Vista Beta 2 hits the Net

Microsoft has opened up the Beta 2 pre-release version of its Windows Vista operating system to a much wider test group.

MS has made free downloads available on its Web site as part of a new customer preview programme (CPP), reports ZDNet.

However, MS cautions that Vista is not ready for the average consumer, saying the CPP is better suited to developers, technology workers, and hard-core enthusiasts.

Although Microsoft is looking for millions of testers, it has said it may cap the test programme at some point. The company plans to complete testing and development of Vista later this year, with a broad release scheduled for January 2007.

Yahoo is expected to introduce a limited beta of the Yahoo Photos site today that allows people to download high-resolution photos, tag shots with descriptors for easy search and comment on other peoples` images.

News.Com says Yahoo Photos will enable users to drag and drop multiple photos at a time to re-arrange them in albums and rename them by pointing and clicking on the old name and typing in a new one. Images are accompanied by additional descriptive information about each shot.

The new site also features integration with Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Mobile and 360, giving users a universally accessible way of viewing photos that friends have shared.

The World Cup will be a testing ground for TV on mobile phones, says a report by the Informa telecoms and media analysis firm, giving users a taste of what the technology promises and operators the opportunity to work out how their networks will handle demand.

BBC News says mobile phone operators across the world are also planning to use the World Cup, which starts this weekend, as a way to get customers more interested in watching TV on their mobile phones.

The report also predicts more than 210 million people will be watching TV on their mobile by 2011. Informa says by that date, the technology behind mobile TV should have settled down and handsets that can handle the shows will be widely available.