Windows Vista Delayed Again

Trenty writes "Ars Technica is reporting that Microsoft has delayed Windows Vista yet again. Jim Allchin told analysts that the OS would not ship in January of 2007, which is a 1-2 month delay. Oddly, even though they are citing the need for more time to tweak security, business editions will available to volume licensing customers before the close of the year."

Official link

[RonnyJ]

There's an official statement here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/mar0 6/03-21WindowsVistaDeliveryPR.mspx [microsoft.com]

Such a pity for investors

[bigberk]

Who bid up MSFT stock to its highest price in one year, probably partially on expectations that the OS was ready for release. Life is sooo unfair

Odd coincidence

[tootlemonde]

The Wall Street Journal reported [wsj.com] that before the stock market opened today

Microsoft broke the bullish news that it planned to significantly boost the distribution of its Xbox 360 videogame consoles. Xbox and Vista are handled by two different divisions of Microsoft, but did the Redmond brain trust really not know about the Vista news until this afternoon? Microsoft representatives weren't immediately available for comment.

Microsoft shares were down as much as 3% in after-hours trading.

You'd think that Microsoft's investor relations department would try to co-ordinate two announcements that might affect the stock price. If they deliberately staggered the announcements to reduce the effect of the second one, Microsoft might be in violation of securities regulations.

In any case, investors should view Microsoft's future positive announcements with suspicion since they could simply be a precursor to a negative one.

Not shipping in January 2007?

[Bourbonium]

I think what he meant to say was "OS would not ship *until* January of 2007". At least, that was the impression I got from other news reports hitting the internet this afternoon on this topic.

Re:Less and less relevant?

[kimvette]

re: This is something I've never really udnerstand when Linux afficianado's criticize Microsoft.

Well, patch Solitaire in Windows, you have to reboot (okay, slight exaggeration), leading to downtime ranging from minutes to hours (in the case of extremely large databases)

Patch anything but the kernel(and modules) in Linux? Just keep chugging along, perhaps restarting a single process or two, and a fairly transparent experience from the user perspective.

There is a difference.

Also note: downtime due to patches, maintenance, etc., is not counted as "downtime" as defined by Microsoft - just the rest of the world. So when you read downtime/uptime comparisons from Microsoft, ignore them. They redefine the terms.

Re:Less and less relevant?

[petermgreen]

provided you haven't changed anything that changes the linux image itself and only changed modules you should be able to load the new modules without rebooting.

API compatibility

[mr_tenor]

Hmmm...

http://www.winehq.org/pipermail/wine-devel/2006-Ma rch/045571.html [winehq.org]

"So there we have it - this appears to be the first release in which they simply started dropping APIs."

"And, therefore, the first time for which we can categorically state that Wine will be more compatible with Windows applications than Windows itself."

"Not to mention that they're handing a near-fatal blow to OpenGL support, too."

etc.

Re:Pre Sale

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny how Microsoft say...

Two pet peeves in here:

1. "Microsoft" is not plural. [commnet.edu] "Microsoft says..." If there were more than one Microsoft (and they all agreed), you could say "Microsofts say..."
2. Sentences don't start with predicates. [uga.edu] "It is funny how..."

Re:It's the DRM

[cyberformer]

If they install the business edition, they won't be able to play high-definition video in MS's proprietary DRM format.

Unlike with XP, the home version isn't just the business version with some newtorking functions taken out. It has some extra (DRM-crippled) multimedia stuff that businesses don't get.

Missing digital media/entertainment features

[MojoStan]

No DRM in the business edition? Then everybody and his brother will install Windows Vista Corporate with a Volume License Key which requires no activation, just like people did with Windows XP.

Not if they want Media Center functionality, DVD video authoring, Movie Maker HD, and other "home" features that are left out of the "business" versions of Vista.

Apparently, the only versions of Vista that will be available with a Volume License Key ("business versions") will be missing features that most pirates want.

Re:Less and less relevant?

[sl4shd0rk]

As long as the executives at Microsoft are capable of maintaining their OEM agreements with the popular brand name manufacturers, Windows will always be relevant.

And this may be on the decline.
http://www.silicon.com/software/os/0,39024651,3911 7247,00.htm [silicon.com]
http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2004/10/will _att_ditch_windows.html [oreillynet.com]
http://news.softpedia.com/news/South-Korea-Could-D itch-Windows-11302.shtml [softpedia.com]
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184234,00.html [foxnews.com]

Re:It's the DRM

[TheNetAvenger]

Macs, duh

Of course, but if they want to watch the videos in HD format, they will have to buy a separate player or another computer with Windows Vista.

DRM and the HD HDMI restrictions are part of the HD media formats, and have nothing to do with Microsoft. Microsoft is providing the ability for their OSes to play the media, and unless Mac or Linux also make the same concessions, they will also not be able to play the content in true High Definition.

(Your post was funny, but since it was popular thought this would be a good place to stick these facts. People think that Windows is 'crippled' by DRM and HD HDMI standards, when the movies themselves ship with copy protections, Windows is so far the only OS offering support for them.)

It is like this, regular DVDs have region and DVD copy protection, it is just all DVD players came from the factory supporting the decrypting of the copy protection, and even though it has been hacked and bypassed, 99.9% of the when any of us watches a DVD on a computer or a home player, we are still using the Copy decryption technologies installed in both the players and the computer software.

Same will be for HD DVD and other media. Vista will support the new copy protection, just like the new stand alone players will. So Vista actually 'adds' in the ability to play and decrypt the newer standards. Where people are calling Vista crippled, it is actually the opposite, as it supports the new formats. PERIOD.

Re:Less and less relevant?

[Elbowgeek]

Ah, I remember when I was thirteen, just like you. I do hope your acne problem subsides before your big date, which at this rate will probably not happen before your thirtieth birthday. Poor lad.

On a more serious note, I will say that the best approach to user interfaces I've yet encountered was, believe it or not, OS/2. They used the concept of a template-centric (using a stationery metaphor) paradigm instead of an application-centric one, just as one does in a real office environment. It was so easy to work with and relate to I've often wondered why it was never adopted outside OS/2.

But it was, in a half-assed sort of way, by Microsoft, such that one can't truly use the Windows interface fully for that sort of interaction with data and applications, but unfortunately the application-centric concept doesn't work smoothly enough for less computer-literate folks (such as yourself) to feel comfortable with the system without much experience.

Cheers