Saturday, June 9, 2007 - Sat, 9 Jun 2007

Yes, Dr.Explain is a keeper. I purchased it. Over the next few days, I’ll use it to restructure the information currently in the Behold Help file and recreate it in Compiled HTML format.

Next I signed up with Microsoft to be a Microsoft Partner, so I could apply for the Certified for Windows Vista Logo. I needed a company name, so my company is now: LKessler.com.

The Vista Logo Program has a 25 page document with all the requirements I’ll have to make sure Behold can meet. A second, 34 page document lists the steps of the 32 tests that Behold will need to pass. I am allowed (and expected) to pretest Behold to ensure in advance that it will pass.

If I want to save some money, until June 30th they have a deal of free verification that a program meets the requirements. After that, it’s $1000, and $500 each time they have to retest because some requirements are not met. What that means is I’ll have to work fast to make the changes, submit Behold, and get it approved in the next couple of weeks.

Next I had to establish a Winqual account to get the Certified Vista Logo. To register, you have to “code sign” a program of theirs, and submit that to them. I already use a code-signing authority for Behold, and that is Comodo. But they seem to be affiliated with VeriSign who charges $500 annually. I already pay $180 a year for Comodo. Code signing is code signing. Windows Vista accepts any Code signed program. But when I submitted the program, it gave me the error: “The digital certificate is not from Verisign Inc. Only Verisign class 3 certificate is accepted.” So why should they require VeriSign just to register? Well, that’s just plain wrong!

So I’ve sent in some feedback with some questions in to see if I can get an answer on this. In the meantime, I’d better do what I can to get Behold meet the specs so that it’s ready for them if they let me submit it.