Microsoft's Vista operating system ready for the world

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft declared its long-awaited new Vista operating system finished on Wednesday.

"It is rock-solid and ready to ship," Microsoft co-president of platforms Jim Allchin said at a press conference after Vista was given final approval by the Redmond, Washington, software giant.

"This is a significant milestone for Microsoft."

Vista was shifting to an "RTM" phase in which computer programmers and manufacturers tailor their wares to the new operating system.

"We are giving it out as fast as we can right now," Allchin said.

Vista would be released to "volume customers" before the end of November and would be available worldwide in PCs on January 30, 2007, Allchin said.

"We've made some big claims about Vista and I truly believe we will deliver them," Allchin said.

Vista was more secure from hackers, performed more reliably, was more energy efficient, and worked with more devices and applications than the Windows XP operating system it was replacing, Allchin said.

The changes to the operating system were necessarily evolutionary instead of revolutionary so users wouldn't need to buy new hardware to use it, said analyst Michael Cherry of Directions on Microsoft.

"It's worth upgrading, but I don't believe everyone is going to run out and buy the new system," Cherry told AFP. "If you think it is time for a new computer you should really consider having that machine run Vista."

"And if you are currently running anything older than Windows XP Two, you should upgrade."

Microsoft will release the RTM operating system in five languages and will have it available in 18 languages by the consumer market release early next year. Allchin said Vista eventually would be available in 100 languages.

Agence France-Presse

Quote:It is rock-solid

:lol: