Vista general release date revealed
Published: 13 Oct 2006 13:10 BST
Microsoft has revealed a general release date for its upcoming operating system Vista — 5 December, 2006.
Speaking to IT professionals, parliamentarians and senior law-enforcement officers at the Parliament and Internet conference in London on Thursday, Microsoft revealed its release plans.
"We will officially launch Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 on 5 December," said David Hipwell, a Windows client sales professional at Microsoft.
Microsoft had originally slated Vista for a 2006 fourth quarter release, then revised Vista's estimated time of arrival to January 2007. Thursday's statement firmly pushed the general release date back into the original pre-Christmas slot. The business version of Vista — Vista Business — is still expected in November.
Microsoft said the original projected release date had been pushed back because of security considerations.
"When we started developing Vista, Microsoft was getting battered for holes in the operating system," said Hipwell. "We've done a lot of work around security, which is why it's taken so long."
However, Microsoft said it was unrealistic to expect the operating system to be completely secure.
"You won't ever come up with a system that's 100 percent secure," said Matt Lambeth, director of government affairs for Microsoft.
Further versions of Vista expected to hit the market in December are Ultimate, Home Basic and Home Premium.
Microsoft also firmed up the release dates for its server product Exchange 2007 and for Office 2007, having previously said the products would be available "late 2006 or early 2007".
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