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]
