Analysts at The Gartner Group expect Microsoft to again delay Microsoft Vista, this time until the second quarter of 2007, according to an article at Macworld UK. They believe the OS upgrade is on par with the overhaul that was Windows 2000, which took 16 months to reach manufacturing after its Beta 2 release.
As a result, they see Microsoft spending 9 to 12 months, not 5, refining Vista after its Beta 2 release, which is expected in May or June. A best-case scenario from Gartner saw Microsoft releasing Vista to manufacturing next February, which would put it on store shelves two months after that.
GameSpot noted that the lengthy Vista delays also push back the release of the PC version of Halo 2, which will run only in that operating system. MacSoft published Halo: Combat Evolved for the Mac, but plans for the Mac version of Halo 2 have not been announced.
While Microsoft expects to have the business version of Vista available for corporations by December, Gartner warned: "Microsoft canit accurately predict the release more than a few months out, and organizations that are too reliant on Microsoft making shipment dates are leaving themselves open to excessive risk."