Counting Down to the Consumer Launch of Windows Vista


Posted by Nick White on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 1:37 PM 21 Comments

On 30 January 2007, Microsoft will be making Windows Vista available to the world at large.  This event goes by different monikers:  "general availability," "GA" and "retail availability" are some of them.  But no matter what it's called, lots of people -- I for one -- are looking forward to that day.  As excitement builds, we've seen that some enthusiasts are marking the occasion in different ways; one to just recently hit our radar is Donavon West's design of a Windows Sidebar Gadget that counts down the days, hours and seconds until midnight of GA Day.

Donavon has created three similar versions of his gadget:  one for Live.com pages, another for Windows Live Spaces, and a third for installation to the Windows Vista Sidebar.

Why not join Donavon and us in the countdown to retail availability by placing the gadget on your own website?  Just add the following code snippet to your site to display the Windows Vista Countdown Gadget, just as it looks on Live.com: 

<div style="position:relative;width:130px;height:142px;">

<script src="http://download.gallery.start.com/d.dll/1~1~485~4304/VistaCountdown.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

</div>

Have we ever got some exciting things planned for retail availability ... stay tuned !

 

Posted by The Buzz


Nick has just posted over on the Windows Vista TeamBlog a new Windows Vista Countdown Gadget, created

 

Posted by jin liu


its awesome! just added it to my spaces now...

 

Posted by qzplx


cool!!, when it comes to indonesia, cant hardly wait..

 

Posted by Developer


As Nick has shown over on Windows Vista Blog , not only can you add the Windows Vista Countdown gadget

 

Posted by war59312


Done! :)

 

Posted by Evil_Merlin


I've been using retail for about three days now (thank you Microsoft Vista Beta!).

I can't wait to see what Microsoft is planning for the GA release.

 

Posted by Developer


As Nick has shown over on Windows Vista Blog , not only can you add the Windows Vista Countdown gadget

 

Posted by s1001820


Hello does somone know if ther will be a student edition?

 

Posted by Jaziel


Quick question... thanks God you brought this blog subject up I was waiting for something like this...

Ok here is the question:

Em, do you remember when Windows XP was two months from release? and if you do, do you remember that there was a countdown clock at the main page @ Microsoft.com saying something joyful about Windows XP? Yes you do! so do I :)

Well, then how come Microsoft hasn't spent a few minutes to bring up the same type of java scrip on their main website to countdown the time until Vista releases to wide availability?

I mean, isn't Vista suppose to be the most meaningful piece of Software at Microsoft ever since Windows 95?????

:) I really wish they could add that clock at the main site, it would help the hype a lot; I did with XP (at least on me jeje)

 

Posted by Chirag Batra's WebLog


 

Posted by oldguy28


Now that Vista is ready to launch, what about the issue of winhlp32. Is this included the retail package? Is it going to have to be down loaded or what? Or is Vista going to cripple older programs? Also is there any capture hardware and programs availible? I have an ATI all in wonder PCI x video card, ATI has not come up with the capture drivers and software.

I am running Vista RC2 and I have to switch hard drives to convert old home VCR tapes to DVD.

The old greeting card maker, address book and envelope maker I use works great on Vista except for the help files which is winhlp32.

If I can't use the programs and hardware which I use a lot why would I upgrade the Vista?

Thanks

oldguy28

 

Posted by muhamad_iqbal2005


Wow, I will waiting teh release of Windows vista in Indonesia

 

Posted by Michael_Moor


Im wating For release Windows Vista In Germany.

---------

http://www.dl4all.com

 

Posted by Nick White


Hey s1001820:  there are 5 SKUs of Windows Vista (not including the Starter Edition, which is available only in emerging markets): Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate.

 

Posted by Nick White


Hey oldguy28:  newer Help files will be made available via an online connection -- you need to indicate that you want Help to go online for the latest information the first time you invoke it.  We're doing our best to ensure that legacy applications are compatible with Windows Vista, but some IHVs will need to update their driver packages to ensure hardware compatibility; in this case, the manufacturer's Web site is the best place to check for updates.

 

Posted by Windows Vista Team Blog


Last week we'd mentioned the Windows Vista Countdown Gadget -- now we've gone and added it to our site

 

Posted by rabidrobot


Right on.  Counting down at feebdack.com

 

Posted by Nova Invicta


Hi Nick

Were all excited about Windows Vista in the UK but not about the price! Amazon US have Home Premium listed for $ 159.00 whereas Amazon UK it is £ 149.00 at today exchange rate that makes it $ 287.57 another case of rip off Briton & Microsoft Ripping off its UK customers as with the XBOX 360 price. Why is it Microsoft give preferential treatment to its US customers?

 

Posted by TechBlog


I'm working on a Business section print-edition story that will run the Sunday before the Windows Vista consumer launch. It will focus on installing Vista for those Windows XP users interested in taking the plunge early on. I'll be offering...

 

Posted by ascend slowly, breathing normally


Do you want a Windows Vista countdown gadget like the one I have here? Get the code snippet from the

 

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