Microsoft may delay Windows Vista again -- Gartner

[benburch]

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=technology&storyID=nN02271704

Microsoft may delay Windows Vista again -- Gartner
Tuesday 2 May 2006, 1:26pm EST

SEATTLE, May 2 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) long- awaited release of the upgrade to its flagship Windows operating system will likely be delayed again by at least three months, research group Gartner Inc. (IT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday.

The research note, released to clients on Monday, said the new Windows Vista operating system is too complex to be able to meet Microsoft's targeted November release for volume license customers and January launch for retail consumers.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company disagreed with the Gartner report and it was still on track to meet its launch dates.

<SNIP>

[Solon]

1. Well, who hasn't seen that coming!

;)

[RoyGBiv]

2. Really ...

Shocker.

Let's see. It's been delayed ~4 years now, has been gutted, will exist in multiple versions, and has had a lot of its eye-candy already copied (or reappropriated actually) and placed into use elsewhere. Wow.

I'd almost be willing to bet, though, that it does end up released on-time, or at least not as late as this report suggests. However, the first service pack will issue forth almost immediately, say, three to five months from then.

Now, when is SuSE 10.1 finally going to be released. :evilgrin:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Boy Howdy.

Big shot in the arm for Mac and all the flavors of Desktop Linux. With the new features of KDE and Gnome that are coming, it might be primetime.

[RiseInside]

7. Just one game....

forces me to rely on Windows. If this one game were to be released on Linux I would have absolutely no reason to install Windows. Anything I do can be done in Linux. Most times much faster and more reliably.

[AlecBGreen]

11. Hi RiseInside

welcome to DU! :hi: :toast: :party:

nice pic of Bob

[RoyGBiv]

15. Out of curiosity ...

Which game?

The only one I play with any regularity I haven't been able to get to work at all is the Baldur's Gate series, which are older. Technically, one should be able to get it to work using wine, and you can get it to start, but it crashes constantly.

A lot of the popular FPS games around now will work on Linux. Some even have direct Linux ports. In all honesty, though, the performance isn't the same, largely due to substandard drivers for the video cards.

I know what you mean, though. I still keep a hard drive with Windoze on it for two purposes, to play certain games and to have something to mess with when I'm fixing another person's computer. But I keep that drive in its own removable tray and only plug it in occasionally. I won't be doing Vista.

Oh, welcome to DU!!! :hi:

[Poll_Blind]

17. Here here! n/t

PB

[AndyTiedye]

3. Maybe they Should Call It "Mirage"

[Garbo 2004]

4. Oh, that's a good one! LOL. "MS Mirage." Thanks for the chuckle. n/t

[RoyGBiv]

16. Perfect!

:rofl:

[longship]

6. Grand Vistas!

Seems like Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Linspire, and other desktop Linuces are going to benefit from Micro$loth's incapability of getting their heavily DRM-invested Vista out the door.

Smart people would be advised that Linux works better, more reliable, and without spyware or virus infections.

Ubuntu Linux

Linspire Linux

I've been using Linux exclusively for over ten years. It just plain works.

[Zech Marquis]

8. perfect timing for Apple

The new Apple ads are hilarious, and this potential delay is only going to make Apple that much stronger--I want the new MacBook (soon to be ex iBook) this summer:-D

[niallmac]

9. Microsoft DOS like the IRS

Big, bloated, inefficient, unpopular creations that defy reform.

[Neshanic]

10. MS new strategy. Service Pack release prior to Vista release...

Bill Gates has announced a new program that allows SP1 and SP2 for Window's Vista to be available for download according to the version you buy and the phases of the moon.

[paparush]

12. Yawn...zzzzzzzzz.... Whoa! Looks like OS X!! Pretty Colors.. nt

[Sgent]

13. Why is this so surprising

Windows NT 4.0 was delayed by almost a decade (first promised release date 1991), and the promised upgrade of Windows 3.1 didn't come out until 2000 (Windows 2000).

Microsoft is the king of vaporware, and in fact this was part of the charges brought against them in the anti-trust trial.

Vaporware: Software with announced availability which only exists in the minds of the marketing department. The purpose of this is to prevent people from adopting other solutions which compete with the announced (but not released) upgrade.

[lindisfarne]

14. This is actually good for all of us who have to use Windows due to

compatibility issues, corporate decisions, and so on. It will force Microsoft to support XP much longer as well as force software writers to keep writing software which works on XP. Already, some software out there won't work on Windows 98 (which I still run and which serves me quite well - I don't see any improvement with XP, frankly, and doubt there will be with Vista). Microsoft is just barely providing support for Windows 98 - only "critical" updates, which mean some less "critical" but still problematic security issues never get patches - and this, despite the fact that Microsoft is responsible for the Windows 98 flaws.