Vista Debuts Without Huge Fuss

New Microsoft Operating System Goes On Sale, But There's No Rush To Buy It

(CBS/AP) 
In Raleigh, CompUSA advertised its special sale in Sunday newspapers and ran radio ads letting people know it was the only place in the area where people could get their hands on Vista at midnight.

"For geeks like us, this is very exciting," Didier said, adding that he expected Vista's launch to boost computer sales. "It gives people a compelling reason to buy a computer now."

The easiest way to see if your machine is compatible is to go to www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready and download a free program that will scan your system and tell you what, if anything, you need to do to make your machine Vista ready, says CBSNews.com technology analyst Larry Magid (story).

Though consumers can download Vista over the Web for the first time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told one audience that, as in the past, most consumers will switch to Vista only when they buy new computers.

More than five years in the making, Vista was released for businesses Nov. 30, but the unveiling for consumers only came Tuesday. The software retails for $100 to $400, depending on the version and whether the user is upgrading from Windows XP.

Microsoft contends that Vista is such a huge improvement over previous computing platforms that users inevitably say "Wow" when they see it.

"Today's a big day, because we put so much into this one, and people really underestimate what it's going to do for the industry," Gates said.

"This is an important product in terms of its future legs," Brian Cooley of CNET told CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. "It's the system we're all going to be running, corporate and personal, a few years out."

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CBS News' Anthony Mason Checks Out Vista's Features

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Vista comes as changing dynamics of computing — notably the rise of open-source software and Web-based services that replicate what traditionally could be done only on a desktop computer — are threatening Microsoft's dominance in the industry.

But Gates contended that the operating system has a higher profile than ever before, as the PC has morphed from a souped-up typewriter to a networked entertainment center, personal media library and gateway to the Internet.

"People are using the Windows PC more than they're watching TV. They're doing more than just creating documents," Gates told Miliano (audio). "They're instant-messaging, they're digital music, digital photos."

And in this case, Vista has folded in programs that users once bought separately — including automated backup systems and some spyware protections.

Microsoft built Vista so that different layers could be upgraded separately, so it's possible that this is the last massive, all-in-one update for Windows. No matter how Microsoft chooses to roll out Vista's successor, Ballmer said there's still work to be done.

"Developers need a richer platform if we're going to get speech, voice, natural language, and more rich 3-D-type graphics into the user interface," Ballmer said. Plus, the technologies around the PC — chips, storage, high-definition DVD — will all evolve, he said. "The operating system will need to evolve with them."

Over the weekend, Dell Inc. started taking orders for PCs with Vista. Kevin Rollins, Dell's chief executive, said the company's Web site saw a 20 percent jump in traffic, with "tens of thousands of copies" of Vista sold for delivery Tuesday or later.

In Tokyo, about 80 people lined up Monday night at the Bic Camera Department Store to become among the world's first consumers to own Vista. Celebrities and executives were on hand as a large-screen TV displayed a countdown to the midnight launch (10 a.m. EST).

The second person in line, Fumihiko Koyama, 33, waited three hours and was hoping the new operating system will make his work in Web design easier.

"My expectations are very high for Vista," he said. "I want to try it out because it's new."

For a Tuesday morning store celebration, DSG International PLC's flagship PC World store in central London hired costumed characters, including Sherlock Holmes to signify security and a movie star to emphasize multimedia.

PC World spokesman Hamish Thompson said some retailers are banking on Vista to push customers toward the higher-end machines needed to run Vista — which imposes such hardware requirements as 1 gigabyte of system memory, or RAM. Consumers will also need to upgrade older software and devices to work with Vista.

[brinker24]

Sure I could buy Vista, but who would buy a whole new house just to get another refrigerator?

[Free Citizen]

I think the most significant development here is the the very much belated release from Microsoft a 64-bit OS. Digital, SGI and Sun had that more than ten years ago. The sad reality is that most of the current software that is runing on Windows now isn't written to take advantage of the 64-bit environment. So, it is not only a matter of upgrading to Vista but we need to upgrade our Application softwares as well, in order to have any meaningful benefit out of this release. New UGI notwithstanding.

[talkingham]

I've read that in the Microsoft effort to get control of what they call "premium digital content" many existing hardware components including audi spdif ports and video in/out ports of a variety of types on existing hardware will no longer work. This is done I suppose to make that only the Chinese can copy stuff.

I have no plans to by VISTA any tiem in the near future. It is a totally overblown pile of manure.

[rf35]

Well, by no means will I buy anything Steve Jobs put his mark on. I found out a few years ago that I'm not Mac-compatible. If I get within about 10 feet of a Mac, it either crashes or starts malfunctioning in some other way. I can%u2019t even use an i-pod. I%u2019ve had one die completely and another that I have to restore every few months to keep running. It now stays in my wife%u2019s car.
I don%u2019t like the few Macs I've met. Not enough buttons on the mouse and the keyboards just seem strange to me. I have issues with their OS even when it does work. PC%u2019s work fine for me. My home system is fast, reliable, has never had any security problems, and does what I ask it to 99% of the time. The worst problem I%u2019ve had was due to a hardware manufacturing defect. I need to upgrade the graphics card and memory soon. I%u2019m not sure, but is that even possible with a Mac or do you have to buy a whole new system? My brothers use Macs and they seem to be buying new ones every 2-3 years. In any case, I%u2019m in no rush to buy Vista. Maybe in a year or two when I need it to run some new bit of software I want or if a massive design breakthrough makes a 6+ gig processor and I decide to spring for a new computer, but for now I%u2019ll stick to good old XP.

[toshi43]

I wonder how many people actually bothered to see if there were any hardware compatibility issues with Vista before they bought it. Just for the heck of it, I ran the Vista Upgrade Advisor and lo and behold, all kinds of compatibility problemss popped up, from my scanner, mouse and webcam, which the Advisor said wouldn't work in Vista, to installed programs that have 'minor' problems. All this in spite of the fact that I have a new 'Vista-ready' computer.

Another major issue that no one seems to be aware of involves the integration of DRM into Vista. I can hardly wait to see the line-ups of people returning their brand new OS when they find they can't play premium content on their non-HDCP compliant monitors.

XP works just fine. I'm not about to spend hundreds of dollars to give MS and Hollywood control of what I do with my computer, not to mention the money to 'upgrade' my hardware.

[tigeros]

Vista is way overpriced and still a copy of Apple. An upgrade should be more like $50 for home and $100 for business. I have 6 computers running XP which is stable, my children have 5 and my grandchildren have 13. Does Gates REALLY think I'm going to upgrade all of these? Not a chance. I also run Linux on 3 of these and my favorite, Mac OS 10, which has never crashed and always advises me of updates automatically. The updates also aren't 600 megs like Windows. The only way to get Vista "affordably" is to buy a new computer. I will delay that as long as possible too. Sounds like Gates wants his $6 billion development cost back right away. signed, happy with XP.

[random_radar]

There were a lot more people lined up to buy the World of Warcraft expansion at midnight than there were to get Microsoft Vista. I am not planning to buy Vista at all. I will limp along with Windows XP until the next thing after Vista.

[CBSTV]

It seems to me that unless there's an overwhelming reason for using Microsoft Windows, the Macintosh is the sensible choice. Most home computer users don't want to become security experts to keep their PCs running smoothly. Macs today can even run Microsoft Windows programs at full speed via Boot Camp or Parallels software.

When it's time to upgrade/replace the PC, a Mac will take its place here.