Beyond Binary

Apparently 20 months wasn't quite long enough to wait to introduce an online "Vista Compatibility Center."

The Web site, which was due to launch on Tuesday morning, still hasn't launched as of 2 p.m. PDT Wednesday.

The idea was to offer a Web site where consumers and small businesses could easily check whether their hardware and software are Vista-ready. Since yesterday afternoon, however, the site has greeted visitors with the message "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will be launching soon, please check back!"

Well, I have been and it hasn't. No word from Redmond on what's behind the hold-up, but it's certainly not helping the company's efforts to put a better face on the oft-maligned operating system.

I'll keep checking back and let you know when it's up. In the meantime, here's a screenshot of what it's supposed to look like.

The Windows Vista Compatibility Center is aimed to be part of Microsoft's case that Vista is ready for prime time. However, so far the site has been down, only adding to the operating system's bad press.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Update, 2:42 p.m.:

Well, it's still not up, but recognizing that it's getting some hits, Microsoft has added some teaser text to the site.

"Did you know," the page now adds, "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will provide information on more than 9,000 products."

It also directs small business customers with compatibility issues to check out its recently launched www.windows.com/assurance page.

Microsoft's launched-but-not-yet-ready compatibility tool isn't the only stab the company made Tuesday to help resuscitate Windows Vista's tarnished image.

The company also launched a program that offers free support to small businesses willing to make the move to Vista.

Microsoft Windows marketing executive Brad Brooks told those attending Microsoft's partner conference on Tuesday that the company is trying to put a different face on the 18-month-old operating system.

"Today, we're making a statement," Brooks said. "We're drawing a line right here on this stage that we're going to do things differently going forward. We're going to tell our story--our story, the real Windows Vista story."

He goes on to talk about the company's missteps, admitting its marketing muscle had gotten a bit "flabby."

From my perspective, Vista faces two major issues. Clearly, there is the image problem. For the last 18 months, Vista has been getting poor press, and the loudest marketing has been the negative stuff coming from Apple.

Brooks acknowledged Apple's impact and said the "sleeping giant" had woken up and hinted at the company's forthcoming $300 million multiyear marketing push.

But the second issue, which is beyond the image problem, is what I'd call the operating system's dessert-to-vegetable ratio. Many of Vista's changes are under the hood. They were necessary things like improved security, a new graphics engine and driver model. Those are like veggies. You have to eat them, but you are going to have a tough time getting people to flock to the table.

Although Vista has some tasty treats, like better photo handling and built-in desktop search, its new features haven't exactly taken the world by storm. I doubt I'm saying anything the Windows team hasn't already realized--but the next time they come out with a new OS, they would be well-served to have three or four drool-inducing features that motivate people to get a new PC or upgrade their old one.

The company has taken a step in the right direction in announcing that Windows 7 won't make any major architectural changes (less veggies), but they need to make sure that their entree is appetizing and that the dessert is top-notch.

Microsoft on Tuesday released a new tool designed to allow customers to see whether their hardware and software will work properly with Windows Vista.

No, this isn't an old article. It is July 2008 and Microsoft still finds it necessary to show customers that plenty of hardware and software works with Vista, which has now been on the market for more than 18 months.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Vista Compatibility Center is a good idea. I just think it's the kind of thing customers want when a new operating system launches. The fact that it is still needed today indicates the challenges that Microsoft continues to face on both the compatibility and marketing fronts with Vista.

Michael Keigley, the Microsoft product manager in charge of the product, concedes that compatibility concerns, both real and perceived, are still important issues for small businesses and consumers as they consider a move to Vista.

"At the launch of Vista, there's no denying we had incompatibilities in the system," he said. A big part of introducing the tool now, though, is clearly in hopes that customers will find that their hardware and software actually is Vista-ready.

However, the online tool is off to a rough start as well. It was supposed to be publicly available in beta form starting this morning. However, those that went to the site on Tuesday morning instead got the message, "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center is currently unavailable. Thank you for your interest, but this site is not available yet. Please check back soon." (See below for screenshots.)

I'll let that speak for itself.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the issue should be resolved later in the day.

When it eventually launches, Microsoft said it will start with about 9,000 products, roughly a third of which are software products and two-thirds of which are hardware devices. About half of the products are those that have undergone testing to be part of Microsoft's Vista-certified logo program.

Here's what Microsoft hoped customers would see at the Vista compatibility center on Tuesday:

Microsoft's Vista Compatibility Center is aimed at showing off just how many products work with the operating system.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Here's what they are actually seeing:

As of Tuesday morning, though, the site was broken. A spokesperson said it should be up shortly.

(Credit: CNET News)

Update: The site still isn't up, as of 1:50 p.m., but the message has changed to read: "The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will be launching soon, please check back!"