Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Vista Gets Official Release Dates 394

Posted by samzenpus from the this-weeks-dates dept.
SlinkySausage writes "Five years, three months and five days after Windows XP made its debut, Microsoft will usher its next-generation OS onto the stage. Microsoft has set November 30 as the release date for Vista (and Office 2007) to business customers and January 30, 2007 as the date for the official launch to consumers and The World At Large."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Vista Gets Official Release Dates More

Vista Gets Official Release Dates

Comments Filter:

  • I've been running it for years! (Score:4, Funny)

    by BadAnalogyGuy ( 945258 ) <BadAnalogyGuy@gmail.com> on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:10AM (#16684755)
    But I liked it better when they called it OS X!

    J/K, I'm not gay.
    • If you were going to compare it your shoul have included a reference to 10.3. It's not cool in the Apple world to imply Win is on par.

      Soryy windows people.

  • 535? (Score:5, Funny)

    by PHAEDRU5 ( 213667 ) <instascreedNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:15AM (#16684783) Homepage
    Surely there's a numbering system where this reads "666".
  • Haven't I seen this before. I can't remember the details, but I thought they already had this planned out months ago?
  • Unless they're particularly sad gamers who MUST play HALO2

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by HiVizDiver ( 640486 )
      ... who could then probably go out and buy an original Xbox AND a copy of Halo 2 for a hell of a lot less than the cost of upgrading to Vista...
    • For that matter, gamers who would rather trade halo2 for all the games that will likely be broken in vista until patches come out. Admittedly I havn't tried vista, but thats how it was in XP. Most serious gamers stuck with 9x until all the tournaments upgraded.
      • Vista is broken much worse than XP ever was. Simply installing a real video driver is a nightmare - on our ATI cards, we're getting all kinds of blue-screens, zero 'real' OpenGL support and worse.

        Even better is the fact that Vista doesn't even recover from a bad video driver installation properly - it's back to windows 95 days - even Linux recovers better from crapped out video driver installs, and this is saying a LOT

        Of course, most of the problem is ATI's drivers themselves, but microsoft's insistence on

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )
      It wouldnt surprise me if Direct3D10 is supported by WINE in the near future (depending on just how different it is to D3D9). So people will be able to play Halo with WINE (or maybe Transgaming WineX/Cdega/whatever if they get there first). It may even be possible to port the Diret3D10-on-top-of-openGL code from WINE over to Windows or to otherwise create a third party clone of Direct3D10 on Windows. Not to mention ReactOS that may well end up supporting D3D10 in the future.

  • Christmas Shopping! (Score:5, Funny)

    by NineNine ( 235196 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:17AM (#16684811)
    Just in time for Christmas Shopping Season! I'm getting everybody in my family a shiny new End User License Agreement (EULA)! I can't wait for Christmas morning around the tree, when we all get to click "Accept" together! Now, that's what I call quality family time.
  • No Vista for the holidays.

    But: "buyers of Vista-ready Toshiba notebooks preloaded with XP Professional or XP Tablet Edition -- which is just about all of 'em -- will qualify for an upgrade to Vista Business for a meagre $27 'shipping and handling' cost. The uber-OS itself, over five years in the baking, is free."

    And here's the best explanation I've found regarding how Corporate/Retail keys will work. Note that I didn't say the explanation was simple.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by dreamlax ( 981973 )

      Toshiba pride themselves in being a "genuine" Windows provider (I work for Toshiba). Although, quite a few laptops have a second partition on the hard drive which is a media player. Basically instead of booting to Windows it boots to this small OS that just plays DVDs so you don't have to wait for Windows to load . . . and guess what OS that might be? Yeah . . . Linux. And, for a very, very, very brief moment, you can see the words "Loading bzImage...".

  • Well, this is the so manyeth announcement from MS about when Longhorn/Vista will be released. I guess that the inclusion of exact dates should give us some more confidence that it will really happen, this time. However, it's still interesting to see how many timeframes and features Microsoft announced that they never lived up to.

  • Why is the delay such a big deal? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wizrd_nml ( 661928 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:23AM (#16684853) Homepage
    Let me say up front I consider myself computer savvy but definitely not a programmer or an expert. My question to everyone is, why is everyone so upset about how long it's taking for Windows Vista to come out?

    As far as I can see, Windows XP, with patches, a firewall and Firefox seems to be working fine. I don't feel the need to upgrade as soon as Vista comes out.

    They're late on the deadline they originally set for themselves. But I don't see anyone else losing any sleep over it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by linguae ( 763922 )

      Five years between operating system releases is a very long time in the computer industry. Look at how OS X improved in five years (from OS X 10.0 to OS X 10.4, with OS X 10.5 coming out sometime in the spring). Look at how KDE and GNOME have improved over 5 years. Look at some other 5-year periods of time in the computing industry. From 1991 to 1996, we went from DOS and Windows 3.0 to Windows 95 and Windows NT, and that is just on the MS side of things.

      Five years without any changes other than securi

      • Windows XP Service Pack 2 is practically a new operating system. This patch replaced everything with new binaries. The decision not to call it a new operating system was Jim Allchin's. He talks about it in an interview with Mary Jo Foley here http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=65/ [zdnet.com].

        I guess they didn't add anything different to the look and feel though. It's always a pain when you've been working on a huge backend, but when the boss has a look the GUI guys get all the credit for adding cornflower blue butto

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by vought ( 160908 )
          Windows XP Service Pack 2 is practically a new operating system..... The decision not to call it a new operating system was Jim Allchin's.

          If that's true, then as a shareholder, I think his dumb ass should be fired.

          Compared to Google and Apple, Microsoft looks like a drunk trying to remember how to get the key in the ignition over the past five years - and yes, I think that means they're about to make a really stupid mistake by releasing Vista as is.

          I don't see business using it for at least a year. Consumer
        • There was supposed to be something called XP Reloaded, like 98 to XP's 95.

          I guess that's what SP2 turned into.

        • Re:Why is the delay such a big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by baadger ( 764884 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @05:19AM (#16686005)
          SP2 was a gigantic jump in terms of security, but it was a far cry from a "new OS" by respectable standards (Maybe by Microsoft's). The problem with Microsoft is they don't seem to take the time to make any *non-essential* improvements to their OS's once they're out the door. IE7, and perhaps WMP 10, surely must be the only things MS has ever released to improve the user experience in XP and they only exist because of Vista.

          Sure, fancy new apps and UI's should be saved for new versions (like Vista), they have a business to run after all, but what about improvements to CPU scheduling or memory management?

          Linux (2.6.18) performs *much* better under load than my XP x64 installation which is always swapping out when it doesn't need to (When *I* notice a performance hit when I have free RAM going to me that means the algorithm obviously isn't right for desktop use) and grinds to a massive halt under heavy CPU load. When I copy a large file from one disk to another in Windows I may as well just go make a brew because the XP shell itself becomes as slow as frozen tar. Linux remains interactive even under 100% cpu load or when moving large files around across disks.

          Anyone who tells me that XP have made improvements in this area has to be joking. Sure they may have put in some tweaks here and there, but it's marginal if anything and not on par with other OS's in 2006.

          IMHO Microsoft should release two versions of their "Service Pack"'s, one purely a security response roll-up *plus updates to improve to underlying architecture (kernel updates)* and the other a bundle of applications and UI/user experience enhancements like we're getting in Vista. People could pay for the latter. Then they should release these upgrades incrementally every year *on the dot* and do away with the stupid 5 year life cycle. Yes this is like Apple does it and it does it better better. As someone who's never used or bought a Mac in my life, I still think Microsoft need to take a page out of Apple's book and adopt some of their practices.

          Vista will be the same old flawed release, it'll be glitchy until service pack 1 and Microsoft will never release anything other than essential security updates for it through Windows Update. The Ultimate Extras thing will be a joke because noone will use it after shelling out hundred's of dollars already.

          All I'm saying is Microsoft need to wake the fuck up and realise people don't want to run Windows Update and see 60 obscure looking boring security updates and hundreds of meg to download. They want to see "Update: Improvements to the look and feel of IE7", "Update: Improvement to desktop responsiveness under load" and "Update: Improve ease of use of ripping music with WMP" and i'm sure if people saw these updates flow out of Redmond on a reliable basis they would be willing to pay for them on a yearly subscription basis if it was fairly priced.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbIII ( 701233 )
        Look at how KDE and GNOME have improved over 5 years

        If people are suggesting that these sets of applications are operating systems it is time for me to move to another forum.

        • In Windows and MacOS, the desktop is part of the OS. It seems perfectly valid to compare those to Linux distros, which would include KDE or GNOME as part of the package, especially when a shiny new interface is one of the only notable features for Vista users.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by linguae ( 763922 )

            That is exactly my point. The Linux kernel hasn't changed too greatly in the past 5 years, but the desktop environments for Linux (and BSD) have improved greatly. Linux is harder to judge since there are so many separate components, so I focused on the desktops, since that is the most fair comparison to OS X and Windows.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shados ( 741919 )
      Its mostly because Microsoft, with its (quickly fading) monopoly and recent poor record on a number of sides, all the pushed deadlines, etc, kind of owes its customers a lot. For the non-customers (macs and linux users), its also a good way to bash Microsoft.

      Honestly, from a developer's point of view, the recent trend was a blessing. Aside for a few hiccups, we didn't have much to worrie about. For internal apps, even IE6's stagnating was kind of a blessing, to some extent: less time spent testing new ve
    • Ask yourself the opposite question, "How is the next generation OS from Microsoft going to give me more value than me having to spend a couple more hundreds on something I already got or could get with a Mac.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bit01 ( 644603 )

      My question to everyone is, why is everyone so upset about how long it's taking for Windows Vista to come out?

      Easy. M$'s marketers have spent many millions of dollars for years trying to raise expectations and a "need" for Vista. No surprise that some people start complaining when those expectations are delayed and/or unfulfilled.

      ---

      Vista: Billions of marketing words and no delivered product.

    • Re:Why is the delay such a big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by suv4x4 ( 956391 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @03:02AM (#16685399)
      My question to everyone is, why is everyone so upset about how long it's taking for Windows Vista to come out?

      The logic is simple. Slashdotters, and a lot news/blog sites just become artificially "upset" at everything Microsoft does. So don't be surprised.

      Vista delayed? OMG we're upset!
      Vista release dates announced? OMG we're upset!
      Microsoft patents something? OMG we're upset!
      Microsoft opens the patent of something? OMG we're upset!

      Basically never mind what Microsoft does, is quickly wrapped in conspiracy theories and doomsday scenarios, and frequently the logic is so weak, that the whole thing reads better as light attempts at sarcasm.
    • I'm upset because of the late release because I want a toy to play with at work.
      Like most companies don't push out all the new microsoft stuff but this will cause us to start upgrading abunch of new server and software (aka toys) just because microsoft is now starting to remove support for older stuff.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tim C ( 15259 )
      Vendors are upset because a new OS helps to drive hardware sales, and some people will be holding off getting a new PC until they're available with Vista pre-installed.

      Some people here are "upset" because this makes MS look bad, so they're all over it as they are with anything that gives them a chance to throw FUD and laugh; some are upset because they're genuinely looking forward to some of the new features; some are upset because of the flood of pointless "hahaha Vista sux0rz! M$ l0053rz!!!" stories poste

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Because it is a big deal, IMHO. (Score:5, Informative)

      by ichigo 2.0 ( 900288 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @04:43AM (#16685883)
      I'm looking forward to DX10, lower CPU usage (because the UI is run on the GPU), the ability to prioritize I/O (no more 10 fps in games if you move big files around on your computer at the same time), SMB 2.0 (transfers should survive now if the network is disconnected for a moment), virtualized registry (programs run in their own little world = less fudging around with regedit to clean up broken stuff), improved windows APIs (this is mostly for us programmers), improved audio system (ability to mute/adjust sound per application instead), multitasking of GPUs, general bugfixes and improved stability. This was just off the top of my head.

      A better question would be why some people (excluding mac & linux users :) are not looking forward to Vista? Aside from the DRM (which will be promptly cracked), that is.

  • Breaking news (Score:5, Funny)

    by ameyer17 ( 935373 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:27AM (#16684881) Homepage
    Unseasonably cold temperatures predicted for November 30th in Hell.
  • on when the first patch will be released, and another for SP1

  • Can't Wait for Apple (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Killer Eye ( 3711 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:28AM (#16684889)
    Somehow, I see this going a little like Apple's surprise price reduction for the iPod just before the Zune came along: Microsoft employees scrambling to hack some last-minute changes into their strategy after hearing what Apple is doing.

    So imagine MacWorld just before this January 30 Vista release. Jobs has already shown he's not too afraid to take a stab at Redmond. We all expect some surprise Leopard features that speak for themselves, but expect some intentional jabs as well. Maybe even a TV commercial campaign to steal thunder from the TV campaign Microsoft is sure to launch (because they always do).

    Personally, I predict the real show-stopper will be a surprise price reduction from Apple. Seriously, if they knocked Leopard *down* to $99 or something, Microsoft would be looking really bad.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gordgekko ( 574109 )

      Personally, I predict the real show-stopper will be a surprise price reduction from Apple. Seriously, if they knocked Leopard *down* to $99 or something, Microsoft would be looking really bad.

      Yes, just imagine all the Mac owners who were waiting for Vista. Now they'll have to make do with OS X running on their Apple-branded computers.

      How exactly is this going to affect Microsoft exactly? You really think the average Wintel user takes notice of Apple OS pricing?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tsa ( 15680 )
        Many people at the moment are waiting for Vista to arrive before buying new hardware. With the prices of Macs these days, it doesn't really matter wether you buy an Apple or a good Windows box. Many people are fed up with all the viruses etc they have to cope with every day, so OS X is a good alternative to MS for more and more people.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mh101 ( 620659 )
      I think the biggest stab at Microsoft that Apple could do, would me for Steve to come out for his keynote and talk about Leopard's features for a bit, and then come out and say, "And I'm sure you're all wondering when Leopard is going to be available. Well, guess what? We're shipping it today, a whole three weeks before Vista!"

      Although I'm not expecting it, I wouldn't be surprised. I wasn't expecting the first Intel Macs to be available as early as they were.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by vought ( 160908 )
        "And I'm sure you're all wondering when Leopard is going to be available. Well, guess what? We're shipping it today, a whole three weeks before Vista!"

        Wouldn't be the first time Apple shipped ahead of schedule to embarass their competitors.

        And given the strides OS X has been making, I wouldn't be very surprised to see old Nanook Jobs rub the yellow snow of a leapfrog release in Ballmer's face.

    • Somehow, I see this going a little like Apple's surprise price reduction for the iPod just before the Zune came along: Microsoft employees scrambling to hack some last-minute changes into their strategy after hearing what Apple is doing.

      I don't know about y'all, but I am dog tired of trying to read about technology, only to have my news and analysis cluttered with daily speculation of what might be up Apple's sleeves. I guess it's fun to speculate, but this is getting downright Pavlovian. Apple doesn't have

  • oh my (Score:3, Funny)

    by chowdy ( 992689 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:28AM (#16684897)
    Repent the end is extremely fucking nigh
  • Vista shipping?

    The Leopard/Ubuntu update must be coming along a lot faster than expected. I can't wait to delve into all those nifty features Vista has promised over the last few years! That kick ass WinFS addition will surely make my life easier.

    <C:\>ongrts.win
    indeed.

  • 5 years, 3 months, 5 days... Yet still... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Beren ( 21815 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:38AM (#16684955)

    ...manage to beat Duke Nukem Forever.

    According to this page [duke4.net], DNF has been in (in)active development for over 8 years...

  • University licenses (Score:3, Interesting)

    by thesupermikey ( 220055 ) on Thursday November 02, 2006 @01:50AM (#16685013) Homepage Journal
    Does anyone have any details on which flavor of Vista will be made available for university licenses?
  • So when will the first DirectX 10 hardware be available?
  • Word of warning to anyone planning to jump in on Nov 30, make sure you can get Vista drivers for *everything* you want to use.

    I played around with Vista RC1 a bit last week on a spare machine. For the most part, I was actually pretty impressed with the ease of install. Inevitably there were a couple of devices (onboard audio and USB wireless) that it didn't support. However, it seems that the driver model has changed pretty significantly from XP/2000 as these didn't work at all.

    So the release date isn't

    • From my experience, you right click on the program, and set compatibility mode to XP SP2 and the drivers install themselves like the old way. As far as my understanding was all of the new models (video drivers, Direct X 10, etc) had wrappers built in to allow for old drivers to be used...
  • I'm so glad MS will let Sony, Disney, Diebold, SCO, HP, and all those other nice folks try out Vista and work out any remaining kinks before home users see it. MS, putting users first!
    • Actually its more like Microsoft milking their most lucrative market first. They make more money on business sales than from home computer sales. They could care less for home users. If they did we wouldn't have WGA.
  • ...to be locked out of running my software, playing my music and videos, and generally having my hardware crippled for Christmas. I've been good all year. I've been looking forward to my windows advantage. Why oh why can't I have my "trusted computing" and DRM for Christmas?

Slashdot Top Deals

Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, In kernel as it is in user!

Close