“Up to 60% of the code in the new consumer version of Microsoft new Vista operating system is set to be rewritten as the Company ‘scrambles’ to fix internal problems a Microsoft insider has confirmed,” David Richards reports for Smarthouse News. “In an effort to meet a deadline of the 2007 CES show in Las Vegas Microsoft has pulled programmers from the highly succesful Xbox team to help resolve many problems associated with entertainment and media centre functionality inside the OS. The team are also working closely with engineers from the Intel Viiv team. and it is now expected that the next version of Viiv could be delayed to line up with the launch of the consumer version of Vista at the 2007 CES Show in Las Vegas.”
“One of the key components of the consumer version of Vista is the Media Centre code. This will be an optional package in the same way that Microsoft currently sell a Professional and Home version of XP. With Vista there will not be a seperate Media Centre SKU,” Richards reports. “Microsoft has also admitted that it has major problems in it’s Windows division and has has immediatly initiated a total restructure of the division, a move that comes after a costly delay in rolling out its Vista program.”
Full article along with the text of an internal memo written by Kevin Johnson the Co-President of the Windows division here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “mango” for the heads up.]
Advertisements:
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
Microsoft reorganizes moribund Windows unit – March 23, 2006
Microsoft’s inability to ship Windows Vista leaves door open for Apple – March 23, 2006
Tech writer: Forget booting Windows on Macs, now is the time for Apple Mac to take back share – March 23, 2006
Microsoft Vista fumble could lead to score for Apple Mac; Mac OS X Leopard may beat Vista to market – March 23, 2006
Analysts: Apple could benefit from Microsoft’s latest Vista slip – March 22, 2006
Forbes: Microsoft’s Vista slips again – Steve Jobs must be waking up a happy man this morning – March 22, 2006
What’s the difference between Mac OS X and Vista? Microsoft employees are excited about Mac OS X – March 22, 2006
Vista delay causes Windows-dependents slump in pre-market trading; Apple rises – March 22, 2006
Enderle on MS Vista slip: ‘I personally can not recall Apple ever getting an opportunity like this’ – March 21, 2006
Microsoft delays Windows Vista again – this time until January 2007 – March 21, 2006
Excuse me while I snicker.
All I can say is wow. MS has a Copeland on their hands.
what is the half-life ?
So they pulled people from the Xbox team (which still screwed up– look at the glitches in the 360) to fix up Windows? Good move, real smart. Get the console people to fix PCs.
Amazing……..I think the ship has a huge hole in it……
MDNews Magic Word: “Hotel” as in “I want to get a Hotel in Redmond to watch the action”
*crickets*
is anyone too shocked?
Way to go mango!
I think a lot of what’s mentioned in the article has to do with the Trusted Computing chip being cracked so easily.
(Apple used it to supposely lock Mac OS X to hardware and of course it failed)
Apple is most likely hard at work with a stronger lock for their OS, just we don’t hear about what Apple’s up to internally all that much.
But I’m sure Microsoft will not make their deadline, on top of that, there will be years of bugs because of the legacy kernel still being supported.
This, combined with Office 2007 being delayed, if Apple seriously invaded the enterprise market they could make serious market share gains.
Of course Intel would limit processor production and slow Apple up.
WinTel Alliance, got to love working with the devil.
Hey Bill and Steve: just trash the whole thing and save everyone the trouble…
60%? This must be the “amazing wave of innovation!”
Five years later, one rewrite and 60% incomplete and they expect it to ship in January?! Yeah, right. In what fairy tale land is that going to happen? They could get all the programmers in the world to code 24 hours a day for the next 6 months and they would not have come one step closer to approaching the fit and finish of OS X. Gosh, I hate Windows.
I get the sneaking suspicion that this cluster*#!! will somehow adversely affect MS Office for the Mac out of pure bitterness. I can see Monkey Boy Ballmer jumping up and down like a crazed lunatic in the Mac Business unit stoming on Macs and boxed versions of Office for Mac hollering at the top of his lungs as he drags MSBU developers by the hairy armload kicking and screaming to the abysmal Windows development building. Heaven forbit his giant tongue not kill anyone in the process.
Write 100% of the code from scratch and run XP in a Virtual Machine.
Whatever Mycrowsoft releases in January, it will bear no resemblance to what was once called Longhorn.
My prediction is that “Vista” for consumers won’t be released until mid summer 2007.
Mycrowsoft has always been a shoddily managed firm. What we are seeing now, is the ugly underbelly after its abusive business practises have been stripped away, revealing the sloth that is Mycrowsoft.
The only innovation at MS is their use of the word over and over in their memos and interviews.
I think BE is still for sale. It’s not too late.
[…] The team are also working closely with engineers from the Intel Viiv team. and it is now expected that the next version of Viiv could be delayed to line up with the launch of the consumer version of Vista at the 2007 CES Show in Las Vegas.”
…or they could give Apple a shot at coming up with something that appropriately uses Viiv.
As someone said, rewriting 60 % of the Vista code and then have time to bugtest it before januari 2007 simply isn’t possible. If this figure is correct, and I think it seems suspiciously high, then we won’t see Vista for atleast another year… If not longer.
Um, wow. How on Earth can Microsoft possibly pull this off by January?
Not to mention the fact that they just changed their management of the project….
Derrick: “The only innovation at MS is their use of the word over and over in their memos and interviews.”
exactly!
As I recall, Mac OS X 10.0 was not quite ready for prime time either. The difference is that Apple was the only hardware manufacturer effected, and they were able to ship dual-boot machines with the legacy OS along side OSX. Somehow, I doubt M$ will allow machines to ship with both XP and Vista on them. And you just know Dell, HP, et al are counting on Vista to give them a big sales boost. Delaying it hurts a lot more than just M$.
How long until one of those manufacturers tries to strike up a deal with Apple to license OSX? And would Jobs do it if they ponied up the $?
Thought I saw this quote:
This gives one real confidence that this software will be a winner. It is clearly a very well managed software project with clear objectives and no doubt it will make IT Executives very happy to know that they can look forward to many years of problem free, secure computing under Windows VISTA. End quote.
Rob Enderle
Global Computing Enterprises
60%.. Internal problems?
GO Microsoft!
it was true 30 years ago when it was first written, but it is still true today :
“Adding more personnel to an already late project only makes it later”
MW : “eyes” the eyes of the computing world are on redmond
60% WTF that cannot be right..can it?