The Microsoft chairman just “threw a cold shower” on even the most optimistic individuals by stating that there is only an 80% “guarantee” that Vista will be launched in January 2007, following numerous delays.
Speaking to Microsoft’s software partners in South Africa, Bill Gates affirmed that he would continue to postpone the release of Vista if any shortcomings or flaws are discovered in the testing phase.
Currently, the final beta version of Vista has reached users. The complete enterprise version of Vista will be launched this November, but the finished consumer version of Vista will have to wait until early next year—assuming everything goes smoothly according to plan.
“We must ensure Vista is 100% complete. If the feedback from the final beta is not good, then Vista is not ready to be announced. I will … be very happy to continue postponing,” Gates said.
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| Source: Fortune |
Gates revealed that Microsoft has invested $8-9 billion in the development of Vista and the latest Office suite—two of the company’s main revenue sources. However, Microsoft’s software partners are expected to invest up to 20 times that amount in developing and implementing related programs.
Despite expressing a lack of optimism regarding the situation with Vista, Gates remains hopeful that the latest Office version will launch in December.
“The Vista operating system will be equipped with voice and image recognition tools, backed by stringent security measures,” Gates stated. “Vista will no longer rely on passwords (which are very easy to crack) but will shift to digital authentication.”
The largest market for both Vista and Office will soon be China. According to Gates, China is now the world’s number one mobile phone market, and there is no reason why the country should not aim to become a leader in the PC, broadband, and software markets in the coming years.
“We all need to be present in China. Although only 20% of this country’s population currently has access to IT,” Gates mentioned. He also predicted that software piracy in China would diminish, as the country is increasingly strengthening its intellectual property rights.
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