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Microsoft Vista corporate sales go very well

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CIOL Bureau
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By Franklin Paul

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NEW YORK  - Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said corporate sales of Vista are going "very well," and he expects the consumer launch of the new Windows operating system to spur demand for personal computers.

Microsoft began to sell Vista, the first major upgrade of its dominant operating system in five years, to companies and institutions last November and will launch retail sales on Tuesday.

Asked by Reuters how corporate and institutional sales were going, Ballmer said: "So far, very well. So far I would say the reaction has been incredibly positive."

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Industry watchers have said many corporate information technology executives are taking their time, as they often do for major software changes, opting to test Vista to see how it handles applications unique to their organizations.

Vista upgrades the operating system used on more than 90 percent of computers and features translucent windows to make it easier to view items on the desktop, an improved search system and improved reliability and security.

In the first year of its release, Vista will be installed on more than 100 million PCs worldwide. But because only about 15 percent of existing computers have memory and graphics cards powerful enough to run premium version of Windows Vista, it could trigger a wave of PC purchases.

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"There is a pent-up set of consumers who are going to get new PCs," Ballmer said in an interview. "We will see an uptick (in PC sales). Sales will be stronger than they otherwise would have been."

Microsoft is set to unleash a marketing blitz with the launch, including a host of events in New York's Times Square and midnight sales at many retail stores.

"Because of new innovation enabled in PC design with Vista, such as new touch screens, new laptop designs, new wireless designs ... we will get more exciting PCs in the market and that will fuel PC growth," he added.

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The world's largest software maker released the operating system, an upgraded version of its software suite Office and PC server products to corporate and other large customers in November.

Ballmer rebuffed the notion advocated by some that this may be the last hurrah for a monolithic Windows operating system release, as Web-based services and companies like Google Inc. shift the focus away from the need for a powerful PC.

"It's just wrong," he said of that belief. "There is still a lot of innovation that needs to come, and that innovation needs to come in the operating system. We are doing new releases, and we are excited about the innovation we are bringing to Windows."

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Innovations Ballmer hopes Microsoft will not have to bring to Vista are so-called "service packs," used to patch operating system holes used by hackers to harm PCs or steal information.

"The goal is to not have service packs unless we need them," he said. "There is no reason to believe we are going to need one, but we always have needed them, so we are perfectly prepared to do one at the appropriate time."

He added: "This will be the most secure, safest version of Windows we have ever done. The need for critical updates will go down."

(Additional reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle)

© Reuters

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