Vista forecast: 20% chance of delays

If you're one of the many folks eagerly awaiting the January release of Windows Vista, then there's a small-but-not-insignificant chance that you may be in for a letdown -- a 20% chance, actually, according to outgoing Microsoft CTO, lifelong Engadget reader, and occasional video pirate Bill Gates. During a presentation in Cape Town, South Africa, Mr. Gates informed his audience that although there's an 80% probability that the next-gen OS will ship as scheduled, "we've got to get this absolutely right," and stressed that "if the feedback from the beta tests shows it is not ready for prime time, I'd be glad to delay it." Now, we can't imagine that anyone would want to purchase buggy software, so it's reassuring to see that Microsoft is committed to only pushing a polished product out the door, but we have to say that Gates' choice of words here makes him come across as just a little cavalier. Because if he's "glad" to continue frustrating us with these tragi-comic delays, then there's probably quite a few people out there who will be just as glad to stick with their copies of XP out of spite -- or even worse, make the dreaded leap over to Leopard or Linux.

[Thanks, Matt and Oliver O.]

[blah @ Jul 11th 2006 5:12PM]

"...make the dreaded leap over to Leopard..."

ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

[Jim Brown @ Jul 11th 2006 5:32PM]

Microsoft is going to put itself in more hot water if it's late. Digital Journal magazine interview Barry Goffe, one of the guys behind the launch of Vista and he says "he wouldn't be his kid's life" that Vista will be on time. Pfft.

The story: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/?articleID=4778

[Gr1zz @ Jul 11th 2006 5:32PM]

Delay it as long as you need bill, just dont kill my working beta till its on the shelf for sale please.

[andrew @ Jul 11th 2006 5:35PM]

yep i'm swithcing when i can get the money

[Austin Meyer @ Jul 11th 2006 5:39PM]

It does seem a little ridiculous, this has been in production since XP came out; why is it that Apple can completely update their operating system every 18 months and most Linux distros do it even faster, but the biggest software company has taken 6 years on this one? I realize Microsoft has to asure support for a lot more hardware than anyone else, but come on, it couldn't take 4 to 5 years just to write drivers.

[hurtssobad @ Jul 11th 2006 5:41PM]

Hey all you Microsufferers,
Go ahead. make the leap to OS X. Oh using an Apple is just SOOOOO painful. It's too stable, too easy to use, too pretty to look at. Oh what a pain it is to use an operating system that actaully works and is a joy to use. OH THE AGONY!!!
Go ahead, make the "dreaded" leap. I dare you.

[n00b @ Jul 11th 2006 5:49PM]

I am not about to make the jump to OSX or Linux ;)

Sorry, but my games dictate me. The day publishers lean on devs to support the other 2 more, I too will make the dreaded leap

I have to ask....does OSX get boring? I mean you can only have so much of music, web, photos, films and 3D design software? I mean if no one gamed maybe Apple would get into double figures for market share

[daschupa @ Jul 11th 2006 5:51PM]

hurtssobad, OSX, like every OS, is never seen as a "joy to use", they all suck, it just depends how much. I use both, really, they both suck, just in different ways.

Anyhoo, a delay wouldn't be bad, it would give more catch-up time for people who need to get their comp up to vista standards.

[Kevin @ Jul 11th 2006 5:53PM]

DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!



DEVELOPERS!

[the_sidewinder @ Jul 11th 2006 5:54PM]

"It does seem a little ridiculous, this has been in production since XP came out; why is it that Apple can completely update their operating system every 18 months and most Linux distros do it even faster, but the biggest software company has taken 6 years on this one? I realize Microsoft has to asure support for a lot more hardware than anyone else, but come on, it couldn't take 4 to 5 years just to write drivers."



Oh I don't know, could it have something to do with OSX and each linux distro not having to completely overhaul their OS in each incremental upgrade? That they have not rewritten their kernels or APIs each time?

[the_sidewinder @ Jul 11th 2006 5:57PM]

I would also rather have Vista ready when it's done than have it on time. It would hurt MS more to release Vista in a buggy state than it would to release it late. (especially with the current January launch frame)

[Craig @ Jul 11th 2006 6:18PM]

Well I'd rather it was late and 'slightly' buggy rather than being early and 'completely' buggy.

[travis @ Jul 11th 2006 6:21PM]

Personally they can hold it off until 08 for all I care. XP is still working fairly well for my needs. Besides, why should I wait for a MAC OS ripoff when I can get the real thing right now.

[Ivan Icin @ Jul 11th 2006 6:27PM]

Ubuntu Linux in its latest release (called Dapper) is really something that is comparable with Windows, and even better in some aspects. And if they delay Vista once more, there will be 2 new versions of Ubuntu before ti appears, so it might not look very attarctive.

[Guruboy @ Jul 11th 2006 6:46PM]

There will come a day when Linux and other open-source OSs are 100% compatible with anything made for Windows with 100% non-MS code, and Google or other organizations has provided all the applications found in MS Office for free, with internet storage. That is the day that Microsoft falls. Bye bye!

Better start workin on that Xbox 720!

[Mark @ Jul 11th 2006 7:47PM]

He's got to be joking, they still haven't gotten the bugs out of XP yet!

[bob @ Jul 11th 2006 8:24PM]

"Oh I don't know, could it have something to do with OSX and each linux distro not having to completely overhaul their OS in each incremental upgrade? That they have not rewritten their kernels or APIs each time?"

and vista isnt just a skin and konfabulator? lol

[cycomachead @ Jul 11th 2006 8:38PM]

I love the joy- of all you Mac users here (like ME :) )
And linux distro well they have tho cover the most hardware- and they still have new stuff out every 6 months!!! (well in the cases of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Edubuntu)

oh and buggy software- um well so I guess M$ jusrt realized that people have been complaining

M$ hasn't been doing so good w/ betas recently

If this is gonna resemble IE 7, office 07, and Office Live

I have only 1 thing to say but use XP- oh and Ive haerd the beta isnt all that great form my Win loving friend geek

[Torontoguy @ Jul 11th 2006 8:49PM]

I have been running Vista Beta 2 on a Lenovo laptop (with bare minimal Vista specs) and have had no issues. It runs all of the software that is running on my XP desktop. I have no doubt that it will ship before this beta expires in February.

[bliss @ Jul 11th 2006 8:52PM]

I love how mac users jump all over MS delays... hey, I'm a mac user too and love it, but I've seen Vista Beta 2 and looks sweet, and with enhanced security features...

[Andre @ Jul 11th 2006 8:58PM]

I don't understand this. I've been using Vista Beta 2 since the day it came out, and I have been able to accomplish almost every operation I did with XP. The only real issue I have is with Media Center and divx extensions.

[Kevin Chapman @ Jul 11th 2006 9:03PM]

I am one of those people that leap for joy when I here “Vista” and “Delayed” in the same sentence. The reason is simple I work in tech support and have had to help people fix XP machines for so long that the very thought of Vista makes me cringe and consider going to Linux. I have seen some of the later Vista builds at work and all I can see if more I-candy, and bloated useless integrated apps. XP is no where near where an OS should be but its way better then Vista so I will stick with it as long as possible.

[Robert @ Jul 11th 2006 9:11PM]

listen ppl

[Robert @ Jul 11th 2006 9:14PM]

Apple needed to change there kernel and they did it right not its time microsoft does the same so sidewinder get real

[Spyvie @ Jul 11th 2006 9:28PM]

I’m posting this from Vista beta 2 build 5384, I wouldn’t call it buggy at all. The only problems I’ve had on my A64 nF3 rig with 2GB RAM are scratchy sounding AC97 sound drivers and some weird flickering in IE7. It runs all my apps just fine, games are maybe a little slower than on XP so I dual boot for now.

Areo Glass is gorgeous, it runs excellent on my 6600GT. Calendar is mighty handy, the new FreeCell is worth the price of admission alone. I agree that Sidebar is just as lame as Konfabulator or Dashboard.

The longer they delay the release, the longer I get to use Vista and Office 07 for free!

[Robert @ Jul 11th 2006 9:55PM]

ooh dashboard is not lame it is made so you can quickly find the task you need to find

[blakamin @ Jul 11th 2006 10:49PM]

Was using vista beta 2 for awhile... it sux.. after about 3 weeks it sat on 48% CPU usage at idle because the new search daemon was running all the time. Just started oneday and went like that until I deleted it. The only good thing to come out of it was MP11 and freecell. Windows mail sucked. IE7 sucked. Sometimes FF had a problem with it. BF2 sucked on it. CoD2 sucked on it. Audio and video drivers sucked (ATI video and some top-end 2 year old audio card that I had to pull out)Dashboard sucked. It wouldn't run a VNC service (something I needed desperately).
It should also have an option to default boot to XP.
Might have a look at RC1 when it comes out... on a blank HDD so I can swap HDD to run XP and it wont stuff my install.

[John Doe @ Jul 11th 2006 11:19PM]

It does seem a little ridiculous, this has been in production since XP came out; why is it that Apple can completely update their operating system every 18 months

Maybe because Apple DOESN'T "completely update" their OS every 18 months. Vista is Microsoft's 10.0 and anyone with half a brain knows how long it took Apple to ship the successor to OS 9. And of course we all KNOW how wonderful an OS 10.0 was. It was so perfect Apple felt they needed to give 10.1 away to those lucky few who were blessed with the stability and speed of 10.0.

As for 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4. Yes they are updates. Just as Windows 98SE is an update to 98 which is an update to 95. The difference is that Apple put some useful things in their OS. But to be frank most of the tweaks Apple put out could have been done for a hell of a lot less then a OS upgrade. 10.1-10.3 are really cleanup updates to 10.0

[Spyvie @ Jul 11th 2006 11:24PM]

Blakamin,
It most definitely does have an option to default to XP, right click on computer, select properties, select advanced system settings, then select startup/shutdown...

I’m not saying it’s for everyone, I don’t think I would use it for anything mission critical at this point. I am saying that with a little tweaking it runs great on quality hardware.

[Elf @ Jul 12th 2006 8:09AM]

@ John Doe:

Tweaks? Tiger (10.4) ALONE had over 200 NEW features. Stable ones. That work. That people all over the World use and love happily day, after day, after day. The 2003 PowerBook I'm writing this from is running 10.4.7 and has been awake for 26 days solid. It is currently running 17 concurrent applications, and NOTHING has crashed for at least a week.

Yeah, Apple took a while to get OS X out, but when it shipped, they didn't stop innovating there. The incremental updates are tweaks, yes. But they're regular, free, stable, and don't mess anything up in the vast, vast majority of cases. When they ship a major version update, you get a LOT for your money (which is a lot less than M$ ask for anyway, and only has two price tiers - Client and Server).
And why are you wailing on about something that happened last century anyway? You seem to be trying to slag Apple off, but that's obviously the only relevant negative scenario you can come up with.

[D.J.J.S @ Jul 12th 2006 9:16AM]

I HAVE TO SAY I REGRET EVERY TRYING VISTA!!
YES I'M A PC FAN! AND I AM A VISTA TESTER..
AND I WISH I WOULD OF STICK TO XP-PRO.
No Matter how much i disable so many Start up
Programs and Its Still Slow! ahh! the Frustration!
And No i Don't Want and Over Price MAC..
Unless you care to Donate one..
I Rather Stick to My XP!

[LongshotX @ Jul 12th 2006 12:05PM]

Media Center 2005 is good enough for me. Then download AVG Virus Scanner, Zone Alarm Firewall, a couple of Xvid, Ogm, Divx codecs, some spyware software, Tuneup Utilities 2006, Winrar, the Paint.Net, Firefox 2.0 or IE7, Office 2007, Media Player 11 then Yahoo Widgets and you really don't need Vista at all. Media Center has a clean and beautiful interface. I have never been blue screened. It's also very fast especially when you Defrag often, clean the registry, and organize your folders. A lot of people complain Windows is slow because they are still using computers with Pentium 3s and the old 1.2 GHZ Athlons, along with 128 MBs of SDRAM. Get with the program, and get an updated computer system.

[Eli @ Jul 12th 2006 1:17PM]

I made the leap to Ubuntu two months ago, and I've never looked back. (except when needing to sync my Gigabeat)