A Short History of Windows Vista Delays
For anyone who uses Microsoft products, Windows Vista delays have resulted in prolonged groans or, in some cases, sighs of relief. It's
not a unique phenomenon, these almost reliably announced delays, in fact you probably know it as vaporware. However, the high profile of the operating system for most desktops makes
it a little more interesting. As illustrated by the articles below, the operating system that has now succeeded XP has changed
a lot from what it was planned to be, to what it is today.
Below are announced or predicted dates for Vista's release and their subsequent delays, starting most recently, with selected exerpts from those articles.
New Windows software system delayed
from eitb 24
"We will ship Windows Vista when it is available," Kevin Johnson, co-president of Microsoft's platforms and services unit
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said the cautious comments represent a delayed confirmation of his thesis that Microsoft would not begin to see revenue from the general availability of Windows Vista until March or April 2007.
Date for Vista release: Revenue from general availability in April or March 2007
Date: July 30th 2006
Gates Says 80% Chance Windows Vista Will Ship By January 2007
from Dailytech
"We got to get this absolutely right. If the feedback from the beta tests shows it is not ready for prime time, I'd be glad to delay it..." said Gates
Date for Vista release: End of January or Feburary
Date: July 11th 2006
Vista Will Ship "When it's ready"
from Dailytech
As Ballmer himself states "Certainly, when Windows Vista comes to the market next year, and it will be next year, we will make sure that we make a high quality product, ship a high quality product, when it's ready."
Date for Vista release: When it's ready
Date: May 24th 2006
Gates: Features Removed from Longhorn to Meet Deadlines
from silicon.com
"We're pretty unique in what we're doing. The normal kind of thing people talk about in terms of search--we will have that stuff in Longhorn '06."
Date for Vista release: Late 2006
Date: August 27th 2004
A Longhorn Delay? Not Quite
from WindowsITPro
A tech industry analyst recently predicted that Longhorn's release will slip to 2006, a prediction that's so obvious, given the 2005 target date and Microsoft's historic inability to meet time tables for major products, that it shouldn't have even merited discussion.
Date for Vista release: 2006
Date: September 2nd 2003
The Road to Windows Longhorn 2003
from WinSuperSite.com
Nothing says it better than a slide from Microsoft itself.
Date for Vista release: 2005
Date: May 7th 2003
Microsoft makes strides on new Windows
from news.com
The operating system, code-named Longhorn, is expected to debut late next year or early in 2005. But analysts who examined the latest test release, dubbed "Milestone 5," which leaked onto the Web last week, said Microsoft appears to be slightly ahead of schedule.
Date for Vista release: Late 2004 or Early 2005
Date: April 28th 2003
Longhorn Slips Again
from The Register
Unless Brent has got the date down wrong we're talking about the next major rev shipping in 2006 earliest, which given commercial realities would mean a rollout in Q2-Q3 2006, which means a gap of getting on for five years from XP to Longhorn...
Date for Vista release: Middle or Late 2006
Date: June 25th 2002
The Road to Windows 'Longhorn'
from WinSuperSite.com
But I recently received word that Longhorn will be shipping far later than originally thought--think 2005--and this furthers the probability of an XP2E release before then.
Date for Vista release: Paul's Prediction was 2005
Date: January 14th 2002
Windows 'Longhorn' To Succeed XP?
from BetaNews
Blackcomb was initially slated for a late 2002 release, but Microsoft officials now concede even Longhorn may not hit that mark.
Date for Vista release: Late 2002
Date: July 21st 2001
Kevin Castor July 11th 2006, Updated January 29th 2007 kcas88@gmail.com
『I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me.』 - Dave Barry
