CTS - 2006 :: Windows Vista to be delayed again, according to MS

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Published: Thursday 11th May, 2006 | Author: Bob Crabtree

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Is Vista - the latest version of Windows - going to be delayed even further? Well, we can't say for sure but, judging by the sting in the tail of the last presentation of the day given yesterday by Microsoft at the Computer Trade Show at Birmingham's NEC, the answer is probably, "yes".

The Microsoft presenters seemed to be inferring that mass-market availability of Vista - already delayed until January of next year - may turn out to be later still. The same may also be true for Office 2007 - the launch of which is tied to the Vista - though nothing was said about that and it's possible that Office 2007 will be launched in November when big businesses are still scheduled to be able to get Vista.

The limp excuse-cum-explanation for the further delay is that resellers and system builder would themselves prefer it to arrive later! This, it was reckoned, was because they'd be saying to themselves, "At the start of January I'm on holiday; then when I return there will be a big backlog; after which I'll have to do my tax returns...".

Our view is that this isn't a reason that many people are going to be taken in by even though we'd admit that some owners of small firms do seem to have unbusiness-like priorities, typically including exotic holidays, flashy cars and private schools for the kids.

What's your view? Should Microsoft delay Vista once more to allow a decent recovery period after the Christmas holidays? Let us know over in the HEXUS.community - especially if you are a reseller or system builder.

For more from CTS, keep an eye on the HEXUS front pages - HEXUS.core, HEXUS.lifestyle and HEXUS.gaming

Update - May 11, 14:28
We've subtly edited the first and second paragraphs because someone else from HEXUS who sat through an earlier presentation reckons that, that time around, the MS speaker didn't directly infer that the mass-market launch would be later than Jan 2007 but merely said it would be sometime in 2007 - though definitely without mentioning January! [Bob C]

HEXUS.community :: your right2reply

Posted by dangel - Fri 19th May 2006, 8:01am

David - many thanks for posting that :) I can't wait for beta 2 to appear - is it going to be on MSDN again? I'm currently evaluating it and it's technogies for our company.Quote

I cannot confirm what

Posted by doverton - Fri 19th May 2006, 8:08am

Beta 2 is almost upon us - I am running one of the candidates for beta 2. When it releases I expect it to be available through many channels, but since it will be available to the public, MSDN, Technet etc would be very likely for availability.

So, without promising, I think this is a yes :-)

ttfn

DavidQuote

Posted by Bob Crabtree - Fri 26th May 2006, 12:19pm

I saw a little news story - Vista launch could slip further (http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=6236) - a couple of days ago on PC Advisor.

According to Martyn Williams, Steve Balmer delivered some shock news for consumers.

He reports:

The launch of the consumer version of Windows Vista, Microsoft's next OS (operating system), could be pushed back past the stated January launch date, company CEO Steve Ballmer said today.

My comment?

Just remember where you heard the news first - over two weeks ago on HEXUS.net - CTS - 2006 :: Windows Vista to be delayed again, according to MS (http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5570).

So, David O, is there anything else you think needs adding to your previous comments?

BobQuote

Bob, Happy to reply

Posted by doverton - Fri 26th May 2006, 2:59pm

It is true that there has been a story about this, however the product is still due to release Volume License customers in November, which means it will be ready, finished, packaged etc by then. As I said, when I was talking before, I was discussing our conversations with partners. The decision to wait unit Janaury for the general availability and launch event was heavily influenced by conversations with those partners and they continue to give us feedback.

I was not and still am not making some pre-announcement or suggesting any issue. In the UK sub we are working full steam ahead with the launch plans and there has been no change versus the announcements originally made.

Can I promise you that nothing will change - no - I am nowhere near that high or important in the company, but I expect us to launch when our quality gates are passed and our partners are ready. This is November for Volume License customers and January for General Availability.

As I have said from the beginning, any belief that I knew something different and was suggesting it was wrong, so from that point of view, I have never said we are moving the date, just that in conversations with some of the partners I know, they have given feedback as to when.

If Steve B or Bill Gates decides to make a change. I will find out the same time as everyone else in Microsoft - and at the moment, nothing is being discussed around this.

One final thing, since they are all built of the same code base, all versions of Vista will be finished at the same time, so when we ship in November, Ultimate down have to be finished otherwise the code base could change.

ttfn

David Overton
http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/dovertonQuote

Posted by dangel - Tue 30th May 2006, 7:47am

Well Beta 2 doesn't work for me ;) Installed OK but first reboot, see the microsoft progress bar and then boom, and a flicker of a ?blue screen? and then a reset...
Weird as i've managed to install the previous builds ok :(

This is on my work pc (3.4 P4 with HT/EMT64 in 32bit mode, intel accelerator RAID array, 2 gig ram, nvidia 6x series card).Quote