More on Vista Delays

The recently announced Windows Vista delays are certainly causing quite a stir, which was expected. The amount of stir being caused within the company itself though seems to be greater than I'd have anticipated. Usually, most Microsoft employees are fairly good at backing company decisions, but many seem to be getting quite frustrated at this point. Some are even calling for exec level firings, which to be honest seem reasonable at this point. They have dropped the ball multiple times now while getting compensated quite nicely. The reality here is that Microsoft has put themselves in a very tight spot. They have really hyped Vista, so when it does come out it has to be good. If it's not the stock price will suffer as will the companies long term reputation. At this point in the game, they can't afford that. I'm sure that's why the painful decision to delay was made. But, the longer they delay, the weaker they seem. The rumblings about whether they can actually produce will get louder and the stock price will suffer as will the companies long term reputation. The proverbial chink in the armor is growing. Now, don't get me wrong, when Vista does finally ship it is going to see wide adoption. Consumer OEM installs will come first and with SP1 corporate America will follow. Microsoft and Windows aren't irrelevant, despite what you might read or want to believe. The marketshare is just too big. But, how many more delays and under delivered releases can they stand before the current status quo changes? It's a very tenuous time for Microsoft on both the Windows and Office fronts. The day when you can walk into a CIO's office and ask “what would it take to replace Windows on the desktop” without getting a blank stare are on the horizon…and I'd guess it's going to come faster than Microsoft had anticipated. Luckily for them, they're diversifying like crazy these days. Let's start a pool for what year neither Windows or Office will be the biggest revenue generators for them company will be :) On a somewhat related note, Scoble points out another case of journalistic stupidity, which is something I've covered here time and time again. If Microsoft could rewrite 60% of the entire codebase in that time frame do you think they'd have delayed the product this many times? That's just nonsensical, but it sure did make headlines.
–jeremy
Vista, Windows Vista, Windows, Microsoft, Scoble