Microsoft, the world’s largest producer of software, on Tuesday confirmed that its much anticipated—and oft delayed—Windows Vista operating system (OS) has entered a widespread beta, or test, phase, and the non-final version of the software has been dubbed Release Candidate 1 (RC1), Reuters reports.The company also announced pricing details for Vista. The basic version will start at $199, and the “ultimate” edition will sell for roughly $399, Reuters reports via USAToday.com. Existing Microsoft users who wish to upgrade to Vista will have the option of paying $100 for the basic edition or $259 for the high-end version, according to Reuters.Microsoft also said it plans to stick to its most recently announced release dates of January 2007 for the consumer version of the OS and late fall 2006 for the Vista enterprise edition, according to Reuters. Microsoft has delayed the release of Vista on numerous occasions during the past two years. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe Upwards of 5 million Microsoft customers across the globe will be able to get their hands on RC1 for testing, and the Redmond, Wash.-based firm said it began making the test version OS available on the first of September, beginning with a handful of technical users, Reuters reports. Just last week, Microsoft “inadvertently” posted pricing details for the business version of Vista on its Canadian website. A few days later, Amazon.com, the uber Web retailer, listed prices and release dates for the software giant’s upcoming operating system.Related Links: Microsoft Releases Near-Complete IE 7 Browser Microsoft Windows Vista for Sale on Amazon.com Microsoft Vista Pricing Leaks onto WebsiteThis article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content opinion Four questions for a casino InfoSec director By Beth Kormanik Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Media and Entertainment Industry Events Security brandpost Four Leadership Motions make leading transformative work easier The Four Leadership Motions can be extremely beneficial —they don’t just drive results among software developers, they help people make extraordinary progress wherever they lead. By Jason Fraser, Director, Product Management & Design, VMware Tanzu Labs, Public Sector Sep 21, 2023 5 mins IT Leadership feature The year’s top 10 enterprise AI trends — so far In 2022, the big AI story was the technology emerging from research labs and proofs-of-concept, to it being deployed throughout enterprises to get business value. This year started out about the same, with slightly better ML algorithms and improved d By Maria Korolov Sep 21, 2023 16 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence opinion 6 deadly sins of enterprise architecture EA is a complex endeavor made all the more challenging by the mistakes we enterprise architects can’t help but keep making — all in an honest effort to keep the enterprise humming. By Peter Wayner Sep 21, 2023 9 mins Enterprise Architecture IT Strategy Software Development Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe