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Microsoft Offers Users New View of Windows

Posted on: Monday, 25 July 2005, 15:01 CDT

Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, chose Windows Vista as the name of its next Windows operating system on Friday, and said the version will be released in the second half of 2006 after a two-year delay.

The name reflects the software's ability to help customers see more clearly, said Greg Sullivan, Microsoft's lead product manager. Initially codenamed Longhorn, Windows Vista will be available to developers for testing on Aug. 3.

The naming of Windows Vista marks the beginning of Microsoft's marketing for the program after a five-year gap between Windows versions, the longest-ever lag. The delay of the software, which runs almost 95 percent of the world's personal computers, crimped the company's sales growth to its lowest ever.

Branding is key for products such as software, which the consumer can't touch or see, said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a consulting firm.

"Name can be as much as 20 percent of the consumer's purchasing decision,'' said Passikoff, based in New York. "Very few consumers understand what they are buying, what they see is the output. It's not a mattress you can go to a store and sit on or a book you can hold in your hand.''

A preliminary test version of Windows Vista will be sent to software writers and corporate information technology managers who will test the program's "plumbing,'' Sullivan said. A second test version, including more features for users, will be distributed after that.

Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, which on Thursday reported sales of Windows for PCs rose 6 percent in the year ended June 30, down from 11 percent, fell 76 cents to $25.68 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading on Friday.

Windows Vista will have new technology to help connect PCs to other household gadgets, Microsoft's Sullivan said.

"Vista has to be connected to other devices, people and Internet services'' Sullivan said. "We have specific features for device synchronization and connecting to Web services.''

Microsoft had originally slated Windows Vista for release in 2004. The product was pushed back as Microsoft shifted engineers to repairing security flaws in XP and boosting protections against computer viruses. The resulting upgrade, Windows XP Service Pack 2, became available to existing Windows customers in August.

The Longhorn code name came from a bar in the Whistler-Blackcomb ski area of British Columbia. Windows XP was code-named Whistler.

The next update will be code-named Blackcomb. The Longhorn bar is located between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.

Source: Daily Breeze

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