by , 1:25 PM EDT, August 23rd, 2006

Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox said of the latest Windows Vista Beta: "I have been testing Microsoft operating systems since Windows 95, and this is the buggiest OS I've seen this late in development. Look at the older operating systems, and by Beta 2 there is a stable foundation on which the [independent software vendors] can build. Right now, Vista is like a ship on stormy seas." He made the comments to TopTechNews.

"Testers and pundits alike say Vista Beta 2, released publicly in June, is plagued by bugs and blue screens," the article said. Microsoft, however, isn't planning on releasing a third Beta, instead saying that Release Candidate 1 will come out by the end of September.

The reporter also spoke with an ISV (independent software vendor) who anonymously said: "The memory consumption has been reduced from a gig to 700MB, which is about three times what XP requires. It is probably going to come down, but it is a big beast."

The ISV's customers expect to wait at least a year before they implement the new OS, an attitude echoed by a Jupiter survey of 207 companies that showed almost 50% of them will either wait at least 13 months to deploy Vista or won't install it on its users' machines at all.

Blogger and Microsoft MVP Robert McLaws has also weighed in, saying: "Beta 2 was a disappointment on many levels. It was nowhere near as stable as it should have been." Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, added: "Put the testing aside, I can't find a valid antivirus software that works with it. That is a key application and runs at a core level. If the antivirus vendors, who work closely with Microsoft, can't get Vista working, then the core is not stable."

Mr. Cherry also said: "I am impressed with Apple OS and I like the way over the last couple of releases they have made a series of incremental improvements. It has not been earth-shattering."