Today's News

02/14/06

Microsoft Sees Vista in Stores by Holidays: Microsoft Corp. hopes to have the new version of its Windows operating system available in time for the U.S. holiday season, narrowing the time frame for the much-anticipated product's release.

Microsoft has long said the new system, called Vista, would be available in the second half of 2006, but spokesman Lou Gellos said Tuesday that the company wants to have it in stores in time for the holiday season, which typically begins around Thanksgiving. He declined to give any more detailed guidance.

Analyst Charles Di Bona with Bernstein & Co. said that's important in part because consumers, rather than businesses, are often the first to buy a new version of Windows. He also said it will signal that Microsoft, which has often been plagued by missed deadlines, can get this product to market in time.

"If they do that, they're on schedule, so that's good," he said.

Joe Wilcox with Jupiter Research said the move also will be good for computer makers, who can use Vista as a push to persuade shoppers to buy new PCs.

"The Dells and the HPs of the world want to have those nice, shiny new PCs to sell, and a brand new operating system would be a good start," he said.

The new version of Windows, Microsoft's first update for its flagship offering in five years, promises to give users faster, better ways to search for data such as e-mails, music, photos and video content. It also will offer security improvements, an updated look and other perks such as parental controls and a new media player.

However, it won't include an even more advanced way to store and organize information, called WinFS, that was originally promised and is now slated to come later.

The release comes as the Redmond software giant faces emerging competitors such as Google Inc., whose products threaten Microsoft both on and off the desktop.

Microsoft must persuade consumers that the upgrade will be worth the expense and trouble, when plenty of users might be perfectly happy with a computer running the current version of Windows.

"The challenge for Microsoft will be trying to show consumers why Windows XP is not good enough and why they should consider Vista, and that's as much a marketing challenge as it is one about features," Wilcox said.

Source: AP