Microsoft Vista: Not People Ready Yet

By Andrew Peterson

At Microsoft’s "New Day for Business" launch in New York City on November 30, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about the concept that he calls the "People-Ready" business. "People-Ready business is really, in our mind, a business that recognizes very much that people are its number one asset," Ballmer said. He continued, "How do we give people the tools they need to deal with the issues, and to accomplish the goals of the organization?"

That sounds like a good question, but perhaps the question Microsoft should be asking itself is when will they be giving people those tools. The newest iteration of the Windows operating system, Vista, whose marketing slogan is "People Ready," has yet to show the world whether it’s ready for anything. The Windows operating system hasn’t been overhauled this extensively since 1995, and techies the world over have been holding their breath to see if this new version can live up to all the hype. Problem is, they’re running out of air. Vista, initially known as Longhorn, was originally expected in 2001. Then developers pushed the release date out to 2003; then 2005; then 2006.

During the "New Day for Business" event, designed to showcase some of Microsoft’s newest upcoming releases, more than 500 tech buyers sat in a conference hall with glazed eyes wondering why they’d been invited. The programs being proudly demonstrated by company reps were astoundingly complex and awkward, with numerous pull-down menus, dozens of buttons, and a network of connections among various applications. When a Microsoft VP demonstrated how a new program will let you use voice commands from a cell phone to fetch e-mail messages from an Outlook account, the audience actually laughed out loud. Ironically, many in the audience weren’t watching the voice-activated demo because they were checking their e-mail on their BlackBerrys.

During Ballmer’s keynote speech, most members of the press that were gathered in the room paid no attention to him, talking out loud without even bothering to whisper. Afterward the press room was abuzz with grumbling about how disappointing and pointless the entire show had been. Some members of the media later wrote about how much the language used in the Microsoft event duplicated some of the advertisements that IBM began running just a few days later. Ballmer had taken a few jabs at IBM during his speech, saying that IBM’s products aren’t innovative anymore. Many wondered if Ballmer’s comments, and perhaps the entire event, were designed to blunt the new ad campaign from IBM.

The awkwardness of Microsoft’s "New Day for Business" event—or "nonevent" as one reporter referred to it—was exacerbated when just a few days later the company announced yet another delay in the release of Vista. The most recent delay didn’t result in widespread disappointment and surprise; everyone’s become immune to disappointment because of the many delays announced before this one. The real surprise will come when Vista actually hits the shelves. With Microsoft’s stock growth and public appeal beginning to be eclipsed by other companies, the computer giant should start following through on its promises of release dates, or the public will start to get a craving for apples.