Vista Already the Forgotten Heir to the Windows Throne
Vista what? Vista who? As if it wasn't hard enough being Windows Vista already
-- what with the love for XP in the user base, the scant enterprise adoption
and the routine pounding in the trade press -- the man most responsible for
making Microsoft what it is today is already talking about Vista's successor.
Bill Gates kind of, sort of said that Windows 7, Vista's successor and an OS
that won't have to follow a legend like XP, might
come out in 2009. The rest of Microsoft -- from which Gates is supposed
to finally, officially retire this year -- put
the kibosh on that notion, saying that the 2010 release date most pundits
expected is still circled on Redmond's calendar.
Really, though, the date doesn't matter that much -- unless it bleeds into,
say, 2012, Vista-style. What matters is that Vista is so maligned that news
that its successor might be even a few months early has set the trade press
on fire. And, although we here at RCPU have always contended that most people
would eventually use Vista the way they now use XP, we're not so sure about
that prediction anymore.
We always figured that, Microsoft being Microsoft, Windows 7 would be a year
or two later than expected, and Redmond would just end XP support and push everybody
to Vista. Well, if Windows 7 really is due in 2010 (or, especially, 2009), and
it's on schedule, then Vista might really get the William
Henry Harrison treatment (ahem, history buffs -- he died after 31 days as
president) or might just never really hold office at all.
For partners, it's not the end of the world. They can build on XP, on Vista,
on Windows 7...whatever. But, as far as dramas go, Windows release-date sagas
are always fun to watch, and this one is getting an early start. Stay tuned.
Will you skip Vista if Windows 7 really is coming out in 2009 or 2010? Or would
you have skipped it, anyway? Sound off at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on April 08, 2008