After a tremendous amount of attention Microsoft has closed the Windows Vista Beta 2 program. The website for the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program states:
Thank you for your interest in Windows Vista. The Customer Preview Program is now closed. We have reached our program capacity and no new orders are being accepted. We apologize for any inconvenience.
As we all know build 5456 is already available, but a very big number of the general public has now gotten a first impression because of Beta2. I was not happy when MS closed the torrents but I do think MS did a great …read more

As I mentioned here, Microsoft is encouraging people who can wait to order the DVD, yada yada. Offcourse nobody can wait! There’s a new site called Windows Vista Torrent that you can use to download Vista Beta 2 using BitTorrent. They have published an easy 1-2-3 howto, so you should be downloading those gigs within no-time;)

Could Windows Vista break the Internet? Bink.nu writes about the fact that the demand for Windows Vista Beta 2 has been overwhelming. It is the largest downloaded software in history. Currently, they are serving product keys out ten times faster then the downloads can be served. In fact, they are pumping out bits as fast as they can – any faster and there would be a measurable impact on the internet. They quote a Microsoft representive:
So, we are literally saying that if we increased our bandwidth any further there’s a possibilty of taking down the Internet – people might have …read more

Beta2 is hot so I’ve collected some nice links. Here we go: Five things you should know before installing Vista Beta 2, Windows Vista beta 2 Visual Tour, Torrent for Vista Public Beta 2, Windows Vista Beta 2 Wallpapers, 2006 World Cup Vista Icon Flags and some nice WinFX/Vista demos (also for XP).

Microsoft has released the first public version of Vista. This Windows Vista Beta 2 version is a preview of Vista Ultimate, one of the six different versions that will eventually be released.
Here are some of the links to download: Windows Vista Beta 2 x86 or x64, Direct Link (x86), Windows Vista Beta 2 German x86 or x64 and Japanese x86 or x64.
The downloads are around 3 GB. You’ll also need a key to run Vista Beta 2 – and here is the information to do that. For all the official details, here’s the official Microsoft webpage and the Preview Program …read more

Windows Vista Beta 2 includes a new defense against buffer overrun exploits called address space layout randomization. Not only is it in Beta 2, it’s on by default too. It is called Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and it loads key system files in different memory locations each time the PC starts, making it harder for malicious code to run…
Michael Howard, senior security program manager writes:
It is not a panacea, it is not a replacement for insecure code, but when used in conjunction with other technologies, which I will explain shortly, it is a useful defense because it makes …read more

Vista has finally hit Beta 2 and Ars Technica gives a very nice indepth visual tour of this Windows Vista version, very nice work! The final conclusion: my overall experience with Vista Beta 2 was a good one. Indeed, it was stable enough to write this article on using the beta of Office 2007. As I’ve alluded to before, I like the direction that Microsoft is moving in. We will just have to see if they can finish the job.
Oh, and be sure to check out this image gallery with Beta 2 screenshots!