Another Windows Vista Feature Bites the Dust

[madmatt]

Will there be anything left when Vista finally ships? Microsoft seems to be cutting 'features' from Vista left and right. Would you rather wait longer and have a full featured OS, or would you rather have Microsoft cut features to bring you Vista earlier?

Microsoft has cut PC-to-PC synchronization from Vista. Vista Beta 2, which is slated to go to as many as two million testers, does not include the P2P synchronization technology. Quality is the reason for the latest cut, Microsoft officials said.

Microsoft officials decided the week of June 5 to cut another feature from Windows Vista: PC-to-PC synchronization.

Microsoft officials said they cut the feature due to quality concerns, but the functionality is still "something we plan to deliver to our customers in the future," according to a company spokeswoman.

PC-to-PC synchronization was set to allow Vista users to synchronize files between machines running the Vista operating system.

While PC-to-PC synchronization is out, other P2P synchronization technologies will still ship with Vista, including Meeting Space, an ad-hoc P2P connectivity feature, company officials said.

"From the beginning, we have made it clear that the top priority for Windows Vista is quality," the company spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement. "While PC to PC synch is a great feature that improves productivity and collaboration we don't have it at the quality level our customers demand. As a result the decision was made to remove it from Windows Vista. This is part of the normal beta process as we constantly evaluate, improve and fine tune the features of Windows Vista.

"At this point in the development cycle we do not expect to make any major feature additions or subtractions, but will continue to listen to customer feedback as we begin to prepare for final availability," the spokeswoman continued. "That said, it is always possible to see tweaks with the features, and revisions made to the fit and finish and design work. Work on PC to PC Synchronization continues and is something we plan to deliver to our customers in the future."

Source: Microsoft Watch

 

[kcnychief]

Wouldn't this mean it's not the same 5384.4 released to Beta Testers a week or two ago?

If the feature was taken out the week of 6/5, that means the feature is in the build I'm running

*goes to check*

 

[NetRyder]

I really think there should have been some serious re-prioritization when they were deciding what to cut to avoid further delays. Features like this actually added something of substantial value to the system, especially for mobile users. Instead of channelling additional resources and manpower into these things, less useful (but more "glitzy") features like the Sidebar that had disappeared made a re-appearance.

I was checking the Sync Center in every build to see if they finally had it working, and now that's slashed too. Sad.

 

[Brad]

Promised the world, given a pebble.