Microsoft Details Windows 8 And IE10 Internal Testing

A product is only as good as its creators say it is, and in the case of Windows 8, it looks as if it's not going to hit store shelves until those within Microsoft's walls test the heck out of it. A new blog post today over at the company's site details the story of deploying Windows 8 within Microsoft, which it fondly refers to as "dogfooding." Basically, it's the forced act of eating their own dogfood. It's a pretty strange, potentially graphic visual, but it goes to show that the company isn't taking the launch lightly. According to Microsoft, it "enables the IT department to help Microsoft’s product teams deliver higher quality products and services to customers, both near-term and long-term."

Currently, a few products in the Microsoft stable have hit this position, but it's Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview getting the most attention. As of mid-July, over 30,000 systems and nearly 30,000 employees were running both. And if that's not a great way to beta test, what is? You can read a bit more on Microsoft's journey below, and it's actually a pretty fascinating thing. It's rare that companies open up their stories in this way, and it's certainly good to see Windows 8 undergoing such intense testing prior to October 26th. That's right; Windows 8 hits next month!