The Launch of the Launch Is About To Be Launched
Explain this to me, please. We have three new Microsoft products about to ship.
They've all been in beta, so millions have used them. Meanwhile, dozens of books
have already been written. When it comes to Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange
2007, they hold fewer secrets than Paris Hilton's Sidekick.
But this is Microsoft we're talking about. For Redmond, you leak that you're
going to build something, and -- after several hundred stories are written --
you publicly disclose such plans. Then, after a few thousand more articles,
you announce your intention to actually build such a thing. After a few months
and many more articles, it finally makes it to beta and tech journalists fall
all over themselves to discover the next little feature.
Eventually, the code is gold and all the secrets are known and dissected. So
it should just ship, right? Not for the masters of PR. For Microsoft, it's time
for launch. So break out the Moet et Chandon, crank up the tunes and bring in
the celebs. This is a press event as shallow and contrived as a new Madonna
hair color.
So on Nov. 30, when Vista, Exchange and Office are all launched, ignore the
tech press -- as we'll simply tell you all the things you already know.
But if your PCs and servers have a few hundred spare megabytes, it might be
fun to download these
babies. They should all be far superior to their predecessors.
Meanwhile Microsoft loosened Vista licensing after IT had a major conniption.
Read the good news here.
Posted by Doug Barney on November 07, 2006