Vista and the shadow of another delay

Vista has been dogged by delays. If the update ships as now scheduled, it'll arrive about five years after the last version of Windows was sent out--a long time for fans and corporate customers to wait.

In March, Microsoft had to announce that it was postponing the broad delivery of Vista to January 2007. It was another black eye for the company, which had even cut back on a number of key features to try to make a 2006 release.

Now Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has shed some doubt on the new delivery date, reportedly telling Microsoft software partners in South Africa this week that there was a 20 percent chance of another Vista delay, depending on feedback from beta testers.

To find out what people on the street make of it, we asked our Vista Views panel, made up of ordinary readers, these questions: Is this the last straw? Does this change your planning--if you've done any--for Vista?

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Wallace Wang

Despite the delays, any business willing to switch to Vista right away is foolhardy. Businesses should definitely wait until Microsoft releases Service Pack 1 for Vista and even then, they should only upgrade to Vista when they need to buy new machines anyway. There's absolutely no reason for anyone to upgrade an old machine to run Vista.

So ultimately, the delay in Vista will probably prove more beneficial than harmful. Now if Microsoft delays Vista beyond 2007, that's when everyone should be worried (except for Apple, of course).
Wallace Wang is a freelance computer journalist and author whose books include "Microsoft Office for Dummies" and "Steal This Computer Book."

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Robert McLaws

Everyone has complained for years that Microsoft doesn?t listen to its customers. So why now is everyone complaining when they finally DO start listening? And why does everyone expect software to adhere to different standards than regular products? If Merck had a wonder drug for curing cancer, but your liver spontaneously combusted after two doses, would you want it on the market at the date they promised? Or would you let them wait till they worked the kinks out?

Microsoft has created a HUGE ecosystem around Windows, and because of that, most businesses need to know when new versions will ship, for various reasons. Yes, there may be economic repercussions for delivering the product late. But compare those consequences to what would happen if Microsoft didn't get security or stability right this time around. We don't need to look very far...how many billions of dollars did businesses (and governments) lose in productivity, downtime, and other expenses due to Windows malware in the last three years?

Yes, everyone wants Microsoft to ship Vista already. But the world cannot afford for Microsoft to get this wrong. It?s already at least 18 months behind schedule. They've taken this long to get it right. If they feel they need another month, they should be able to have it without everyone saying the sky is falling!

Anyways, everyone is focusing on the negative side of his comments. There is a 4-in-5 chance that it will ship on time. Better odds than we had a year ago, that's for sure.
Robert McLaws is an IT consultant, community leader and Vista enthusiast. He has been running Vista enthusiast site Longhornblogs.com since 2002.

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Shruti Shah

I think no matter what, people are going to buy Vista--eventually. I highly doubt that a delay of another four weeks will cause somebody to buy a Mac or switch to Linux. We've waited five years already, what's another month?

It seems like everybody is angry and upset over the delay, but the Internet is just a big echo chamber. There are about 660 million people using PCs today; it's highly doubtful that they are all complaining.
Shruti Shah, from Long Island, N.Y., is a senior in college.

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Jason Cornell

Is this the last straw? Not at all. They need to ship it when the product is ready. Running the beta I have seen great strides as they release more builds. The latest build I now run as my primary machine and have very few minor issues.

Does this change your planning--if you've done any--for Vista? No. Corporations won't roll Vista out for at least a year after the release date anyway so this doesn't matter to us at all.
Jason Cornell has more than seven years of consulting experience, primarily in Microsoft software. He has worked on design and integration of Windows-based set-ups for health care, higher education and media customers.

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Brian Lambert

At this point, any delays are unimportant. Vista has been delayed so much in the past, that I'm beginning to lose interest in the whole ordeal.

I think it is ridiculous that it has been delayed this long--other operating systems are released far more frequently. Microsoft has dropped the ball by letting Vista fall so far behind. I think at this point they are playing catch up.

I was very interested in buying Vista to put on my laptop I bought a year ago. Now, it's been delayed so much, I might just put off buying Vista and wait until I get a new computer in a few years.

I'm still interested in seeing what this new operating system will introduce. New technology is always exciting, but it's disappointing when it's well overdue.
Brian Lambert is a law student at Southern Illinois University.

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Gary Knigge

Although I am already researching how and when Vista will be implemented on our campus, I am by no means anxious to be the first kid on the block with wide deployment of the new operating system. There are no key business systems that would be delayed by a delay in the ship of Vista. I would find a delay personally disappointing, as I am always curious about new technology. But I see no significant organizational impact, as long as the delay is not more than a few months.
Gary Knigge is an IT support person at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, specializing in Windows desktop support for faculty and staff.

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Leigh

I originally planned in 2002 to hold off my purchase of a new PC until Vista was released. Am I ever glad that I gave in waiting earlier this year in February! I can only wonder if other potential new buyers of PCs continue to wait and get angry, and even buy Macs instead, thinking they're on the cutting edge?
Leigh is a systems specialist for an online retailer who has been working in general business development for a number of Australian Web sites over the past seven years.

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Brian Clarke

I think it is doubtful that Microsoft will delay Vista again. I've tried Beta 2 and it seems mostly done except for some reliability and compatibility issues.

If they did delay it again, I would not be happy, but it wouldn't push me to go buy a Mac!
Brian Clarke, a student at Shippensburg University, says he has reinstalled Windows more time than he cares to remember.

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Kevin Faaborg

This is not a big surprise for me. I was not expecting Vista to make the original deadline to begin with. I'm going to be surprised if it even makes 2007 at this rate.

They should just say "It's done when it's done, all 'expected' dates are wiped from the books, we will release a date once we have the final version set to be released." And not sooner.
Kevin Faaborg works in basic hardware and software guidance for a large financial corporation, but he has experience in more computer sales-based jobs.

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Callum Jones

Personally, I think it is a good time to delay it. With Conroe coming out, people need time to settle on the hardware, gather all their money and then buy Vista.

If Vista ships same time as Core Duo 2, then users have a ultimatum between superfast hardware or a shiny OS. Many will choose the first option.
Callum Jones is a student in Perth, Australia, who is interested in the field of Windows/Linux SMB Network.