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Microsoft Leaks Vista Pricing By Elizabeth Millard August 29, 2006 9:54AM Because of its need to develop an operating system for such a broad base of customers, Microsoft takes much longer to make system tweaks, said Samir Bhavnani, Current Analysis director of research, and naturally a complete OS overhaul will take time to perfect.   Related Topics Vista Microsoft Windows Latest News Endeavour Inspected for Damage Autism Risk for Kids of Older Mothers Go Online and You Can Save the Planet In Haiti, Relief Gaps Are Spreading U.S. To Form Climate-Change Agency A slew of Internet buzz was started when the price for Microsoft 's upcoming Windows Vista operating system was accidentally leaked on the company's Canadian Web site. Even though the information was immediately taken down from the site, word spread quickly on the Internet that the Home Basic edition of Vista will be $233, the same price as Windows XP Home. The Home Premium version comes in slightly higher, because it includes support for Media Center. According to the site, Windows Vista Business will be priced at about $341. Release Date The pricing information comes during the same week that Microsoft is expected to put out Release Candidate 1 (RC1), the final testing phase of the new operating system, and it gives an indication that Vista is close to a final version. Public release of the RC1 could come as early as the first week of September, although Microsoft has scheduled to release it later in the month. Both the RC1 release and the price data could be a sign that Vista is on schedule, analysts note. In the past, the operating system's schedule has slipped several times as developers worked on bugs. Most notably, hardware manufacturers complained when Microsoft noted that Vista would not meet its December deadline, which could negatively affect new PC sales during the holidays. Coming Soon Schedule uncertainty for Vista was also heightened recently when the system's Beta 2 version -- the last step before RC1 -- caused widespread grumbling among testers. Released publicly in June, the beta version is allegedly plagued by bugs and memory consumption issues, according to some testers. But even if RC1 displays similar problems, that does not mean Vista will be starting from a weak position when it is released in its initial versions, noted Samir Bhavnani, Current Analysis director of research. "Microsoft is attempting to meet a formidable goal, which is to create an easy-to-operate, secure OS," he said. "But keep in mind that Windows is on most of the world's computers, and that means they have to service an extremely large audience of both business and consumer users." Because of its need to develop an OS for such a broad base of customers, Microsoft takes much longer to make system tweaks, Bhavnani said, and naturally a complete OS overhaul will take time to perfect. The recent bugs and issues are standard for such a process, and the pricing leak from Microsoft Canada shows that the company is likely close to getting Vista out the door. "Vista is a huge project, but also a huge improvement," said Bhavnani. "It will give users a very different experience than what they have today."   Tell Us What You Think Your Comment: Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com Advertisement  Microsoft/Windows 1.   MS: Windows 7 Doesn't Hurt Battery 2.   Tips for More Windows 7 Productivity 3.   MS: Russian Pirates Scamming Us 4.   Patch Tuesday Will Tie MS Record 5.   Battery Drains Linked To Windows 7 Tips for More Windows 7 Productivity Win 7 is chock-full of unsung features. Average Rating: Is Bill Gates Batting for Team China? He implies Google is overreacting. Average Rating: Rush IE Patch Coming Says Microsoft Exploit testing tools are being updated. Average Rating:

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Microsoft Says Battery Woes Not Caused By Windows 7 Battery problems on Windows 7 machines are not caused by the operating system. That's the position of Stephen Sinofsky, head of the Windows division, in a long posting on the Windows engineering blog.   IBM's New POWER7 Servers Save Energy with Big Loads IBM has unveiled high-capacity servers that are the first to be based on its new, multi-core POWER7 chip. It said the new line is designed "to manage the most demanding emerging applications."   'Dead Simple, Dirt Cheap' JooJoo Tablet Shipping Soon The JooJoo, a web-browsing tablet device that is the subject of a high-profile legal dispute, appears on track to reach buyers at the end of February, but the tablet scene has dramatically changed.

Mobile Enterprise Spotlight

To Love or Not To Love: Apple iPad Pros and Cons Now that the iPad has officially been announced, opinions are rolling in on this device that combines the features of an iPod, e-reader, and tablet PC. Will the iPad turn fewer heads than the iPhone?   Analysts See iPad Price Drop, with Some Cannibalization Just weeks before Apple officially rolls out the iPad, financial analysts are making pricing predictions. But could the analysis itself hinder the initial demand for the pricey tablet computer?   Bar Codes Go Mobile, Get Hip Again For decades, retailers have used patterns of black dots and lines to encode data onto products. Now, bar codes are gaining favor as an easy way for cell-phone users to view ads and other data instantly.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Google May Add Facebook, Twitter Links to Gmail Google will reportedly roll more social-networking features into Gmail, the fastest-growing e-mail service. The new features could save users the trouble of switching to Facebook or Twitter.   IBM's New POWER7 Servers Save Energy with Big Loads IBM has unveiled high-capacity servers that are the first to be based on its new, multi-core POWER7 chip. It said the new line is designed "to manage the most demanding emerging applications."   IBM Opens Eco-Friendly, Cloud-Focused Data Center IBM has opened its latest data center in North Carolina. Big Blue said the $362 million facility in Research Triangle Park is designed to support cloud computing and other new computing models.

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