In a comment on an older post, John Sercel asks: “Any chance of a ‘Windows Vista Inside Out’ any time soon?”

Soon? No. Carl Siechert, Craig Stinson, and I definitely plan to do that title and have it available as soon as Windows Vista is ready, which is a little over a year from now. Meanwhile, we’re talking with Microsoft Press about ways to cover Windows Vista while it’s still in beta. So, a few questions for all of you:

• Would you be interested in a book that covered the public beta version of Windows Vista? (Obviously not the same depth as an Inside Out title!)
• Would you like to see a blog that focused on the public beta version of Windows Vista from the perspective of intermediate to advanced Windows users (not network administrators or IT Pros?
• Do you think you’ll upgrade to Windows Vista soon after it’s released?
• Is the ability to run Windows Vista going to be a key determinant in your hardware purchasing decisions over the next year?

I’ve actually switched over to Windows Vista for most day-to-day computing tasks. Part of the experience is a joy, but there are obviously a few beta demons to grapple with. I’ll keep you posted.

ZDNet writes one of those stories filled with … well, nothing:

UK CIOs and IT directors say they will have to be convinced of the business benefits and return on investment of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Vista operating system before including it in IT spending and upgrade plans.

Couldn’t the same be said about any business expenditure? Don’t most businesses look at the benefits and ROI before deciding to spend money on just about anything? OK, maybe not Enron. And maybe not most dot-com companies during the height of the Internet bubble. But these days, companies are generally pretty prudent about large capital outlays.

Historically, most businesses are very conservative about any IT spending. A small number of businesses like to be out front with bleeding-edge technology. But the overwhelming majority will wait several years before making any IT upgrade. Aren’t a majority of businesses in the world still using Windows 98 and Windows 2000, even though Windows XP will be five four years old next month?

Wake us up when you have some real news, ZDNet.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Just look at these headlines on Google News!

Except, as Mary Jo Foley points out, the headlines are, well, completely wrong:

A number of Web reports are claiming that the first Windows Vista virus has been discovered. While there is, indeed, a report of an Austrian virus writer unleashing five theoretical viruses targeting the beta version of Microsoft’s scripting shell (a k a “Monad”), that’s where the facts in this case end. Monad is not part of Vista. It’s not in the Vista Beta 1 build that went to testers in late July. Monad’s not in Longhorn Server, either.

You can use this story as a litmus test. If a news source picks up the “first viruses for Windows Vista appear” meme, you can assume they don’t know what they’re talking about, and you can scratch them off your list.

Update: Unless, of course, they’re the sort of responsible journalists that are willing to promptly publish an update.

ExtremeTech has a 40-screen slide show that gives a nice visual overview of what’s in Windows Vista.

Bink.nu says the code names are dropping like flies. First it was Longhorn getting its official moniker, Windows Vista. Now the Avalon and Indigo code names are history:

Avalon == Windows Presentation Foundation

Indigo == Windows Communication Foundation

And who knew that AERO, the user experience guidelines for Windows Vista, actually stands for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open?

The mainstream technical press has been working on its Windows Vista Beta 1 stories for a while, and their coverage went live today. Here are some samples:

eWeek: Beta Testers Get First Look at Windows Vista

PC Magazine: Hands On with Windows Vista Beta 1

CNET News.com: A Windows into Vista (interview with Jim Allchin)

Information Week: Windows Vista Beta Arrives

PC World: Windows Vista Beta Program Begins

More from Google News

Don’t get too excited, but you’ll find some details here. This is the new Virtual Folders feature, for instance.

Bear in mind this beta release is mostly about plumbing and infrastructure. The interface you see will change many times between now and next year, when the final version ships.

Scoble says so:

Chris Jones, VP who runs the build team for Windows Vista, among others, was great yesterday (we interviewed him for Channel 9). Anyway, we’re trying to get that video up this afternoon sometime. On campus there’s a big party thanks to shipping Beta 1. He said they would sign off on the beta at a meeting this morning and that it would be on MSDN Universal soon.

Wonder when it will be available for download by beta testers? The new Microsoft Connect Web site, which is coordinating the beta, says the status of my application is still “Pending.”

The press release is here, but it leads to a Windows Media clip which I am not even going to try to watch on this crappy dial-up connection.

And before anyone tells me how lame the name is, please see if you can say, with a straight face, that it is somehow less cool than (deep breath): Tiger, Panther, Jaguar, RedHat, Fedora, Debian, BSD, Solaris, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Knoppix, Xandros, or Suse. Extra points if you can do it with a Nigel Tufnel accent.

Although I do have to admit that Slackware is a pretty cool name.