Microsoft Is Not Delaying Vista Again as Beta 2 Looms

Microsoft Is Not Delaying Vista Again as Beta 2 Looms

Subscribe to Windows IT Pro: http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F68:610453

====================

To ensure that future email messages you receive from WinInfo Daily UPDATE aren't mistakenly blocked by antispam software, be sure to add WinInfo_UPDATE@list.windowsitpro.com to your list of allowed senders and contacts.

====================

This email newsletter comes to you free and is supported by the following advertiser, which offers products and services in which you might be interested. Please take a moment to visit this advertiser's Web site and show your support for WinInfo Daily UPDATE.

Microsoft http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F69:610453

==== Sponsor: Microsoft ====

IT Manager Connections Webcast Series from Microsoft Check out the brand new series specifically designed for IT Managers. May and June Webcast content includes Value of Integrated Platform-- Framework and tools to evaluate and manage your current environment and plan for the next 3 years; Vista/Office 2007/Exchange 12 will be highlighted; IT and Business Alignment--How to achieve strategic alignment between IT and business goals and how to advocate IT value across teams; IT Governance--Proven best practices to achieve better security and compliance through effective IT Governance. The series features third-party experts and industry analysts. Their perspective combined with Microsoft IT manager peer expertise will prove very relevant to enable IT Managers to build business and build careers on Microsoft Platform. Register today at http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F69:610453

==== In the News ==== Microsoft Is Not Delaying Vista Again as Beta 2 Looms

by Paul Thurrott, thurrott@windowsitpro.com

A Gartner research note this week warns that Microsoft "may" delay Windows Vista another two months. But in addition to an official denial from Microsoft, my sources say that the Gartner warning is off base.

Here's what really happened. Earlier this year, Microsoft granted Gartner unprecedented access to its internal processes, apparently in an effort to prove that the software giant was, in fact, on track to ship Vista by the end of 2006 as promised. Gartner, however, concluded differently and said that Microsoft would likely delay Vista because it's too complex to meet the scheduled late-2006 completion date. Gartner says it believes Microsoft won't be able to ship Vista until sometime between April and June 2007. Although the software giant quickly disagreed with this conclusion, it has been widely reported as fact.

Aside from my internal Microsoft sources, my own experience covering Microsoft suggests that Gartner is incorrect. According to Gartner, the reason for the delay is that Microsoft will soon ship Vista Beta 2 and the company will need 9 to 12 months after Beta 2 to complete the product. Windows XP, Gartner notes, took 5 months between Beta 2 and its final release, but Vista is more complex than XP. Gartner says that from a complexity standpoint, Vista is more comparable to Windows 2000, which required 16 months to progress from Beta 2 to the final version.

But that comparison is ludicrous. When Microsoft shipped Win2K Beta 2 in 1998, Win2K was still called Windows NT 5.0 and the product was horribly off track. Within months, the company assigned Brian Valentine to take over Win2K development, and he helped guide the project to its completion a year later. Vista today is much further along than was NT 5.0/Win2K Beta 2. And it's much closer to the shipping version of the product than the Gartner report suggests.

Granted, predicting another Vista delay is a fairly safe bet. Microsoft has already delayed Vista several times, and delaying it again from January 2007 to April or June 2007 won't make a big difference from a sales perspective. And after all, Microsoft has said Vista was on track before and then delayed the product. But nothing at present suggests that Microsoft is ready to delay Vista yet again. While Gartner could very well have seen something at Microsoft that caused it to believe the company is ready to delay the product once more, the aforementioned comparison with Win2K is bogus.

In related news, Microsoft continues work on Vista build 5381, which will be finalized as Beta 2 on May 22. Attendees of the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2006 will receive Vista Beta 2 on DVD, and Microsoft plans to seed the build with testers, other partners, and millions of consumers via a widely distributed Community Preview Program (CPP) in the following days. If you've been waiting for a chance to get your hands on Vista, that day is finally coming.

Editor's Note: Calling All Windows IT Pro Innovators! Have you developed a solution that uses Windows technology to solve a business problem in an innovative way? Enter your solution in the 2006 Windows IT Pro Innovators Contest! Grand-prize winners will receive airfare and a conference pass to Windows and Exchange Connections in Las Vegas, November 6-9, 2006, plus more great prizes and a feature article about the winning solutions in the December 2006 issue of Windows IT Pro. Contest runs through August 1, 2006. To enter, click here: http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F6C:610453

==== Events and Resources ====

Design effective policies to protect your company's assets and data. Don't accidentally damage what you mean to protect! View this on-demand seminar today. http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F67:610453

==== Featured White Paper ====

Learn how to address challenges such as making email truly available 24 x 7 x 365, securing against viruses, comprehensively backing up email data, and more. http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F66:610453

==== Announcement ====

Windows IT Pro Master CD--SAVE 50%! Subscribe today and get portable, high-speed access to the entire Windows IT Pro article database on CD-ROM: a searchable library that includes every Windows IT Pro issue ever published. The newest issue also includes BONUS Windows IT Tips. Order now and save: http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F6A:610453

==== Contact Us ====

About the newsletter -- letters@windowsitpro.com About technical questions -- http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F6E:610453 About product news -- products@windowsitpro.com About your subscription -- windowsitproupdate@windowsitpro.com About sponsoring an UPDATE -- emedia_opps@windowsitpro.com

====================

This email newsletter is brought to you by Windows IT Pro, the leading publication for IT professionals deploying Windows and related technologies. Subscribe today! http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F6D:610453

Manage Your Account You are subscribed as news-and-stuff@arconati.us

You are receiving this email message because you subscribed to this newsletter on our Web site. To unsubscribe, click the unsubscribe link: http://penton.whatcounts.com/u?id=28351AE7DCFB1F6C8FD23874C7FFA79B

View the Windows IT Pro privacy policy at http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=28F6B:610453

Windows IT Pro is a division of Penton Media Inc. 221 East 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538 Attention: Customer Service Department

Copyright 2006, Penton Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.