I've been following this thread for a bit. I think that the boost community would do well to do the following: - precompile boost for Windows compilers - package up the headers and .libs in a MSI installation script (or some other native windows installer) - provide that for download That way we sidestep the whole issue of using JAM. This has two benefits: - Windows programmers expect to be able to click on a link and simply download the answer. - Windows programmers would get a reliable library that was built under controlled circumstances. We'd all spend less time supporting folks who have trouble driving the compiler via JAM, and/or who have somehow produced a corrupt boost library. In fact, we could even add a "create an installer script" target to the JAM process in order to facilitate making and publishing the installation script for us. Personally, I did use JAM successfully, but I also encountered a number of error messages that I quickly worked through, and didn't think much about. It would have been a barrier to someone less experienced though, and we don't want that. Rob.