Microsoft: Vista follow-up likely in 2009
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InfoWorld - With Vista just out the door, Microsoft&#160;is now drawing up plans to deliver its follow-up client operating system by the end of 2009, according to the executive in charge of building the product&#39;s core components.
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Curtains for Vista in 'H2 2009' Redmond has refused to spike speculation that it is racing to pump out its successor to Vista â Windows 7 â earlier than originally expected.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has finally broken its silence on the timing of the release of theÂ highly anticipated Windows Vista Service Pack 1, saying the software updates should be in final release in the first quarter of next year with the company shipping off a beta next month to 10,000 to 15,000 testers. The company stressed that SP1, "is not a delivery vehicle for new features," said David Zipkin, senior product manager for Microsoft. SP1 will include OS updates strictly to fix bugs and enhance the performance, reliability, and application compatibility of Vista, he said. Zipkin acknowledged that Microsoft has "a reputation of sneaking fixes into service packs in the past." For example, Windows XP SP 2 included a host of new security features after XP was exploited by the Blaster worm and other serious attacks. However, the service pack also was incompatible with many applications running on XP, which caused massive headaches for a lot of users. Vista SP1 will not break any applications already running on the OS. "Anything that works on Vista is going to keep on working on SP1," he said. Vista SP1 will include the 20 updates for the OS already released over Microsoft's automatic update services as well as ones that are new to the update. In all, thousands of Vista files will be changed as part of the release, Zipkin said. However, Vista SP1 will be a significantly smaller download than Windows XP SP2 was, he said. XP SP2 was more than 100MB in size, while Vista SP1 will be about 50MB, he said. Microsoft will deliver SP1 over its automatic update services to consumers running Windows Vista. Business customers can use this service as well or roll out a stand-alone version of SP1, which has a bigger footprint, through whatever software a company uses for pushing updates to desktops, Zipkin said. The stand-alone version of SP1 will be bigger than the one automatically pushed out through Windows update services for several reasons, one of which is it contains all of the 36 language updates, Zipkin said. The SP1 pushed out over the Web can detect what language a PC is running and only install that update. Specifically, SP1 will fix performance features, such as allowing for the computer to resume functionality after being in the Hibernate or Standby state, and also reduce the time it takes between a user hitting CTRL/ALT/DELETE to get the log-in prompt so they can log on to Windows, Zipkin said. Microsoft also in SP1 will improve the performance of Internet Explorer 7 to speed Javascript processing and reduce CPU utilization so sites running AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) can run faster, he said. On the reliability side, the update will reduce the likelihood of Vista crashing from a vague "search protocol handler" error message that users have reported happens frequently, Zipkin said. The company also fixed other common crashes users have reported through Microsoft's automatic reporting service. Many businesses have held off on updating to Vista until the arrival of SP1. Zipkin said that while Microsoft supports their decision, the company is recommending they test applications with Vista now so that they are ready to deploy immediately when SP1 is available. For consumers that may be waiting, Microsoft recommends they go ahead and install Vista or purchase a Vista machine now, and they will receive SP1 via automatic updates. To date, Microsoft reports that about 60 million consumer licenses for Vista have been sold, and 42 million licenses have been sold to businesses through its volume licensing program.
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Microsoft MSFT.O said on Thursday it   was on track to launch its Windows Vista operating system in   Europe in January but again asked the European Commission to   detail concerns it may have with the system.
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A Microsoft-sponsored study says that Windows Vista will generate some $70 billion in revenue and create up to 100,000 jobs in the first year of its release. The report also forecasts rapid and widespread adoption of the OS.
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(InfoWorld) - Many of the software trends that percolated in the industry in 2006 will gather more steam in 2007, but several stand out as contenders to change the game for the market in the new year. Below are some of the key software trends to watch for in 2007. Windows Vista ... again Just when you thought it was over, the chatter surrounding Microsoft Corp.'s long-delayed Windows client update has only just begun. 2007 will be a crucial year for the OS, which will finally make its mainstream debut to consumers at the end of January. Microsoft, its hardware and component partners and Wall Street will be keeping a keen eye on customer adoption of Vista to see if it really was worth the wait. 2007 also may be the year Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS could gain more mass appeal among users that in the past might have bought a Windows PC, giving Vista its first real competition in ages. The competition can be attributed to two things. One, Apple now offers Intel chip-based PCs that are less expensive than previous Apple computers and thus a more viable option for the average PC user. Secondly, more consumers seem to be catching on to the fact that the Mac OS is -- and has always been -- more cutting-edge, attractive and just so much more fun to use than Windows. Software as a service (SAAS) As Google Inc. and SAAS pioneer Salesforce.com Inc. continue to be financial successes, other companies begin sending out software that has traditionally been sold in packages to customers over the Web. Microsoft may soon be joining the fray, and in fact is steadily building out its Web-based service business under the direction of Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie. Indeed, many believe Vista will be the last packaged-software version of Windows as Microsoft eventually will begin offering new versions of the OS over the Web. Keep an eye on less packaged software and more SAAS offerings from other traditional players in 2007 as well, including Oracle Corp. and SAP AG. Virtualization Enterprises will continue to adopt this software, which enables more than one OS to run side-by-side on a single server. Nearly every major hardware and software vendor -- from IBM Corp. to Intel Corp. to Microsoft to virtualization giant VMWare Inc. -- has a vested interest in virtualization, and expect its use to become more pervasive in 2007. However, as that happens, virtualization -- along with related sever technology that contains multiple processors -- will change the game for how software and hardware is priced, setting the stage for new pricing models across the industry. Business intelligence (BI) Giving enterprises more insight into the factors that affect their business is becoming an increasing focus for enterprise software companies, which is why business intelligence itself is a growing market. With Microsoft gradually building out its business intelligence portfolio, pure plays like Business Objects SA and Cognos Inc. are getting nervous that their partnerships with the vendor are about to be cannibalized. Unfortunately for them, they are probably right, and by the end of 2007, the competitive landscape in BI will look different than it does today. Office productivity Windows Vista won't be the only major software package to hit the streets from Microsoft in 2007 -- a new and improved version of Office is expected to be on retail shelves at the end of January. But as Microsoft repositions its revamped worker productivity suite as a business intelligence and collaboration tool, keep an eye on online competitors from Google and others to see if they begin loosening Office's stranglehold on the market. The new partnership between Microsoft and Novell Inc. also will be a factor in this space, as Novell plans to support Microsoft's Office document format in its version of the open-source OpenOffice suite by the end of January. This will allow users of OpenOffice to better send and receive files from Microsoft Office users, making the key open-source alternative to Microsoft Office a more viable option for the mainstream user. Service-oriented architectures (SOAs) SOAs have been making "technology to watch" lists for several years running, yet the IT architecture, which is based on the idea of linking independent applications as services in a network to create custom composite applications, is still in its earliest stages of adoption. Expect enterprise companies to continue getting their feet wet by adopting SOA projects to solve specific needs in their businesses, and expect companies such as IBM, SAP, BEA Systems Inc. and Microsoft to continue to trumpet their software products as the best ones to use as the underlying infrastructure for those projects.
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(InfoWorld) - Gartner Inc. analysts expect theÂ release of Windows Vista next year will have little effect on boosting PC sales. In a recent report on PC revenue, analysts for the research firm said they don't think Vista's release in early 2007 will do anything significant to affect the growth of PC sales, which they expect to be up 10.5 percent in 2006 over 2005. "While we think the [Vista] marketing campaign will attract people, we don't see enough there to attract a mass movement or a big growth spurt," said George Shiffler, a Gartner research director. "We don't think it will encourage enough people to replace [their PCs] right then and there." Moreover, he said PCs in general are not at the top of consumers' minds, particularly with the approaching Christmas holiday shopping season. Other consumer electronics may be a bigger lure, especially since Vista will fail to make its originally promised appearance on PCs before the holidays. "There are lots of things people can spend their money on," Shiffler said. "What are PCs going to have going for them? Vista's not going to be out." Microsoft originally promised to have Windows Vista on PCs by November, but in March pushed back its release to consumers until January 2007. Some analysts predict the OS will be out later than that, though online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has Jan. 30, 2007, as Vista's availability date in listings for presales of the OS. In lieu of Vista, Microsoft said Thursday it will have a new consumer electronics product on retail shelves in time for the holidays: its Zune digital music player. The product will allow users not only to play music, photos and videos on a three-inch screen, but also allow them to share files with friends via a wireless connection. This is unlike Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, with which it is designed to compete. It also differs from the iPod by offering an FM radio tuner. In addition to the Zune player, Microsoft also will offer the Zune Marketplace, an iTunes-like service where users can purchase music tracks, and accessory packs for using the Zune player at home or in automobiles.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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The next version of the Windows  operating system, Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT.O flagship product,  will ship in 2006, the world's largest software maker said on  Friday.
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Within its recent response to the U.S. Department of Justice that stated it would modify Windows Vista to enable end users and OEMs to change the default desktop search it uses, Microsoft for the first time discussed Service Pack 1 for the OS, saying a beta will come this year.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft Corp. Friday released what it believes will be the last test version of Windows VistaÂ before the product is released to manufacturing. The company made Vista Release Candidate 2 (RC2), or build No. 5744, available to participants of its Customer Preview Program, as well as to TechBeta, TechNet, Technology Adoption Program and MSDN members. TheÂ previous test release of Vista, RC1, received "excellent feedback" from the estimated 3 million people who tested it, according to Microsoft. The company is using that to put the finishing touches on the overall quality and performance of the OS, it said. Microsoft said that it is still on target to release Vista to business customers next month and consumers in January 2007, though the company continues to give itself an out to miss those dates by saying that the quality of the product is its highest priority. The release of Vista has already been delayed several times. Still, leading financial analyst Rick Sherlund of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a research note this week that he believes all indicators point to a timely release for Vista. "We had been skeptical of the launch scheduleÂ after Beta 2 shipped with problems in May, but the team seems to be making great progress in addressing issues of performance, reliability and compatibility," he wrote in his note. Sherlund also said in his report he expects Microsoft will soon be releasing discount coupons for Vista to customers who purchase PCs that are capable of running Vista before the OS is available. Microsoft has confirmed it has plans to do this, but has officially remained mum on the time frame. However, in his report Sherlund wrote that Goldman Sachs has recently updated its financial outlook for Microsoft based upon both a timely release date for Vista and the imminent release of upgrade coupons.
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(InfoWorld) - AfterÂ several delays, it appears Microsoft may get theÂ next generation of its Windows operating system to customers according to its current schedule. As was expected, the company made Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 available on Friday, which means the OS is in its final round of bug fixes and tweaks before it will be ready for release to the general public. Windows Vista RC1 is available to TechBeta and Technology Adoption Program (TAP) program subscribers Friday, but MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and TechNet subscribers won't get the OS until next week, Microsoft said. Microsoft has said since March that Vista will be available to business users in November and consumers in January 2006. With the last major upgrade to Windows, Windows XP, it was about two months between RC1 and the product's release to manufacturing. If Vista follows a similar schedule, with RC1 out Friday, the release to manufacturing -- and a release to business customers -- could happen as soon as early November. OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) typically need about six weeks to get the OS installed and tested on PCs before putting those machines on the market. If Windows Vista makes it to manufacturing by the end of November, it could hit its January release date for consumers. Online retailer Amazon.com isÂ already taking pre-orders for Vista, and has listed availability of the OS as Jan. 30, 2007 on its Web site. In a letter to TechBeta subscribers on Friday, Jim Allchin, Microsoft co-president of the Platforms and Services Group, thanked them for their support and feedback, and mentioned several improvements to the OS that have been made since Beta 2 was released in May. "Weâve made some UI [user interface] adjustments, added more device drivers and enhanced performance," Allchin wrote in the letter. He added that Microsoft will continue to work on Vista's "application compatibility, as well as fit and finish" until its release to manufacturing, which is yet to be determined. Allchin also advised ISVs (independent software vendors) to use RC1 to certify its applications to run on Windows Vista, and asked for more feedback from testers to improve the OS before its final release. "Windows Vista is going to touch hundreds of millions of lives all around the world," he wrote. "Thanks for everything youâre doing to help us give them the best experience possible." Allchin's letter is available on theÂ Windows Vista team blog .
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In an interview, Ben Fathi, the Microsoft executive in charge of Windows development, said he thinks Windows Vista is on track to meet his goal of the new OS having half the flaws that Windows XP did in its first year.
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With Vista just out the door, Microsoft Corp. is now drawing up plans to deliver its follow-up client operating system by the end of 2009, according to the executive in charge of building the product's core components.
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Forget another five-year wait for the next version of Windows. Microsoft has shared a few details of its next-generation operating system, tentatively named "Windows 7," due in 2010.
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The Microsoft operating system is improved by the soon-to-arrive service pack, but Windows Vista still is missing some features we'd like to see.
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Microsoft  said on Thursday it  was on track to launch its Windows Vista operating system in  Europe in January but again asked the European Commission to  detail concerns it may have with the system.
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The next version of the Windows operating system, Microsoft Corp.&#39;s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) flagship product, will ship in 2006, the world&#39;s largest software maker said on Friday.