80% Chance of Vista in January

If you haven't seen it already...

Gates: 80 Percent Chance of Vista in January

Yahoo! wrote:

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Tuesday there was an 80 percent chance the company's next-generation operating system, Vista, would be ready in January.

However, Gates said at a presentation in Cape Town to Microsoft software partners that he would delay the launch if beta testing uncovered shortcomings.

"We got to get this absolutely right," Gates said. "If the feedback from the beta tests shows it is not ready for prime time, I'd be glad to delay it."

Good idea, only shipping when its ready.  Of course, I wonder how much of it is 3rd party drivers not being there...

That line's been rehashed so often it's become something of an in-joke among beta testers. Whenever anyone on the beta newsgroups asks for a release date on anything, the next build, RTM, doesn't matter, there'll always be a whole chorus of replies going "When it's ready!"

I like the Microsoft Watch version of this story:

"Gates: 20 Percent Chance of Another Vista Delay"

"Nobody will remember the delays if it's a solid product - everyone will remember a shoddy product."

Something along those lines.