Just over one year ago the new Windows Vista OS hit the streets and many early adopters picked up a copy of the latest and greatest OS.  I'm sure many of them hoped that Vista would be the next XP, which was released October 25, 2001 and is still as prolific as any OS could be.   Think about that, Windows XP is now nearly 6.5 years old and is still going strong.  So strong in fact that many of the large OEM computer makers talked Microsoft into allowing them to offer Win XP again as a pre-installed option.  How could Microsoft say no?  It was demanded in the business market and businesses would rather stick with their aging workstations than to purchase new PCs if they had Vista on them.  Do you think Dell, HP, Gateway, etc would stand for that? 

The home market has been different though.  Microsoft really pushes vendors hard to make sure the home user's next PC has Vista installed.  They've spent the last 3 or 4 years in development so they better get it out to the public.  For some reason, I still have a feeling that Vista just hasn't broken through and really resonated with consumers.  Microsoft picked up on this too and has been working on the 1st service pack for Vista, which is to be released sometime this spring.  They've been vocal telling companies not to wait for the service pack to upgrade, but to get their copies now so that when the service pack comes along it will be an easier transition for them.  I haven't seen a rush for Vista yet however, and was starting to get the impression from my clients and others that they were leaning on waiting for 6 months to a year after Service Pack 1 to make sure it patches what it was supposed to patch and do what it was touted to do. 

If people wait too long they may as well just wait for the next iteration of Windows.  Yes, Microsoft is already leaking information about the next iteration of the Windows operating system, called informally Windows 7.   This is very interesting to say the least.  Now they have a highly used and very stable OS in Win XP, a shiny new OS with high expectations (Vista), and now the "just kidding with that Vista thing, this is the new OS" OS (Windows 7).   By the time Windows 7 is expected for release they may have put out Service Pack 2 for Vista but do you really think there will be any desire to make Vista better if they're shooting for Windows 7 now as the new XP replacement (coming out in late 2009)? 

Now I know that Microsoft is constantly in the process of making new operating systems as well as other products but why would they start leaking information about Win 7 when it's been barely a year since Vista's release.  I don't remember hearing about Vista a year after Win XP was released.  I imagine that's because Microsoft wanted XP to be "the" OS for users for a long time, which it has been.  Now they seem to be undermining Vista by doing this.  It's almost as if they see that businesses and even home users are just not buying into the Vista experience and decided to hit the drawing board again. 

If Microsoft doesn't have faith in Vista, who will?  What do you think about this subject?