14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's latest operating system Windows Vista was launched to business on November 30, 2006 and to the general public on January 30, 2007. After the operating system hit the shelves, the first reactions pointed out shortcomings in application, device and hardware compatibility. The end of July is synonymous with six months of availability for Windows Vista, and Microsoft acknowledged that the operating system was not ready for the world back in January. However, the Redmond company twisted the confirmation so that Vista wouldn't be at fault.
"Compatibility is now at critical mass with Windows Vista. You know, when we introduced this product on January 30, like all platform introductions, we had introduced it to a world that wasn't quite 100 percent ready for it. There were compatibility issues that remained, there were driver issues that remained. And I can tell you that five and a half months in, that situation has changed, and changed materially," stated Mike Sievert, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Marketing during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007.
Jim Allchin, former Co-President, Platform and Services Division, revealed even as far back as 2006, that Windows Vista would be a case of updating a brand-new operating system. Allchin emphasized the fact that the "frozen in time distribution problem was a non-issue" in the context of Windows update and Automatic Updates. Despite this, Vista did ship with approximately 20,000 device drivers, twice as many as Windows XP. Sievert informed on the fact that Windows Vista is now entering its final stage of adoption, large scale deployment across corporate environments. This because Vista is finally ready for the world, and the world is finally ready for Vista; all it took was six month of availability.
"And it's always the last stage. Why is that starting to happen? Because a number of changes have happened that make that experience great for the customers over the last couple of months. (...) Device coverage is now nearly complete. Nearly 100 percent coverage of devices with drivers on Windows Update. And acceptance of the logo and choice by ISBs to differentiate using the certified for Windows Vista logo is at a strong pace. The thing I think that makes me feel like we're in a very good position with Windows Vista is the experience that the customers are now having with the product," Sievert commented.
Microsoft is on the brink of releasing the first beta for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The service pack itself is planned for availability in November 2007, a date unconfirmed by the Redmond Company yet. And according to Microsoft, all the "major critical enterprise applications are now addressed" means that the adoption rate of Vista can only go up. The operating system currently accounts for 4.52% of the market.