting low expectations for Windows Vista.
Ed Bott 
I’d say the reviews of Windows Vista you’ve mentioned are pretty consistent with main stream media’s handling of just about every other issue they cover.
Interestingly enough I came away with a fairly good feeling about the review. He commented on the stability and speed once it was up and running, repeatedly mentioned that it was a beta and was optimistic about Microsoft fixing the issues he did have. He even had a good things to say about the new interface and I’ve heard mixed reviews in the trenches. Nothing he pointed out was far from the truth and he even did a good job of setting the bar by saying his “oldest” machine met the requirements, sans DVD player of course.
Based on the beta issues I’ve come across (and as one of those aforementioned software developers I have had my fair share of painful Longhorn moments) his review felt fair and objective though lacking in depth. Finding insult in that seems a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Ken, we miss you!
I agree with the other Ken. 🙂 In fact, he beat me to the punch.
Yep, saw that coming a mile down the road. The media will use its cleverly witted writers to make stabs at a beta product. It seems to be the trendy thing to spread FUD about MS lately, and the media seems to have just caught on hoping to pull in more readers with “shock value.” They hope their readers will say, “Oh, man! I can’t believe they would take that much of a shot at Microsoft! I like their style!”
I’m one of those people with a Beta Vista Machine and you can load Vista on a laptop with built in graphics. (Dell PP01L)
Thanks.