Microsoft delays consumer launch of Vista

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it plans to delay the consumer launch of its much-anticipated Windows Vista until after this year's holiday shopping season, sending its shares down nearly 3 percent.
The world's largest software maker pushed back the consumer version of Vista until January 2007 from an earlier target for the second half of 2006 and pledged to ship the next version of its operating system to business customers in November.
Vista is the first major overhaul of Windows since Microsoft rolled out Windows XP nearly five years ago.
Microsoft had originally been expected to release Windows Longhorn, now Vista, in 2005. The company scaled back its ambitions and pushed it out to 2006 before this latest delay.
The eight- to 10-week delay, according to estimates by research firm Gartner Inc, may reverberate throughout the technology industry from PC manufacturers to chip makers and down the supply chain, analysts and investors said.
"It is a critical eight- to 10-weeks for retailing and for the producers. The retailers and PC hardware manufacturers work on razor-thin margins, so the impact there could be pretty severe," said David Smith, analyst at Gartner.
Windows Vista is the headliner for a series of upcoming and recently released new products at the software giant, including its Xbox 360 next-generation game console and an upgrade to its popular Office business software.
Windows, which is found in about 90 percent of all computer desktops, is Microsoft's biggest cash cow.
Microsoft said it delayed the new Windows to improve overall quality, particularly in security, and that PC makers didn't want the operating system introduced in the middle of holiday sales, because a new version would create instability in the market. The delay also pertains to Vista loaded on new PCs.
NEW ACTION ON EU SANCTIONS Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it is taking new voluntary actions to comply with European Commission sanctions, as it seeks to avoid fines of up to 2 million euros ($2.43 million) daily.
The Commission found two years ago that Microsoft used its dominant position with the Windows operating system to damage rival makers of server software used to run printers, password sign-ins and file access for small work groups.
The Commission said Microsoft never complied with sanctions designed to put competitive makers of work group servers on a level playing field and opened proceedings to fine the firm. In its latest statement, the company said on Wednesday it would provide free, unlimited technical support to companies that license its protocols for work group servers.