Microsoft starts Windows test, launch on target

By Daisuke Wakabayashi

SEATTLE  - Microsoft Corp. launched its second major test version of the

Windows Vista operating system  as a senior executive said he was

"confident" the company will meet its targeted release date.

The world's largest software company also said it was starting trials of its

upcoming Office 2007 business software suite and its Windows Server system

code-named "Longhorn."

The next version of Windows is called Vista and will be the first major

overhaul in five years of the operating system, which sits on 90 per cent of the

world's computers and accounts for nearly a third of Microsoft's total revenue.

The follow-up to the current Windows XP offers beefed-up security,

translucent windows for easier scrolling and can display and record

high-definition television on the computer. It also allows the user to search

for information on the PC and across the network.

Microsoft originally targeted a 2005 launch for Vista, then pushed the

release out to 2006 before announcing in March that Vista would again be

delayed. Microsoft set a January 2007 launch for retail consumers and it pushed

back the launch of Office 2007 to move together with Vista.

Long-time Windows chief Jim Allchin said Microsoft is confident it will meet

its launch target, even though other Windows releases have undergone a longer

gap between second test release and the start of production.

"At the top level, (this test version is) better quality than most

things we've released before," Allchin, co-president of the company's

Platforms & Services Division, said in an interview.

Earlier this month, research group Gartner Inc. said the company likely would

delay the new Windows launch by at least three months because it is so complex.

Gartner had expected Microsoft to release the second major test version or

"beta 2" of Vista during the current quarter.

"Our position has been that we believe it will ship in wide release nine

to 12 months after beta 2," said Michael Silver, research vice president at

Gartner. "We still think there are significant challenges."

Windows Vista, Office 2007 and "Longhorn" represent a set of

crucial new product releases for the company's effort to stimulate sales growth

and jump-start a stock that has underperformed every major U.S. stock index

since 2002.

"Each of these is a very important product," said Microsoft

Chairman Bill Gates at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, adding that

they were the company's "three most important products."

Allchin, who announced last year that he planned to retire once Vista was

complete, said the company is better able to track the trouble spots users

encounter within the Vista test and assign engineers to fix the bugs.

Microsoft has "thousands" of engineers working around the clock to

fix problems. Allchin said the company aims to improve Vista's compatibility

with certain applications, performance and the ability of users to upgrade from

Windows XP.

Allchin said he would not hesitate delaying the release of Vista again if the

product's quality were not up to par.

"We took a lot of pain for moving the date before, but quality will

remain the top thing. However, we feel very good about where we are at,"

said Allchin.