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| Microsoft Vista released for sale | Microsoft Vista released for sale |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, starts its global roll-out on Thursday, being first made available to business customers. | Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, starts its global roll-out on Thursday, being first made available to business customers. |
| The system, a replacement for the firm's current Windows XP operating system, will not be available to home consumers until the end of January. | The system, a replacement for the firm's current Windows XP operating system, will not be available to home consumers until the end of January. |
| With Windows running on nine in 10 of the world's PCs, analysts agree the new version should be a big success. | With Windows running on nine in 10 of the world's PCs, analysts agree the new version should be a big success. |
| However, Vista is two years late and its consumer launch misses Christmas. | However, Vista is two years late and its consumer launch misses Christmas. |
| A huge but slow success | A huge but slow success |
| Last minute delays at Microsoft meant that computer makers would have been able to install Vista only on about half the computers that they were hoping to sell over Christmas, said Al Gillen, a Vista expert with technology consultancy IDC. | Last minute delays at Microsoft meant that computer makers would have been able to install Vista only on about half the computers that they were hoping to sell over Christmas, said Al Gillen, a Vista expert with technology consultancy IDC. |
| Start: Vista users will not have to learn Windows from scratch | Start: Vista users will not have to learn Windows from scratch |
| Microsoft predicts that Vista will be the fastest-selling operating system to date. | Microsoft predicts that Vista will be the fastest-selling operating system to date. |
| Experts agree, but say this is merely a result of the wider usage of computers compared to five years ago, when Windows XP launched. | Experts agree, but say this is merely a result of the wider usage of computers compared to five years ago, when Windows XP launched. |
| Corporate customers, meanwhile, will take their time deploying Vista as well. | Corporate customers, meanwhile, will take their time deploying Vista as well. |
| "Our big corporate customers were the first to test Vista, but will probably be the last to introduce it, because they have the most [hardware and software] to test for compatibility with Vista," said Gareth Hansford, managing director of Lenovo UK, the company that was IBM's PC division until it was bought by Lenovo of China. | "Our big corporate customers were the first to test Vista, but will probably be the last to introduce it, because they have the most [hardware and software] to test for compatibility with Vista," said Gareth Hansford, managing director of Lenovo UK, the company that was IBM's PC division until it was bought by Lenovo of China. |
| He expects corporate customers to begin large-scale rollouts of Vista in about a year's time. | He expects corporate customers to begin large-scale rollouts of Vista in about a year's time. |
| IDC's Al Gillen agrees, and points to a very unusual feature built into Vista, which allows IT managers to "downgrade" the software on new computers and run Windows XP instead. | IDC's Al Gillen agrees, and points to a very unusual feature built into Vista, which allows IT managers to "downgrade" the software on new computers and run Windows XP instead. |
| Once the company is fully Vista-ready, the IT team can simply activate the original Vista license bought with the new PC. | Once the company is fully Vista-ready, the IT team can simply activate the original Vista license bought with the new PC. |
| Most analysts believe that Vista will dominate computer desktops in about two years' time. | Most analysts believe that Vista will dominate computer desktops in about two years' time. |
| Microsoft's core product | Microsoft's core product |
| VISTA VERSIONS Vista BusinessVista EnterpriseVista Home BasicVista Home PremiumVista UltimateVista Starter Microsoft pins hope on Vista | VISTA VERSIONS Vista BusinessVista EnterpriseVista Home BasicVista Home PremiumVista UltimateVista Starter Microsoft pins hope on Vista |
| Microsoft has invested a lot of money and effort to get Vista ready. | Microsoft has invested a lot of money and effort to get Vista ready. |
| More than 10,000 workers reportedly have worked on getting the operating system ready for deployment. | More than 10,000 workers reportedly have worked on getting the operating system ready for deployment. |
| The company says that Vista is designed to be much more secure than any of its previous operating systems, while home users can look forward to much better game play and the integration of Microsoft's media centre into the main operating system. | The company says that Vista is designed to be much more secure than any of its previous operating systems, while home users can look forward to much better game play and the integration of Microsoft's media centre into the main operating system. |
| The XP successor will come in six versions, from very simple installations for low-powered computers to fully-loaded corporate editions. | The XP successor will come in six versions, from very simple installations for low-powered computers to fully-loaded corporate editions. |
| Vista's success is crucial to Microsoft's finances. | Vista's success is crucial to Microsoft's finances. |
| The corporate division responsible for Windows is generating nearly a third of Microsoft's turnover, and a much higher share of its profits. | The corporate division responsible for Windows is generating nearly a third of Microsoft's turnover, and a much higher share of its profits. |
| Office 2007 | Office 2007 |
| Microsoft has combined the launch of Vista with the release of the newest version of its productivity software, Office 2007, and its networking software Exchange. | Microsoft has combined the launch of Vista with the release of the newest version of its productivity software, Office 2007, and its networking software Exchange. |
| The suite of programs - encompassing a word processor, spreadsheet, database and more - can run on both Windows XP and Vista. | The suite of programs - encompassing a word processor, spreadsheet, database and more - can run on both Windows XP and Vista. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY It took us years to get everything up to XP and secure so I'm not changing it again! Chris, London href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4853&edition=1" class="">Send us your experiences Microsoft says that the combination of Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange combined will allow corporate customers to make hefty productivity gains. | |
| Several rivals of the company, however, have complained that Vista's new design is making it more difficult for them to get their products to work - for example anti-virus software. | Several rivals of the company, however, have complained that Vista's new design is making it more difficult for them to get their products to work - for example anti-virus software. |
| The dispute is likely to put Microsoft under scrutiny again, with the European Commission already voicing concerns whether Vista is shutting out competitors. | The dispute is likely to put Microsoft under scrutiny again, with the European Commission already voicing concerns whether Vista is shutting out competitors. |