Windows Vista Released (Finally)

January 30, 2007 — by Per Christensson

So the new Windows operating system ships today, right on time (after a dozen or so delays). If I remember correctly, Vista (previously code-named Longhorn), was originally slated to ship in 1989. That might be a slight exaggeration, but it sure has been a long time coming.

After more than 5 years and 6 billion dollars spent on development, I hope that Vista will be a well-received upgrade. Otherwise, people may continue to switch to alternative platforms, such as Linux, or Apple's Mac OS X, which has included many of Vista's new features for several years.

If there is one certainty in the technology business, it is that no company is invincible. Just look at the video game industry, where the seemly unbeatable Nintendo was beaten at its own game by Sony's Playstation, and then even surpassed by Microsoft. However, Sony, the electronics behemoth, has also struggled over the past few years and lost a significant amount of market share to companies like Samsung and LG, who were not even taken seriously only a few years earlier. Now Sony's Playstation 3 is getting beat out by Nintendo's Wii system.

When market leaders fail to innovate and do not make smart business decisions, they can be surpassed by unlikely companies. Sometimes these companies are previous industry leaders who have fallen from the top, but have since gotten their act together. This is why competition in the technology industry sometimes comes around full circle. Sony, once the leader of the electronics market, now has some catching up to do. With Google and Apple intruding on Microsoft's territory, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft will soon face the same challenge.