What's the big deal?

What is the big deal about Microsoft delaying the release of Vista? XP is still a stable and reliable platform-albeit with few security holes- and I am quite happy to continue using it. I am not sure what the fuss all about is. All the PCs are not going to grind to a halt if the Vista is not released on the announced date.

Everyone complains about MS not paying too much attention to security. But when they delay the product to improve the security they complain even more. Isn't it better to release a more secure OS than just try to meet a deadline? What going to be funny (for me, but certainly not for MS) is, even after the release, few will still complain Vista is unnecessarily loaded with features most of us are never going to use and it is a collusion between MS and Intel to force people in to buying more powerful hardware. In my opinion Microsoft has 2 main goals for Vista (Home User Version)

1. Turn the humble PC in to the entertainment hub and the centre of your household.
   Move the most expensive electronic device in your house from the study in the corner to the living room in the middle of your house. Make people look at a PC as the integral part of their life (this will have many worried about our increasing dependency in technology), rather than looking at a stand-alone device you switch on only when you need to send an email, type a letter or do your budget. This opens up a whole new revenue stream for MS (this will worry even more people). They can offer subscriptions services such as digital downloads (movies, music) and "software as service"


2. Challenge Apple in GUI area.
   Apple has always be known for their exceptional GUI. MS is borrowing many concepts from OS X (as usual) for Vista.

In both cases MS doesn't have much to worry about. Except for few projects like MythTV there are no other players in the Home Entertainment PC area. Apple is still expensive and doesn't have whole load of software available for it to attract mainstream PC users.

What MS have to worry about is, their sloppy track record when it comes to security and Linux becoming more and more popular (also due to Linux is becoming more and more user friendly). So, I think MS has done the right things by focusing on the quality rather than the due date.

Said that, MS has to lift it's game in the future. As, more nimble (at least for the moment) organisations such as Google are entering the domain dominated by MS, MS can't afford to lag behind anymore. Specially with Google's concept of "software as service" they can always release a service first and continually improve it. So, Google is going to have small mile stones, rather than one dead line. MS is going to find it difficult to compete if they still plan to sell software as "products". I suppose that's why MS has started Office Live.

The concept of software and the way we consume it and the way we use the computers is going to go through some dramatic changes in the future. It's going to be interesting times.