Vista still long way off
Vista, formerly code named Longhorn, has been delayed again, and this time it will miss the crucial US holiday season. SeattlePI.com reports that Microsoft estimates an “early 2007 release date”.
“It’s the largest undertaking by the company since it upgraded the operating system in 1995” reports Forbes.com. Complexities in the software, like security gaps and quality-related testing, are being sited as the major constraints. Windows XP was released in 2001, and the desktop operating system upgrade is now long overdue.
The knock-on effect of this delayed release to the rest of the PC market can be huge. PC manufacturers like Dell and HP bargained on the new operating system to boost sales.
Memory chip makers like Samsung would also be smiling as soon as Vista hits the shelves: it demands a lot more RAM than the current OS, forcing users to have more memory.
Microsoft alone might lose as much as $500 million in sales by missing the lucrative holiday buying season in the US. This figure increases exponentially for an already sluggish desktop computer market.
Despite other revenue income streams like the Xbox, MSN online services and wireless and small business services, Microsoft is still heavily dependant on Windows as a main source of income.
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