Ballmer: It’s ok to wait until Windows 7; Yahoo still ‘makes sense’; Google Apps ‘primitive’ | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Vista’s honor–again–but at least gave a nod to enterprise buyers that planned to skip it and upgrade when Windows 7 launches. He also noted that a Microsoft purchase of Yahoo would still make sense, but there are no talks. And he called Google Apps primitive while he was at it.
Ballmer, speaking at the final keynote at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Orlando (Twitter feed), came to the stage in the middle of an economic swoon where enterprises are still debating whether to upgrade to Vista. Ballmer spoke via a Q&A with Gartner analysts Neil MacDonald and David Mitchell Smith.
First, Ballmer defended Vista’s honor as he had at last year’s Gartner’s powwow.
“The adoption rate of Vista is faster than the adoption rate was of XP two years in,” said Ballmer, who noted that there were issues with compatibility. “We had a great success with security and starting to see a ramp with adoption.”
MacDonald countered with Gartner survey data that 61 percent of respondents are thinking about skipping Vista. Ballmer said that Microsoft would be ready for that outcome too. Mentioning Windows 7–he quipped about the creative naming convention of using just “7″–he indicated that Microsoft would be ready for folks that want to skip Vista. In fact, he said Windows 7 would be compatible with Vista.
“Our next release of Windows will be compatible with Vista. The key is let’s get on with it. We’ll be ready when you want to deploy Windows 7.”
Ballmer was asked why Windows 7 is considered a major release instead of just the second rev of Vista. His reply: “It’s not minor because it’s a lot more work than a minor release. It’s a major release.”
Ballmer also noted that Windows 7 will improve the operating system shell. “Windows 7 will be Vista, but a lot better,” he said, noting cleanness of user interface. Is this fit and finish improvement? Gartner analysts kept referring to Windows 7 as a release candidate 2.
Another key question: Given the economic environment, why upgrade to Vista?
“If people want to wait they really can,” said Ballmer. “But I’d definitely deploy Vista.” He noted that most IT buyers upgrade the OS when they deploy new machines.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Vista’s honor–again–but at least gave a nod to enterprise buyers that planned to skip it and upgrade when Windows 7 launches. He also noted that a Microsoft purchase of Yahoo would still make sense, but there are no talks. And he called Google Apps primitive while he was at it.
Ballmer, speaking at the final keynote at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Orlando (Twitter feed), came to the stage in the middle of an economic swoon where enterprises are still debating whether to upgrade to Vista. Ballmer spoke via a Q&A with Gartner analysts Neil MacDonald and David Mitchell Smith.
First, Ballmer defended Vista’s honor as he had at last year’s Gartner’s powwow.
“The adoption rate of Vista is faster than the adoption rate was of XP two years in,” said Ballmer, who noted that there were issues with compatibility. “We had a great success with security and starting to see a ramp with adoption.”
MacDonald countered with Gartner survey data that 61 percent of respondents are thinking about skipping Vista. Ballmer said that Microsoft would be ready for that outcome too. Mentioning Windows 7–he quipped about the creative naming convention of using just “7″–he indicated that Microsoft would be ready for folks that want to skip Vista. In fact, he said Windows 7 would be compatible with Vista.
“Our next release of Windows will be compatible with Vista. The key is let’s get on with it. We’ll be ready when you want to deploy Windows 7.”
Ballmer was asked why Windows 7 is considered a major release instead of just the second rev of Vista. His reply: “It’s not minor because it’s a lot more work than a minor release. It’s a major release.”
Ballmer also noted that Windows 7 will improve the operating system shell. “Windows 7 will be Vista, but a lot better,” he said, noting cleanness of user interface. Is this fit and finish improvement? Gartner analysts kept referring to Windows 7 as a release candidate 2.
Another key question: Given the economic environment, why upgrade to Vista?
“If people want to wait they really can,” said Ballmer. “But I’d definitely deploy Vista.” He noted that most IT buyers upgrade the OS when they deploy new machines.