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Good portion of Java developers use Windows, so we tend to think the opposite is true, that a good portion of Windows folks use Java. But this is not true. +
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As Jenkins gains traction among .NET developers, it's becoming increasingly clear that Java is very alien to them. They naturally have no idea of what a war file means, and often don't even have Java installed, and so it was _just not easy enough_ for them to start using Jenkins. +
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I'm happy to report that I've finally fixed this problem with the new Windows installer. It is primarily packaged as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer[an MSI file] — a common format that seasoned Windows devs/admins are familiar with. It can, for example, be deployed remotely on a large number of servers via Active Directory remotely. Or you can just double-click it to install it interactively. It bundles JRE, so no separate Java installation is needed. +
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The package also contains the bootstrap `+setup.exe+`, to install .NET 2.0 runtime if it's not installed yet. Between that and JRE, it got all the dependencies covered. I tested that by installing it on a fresh Windows XP install. +
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So I hope this makes Jenkins more attractive to .NET and other developers who live and die by Windows.