Well, Microsoft is not looking to release the newest Windows operating system, Vista, to the general public anytime soon. This is Microsoft’s second delay with Vista.

Vista has separated Vista for businesses and Vista for the general consumer. Because of this they have decided to focus more on the business aspect of Vista and expect to have the business version out by November 2006. However, for people like us we will need to wait until January of 2007 to get Windows Vista.

Jim Allchin, co-president for the Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft, stated the reason for the delay:

“Product quality and a great out-of-box experience have been two of our key drivers for Windows Vista, and we are on track to deliver on both. But the industry requires greater lead time to deliver Windows Vista on new PCs during holiday. We must optimize for the industry, so we’ve decided to separate business and consumer availability.”

However, it seems that placing Windows Vista release to the general public after the end of year holiday rush will not hurt Microsoft but the companies that manufacture PCs. Analysts say that Acer, Dell, Gateway, HP, Micron, and Toshiba could all be affected by the delay.

Computer buying goes up near the holiday rush and it would probably increase further with the release of a Windows Vista. However, consumers would expect a price drop in computers and with the release of a new operating system they might not have the money to afford it. That would mean that consumers would end up buying Vista and a computer until later in 2007.

However, it seems that this delay hasn’t phased PC makers one bit. Todd Bradley, executive VP of the Personal Systems Group at Hewlett Packard said:

“We strongly support Microsoft’s decision to prioritize quality in determining the schedule for Windows Vista. A January launch of Windows Vista allows us to execute in a consistent way throughout the holidays, and will provide the right opportunity for a large, exciting launch industrywide after the New Year.”

Best Buy, a large electronics chain, also doesn’t mind that the delay could cut sales. Ron Boire, executive vice president at Best Buy, said, “We agree with Microsoft that it’s best to do this right—and in this case it’s delivering Windows Vista-based PCs with confidence in January 2007.”

It seems that they don’t mind, because they would rather prefer a more bug-free Vista that could cause a lot more computer returns and more time spent on computer support.

For the average Joe it’s going to mean another wait to get the newest Windows operating system.

[via: Red Herring

Technorati Tags: Gazotto, Microsoft, Windows, Vista, PC, software.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 at 10:41 am and is filed under Software, Tech News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.