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Windows Vista release to be delayed

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Microsoft is set to announce that it will be pushing back the release of Vista, the latest version of its Windows family of operating systems, from November 2006 to first quarter of 2007. The reason, according to company officials, is to let its engineers do further refinements with the security components, a laudable move, considering security loopholes prevalent in Vista’s predecessors.

Investors aren’t all to happy, however, as the company’s stock fell 3% with the announcement. Also, companies are likely to hold off purchases of new desktop and laptop systems, in anticipation of Vista’s release at a later date. So this move by the software giant may actually be harmful not only to the company’s stock, but to hardware retailers as well.

Technology is integral in the development of business nowadays. And any operating system is expected to be stable enough especially in business settings. Business consumers are eagerly anticipating Vista, in the hopes that it will be a better platform than past Windows incarnations, some of which proved to be riddled with security holes. But will the wait be worth it?

Desktop sales declining

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Market research firm Gartner has warned that sales of desktop computers are on the decline. Mobile computers—including laptops and other mobile alternatives—are on the rise!

Desktop sales are expected to grow 1.9% in 2006 over the previous year. Laptop sales are, meanwhile, expected to grow 31.4%. A steady decline in sales in desktop-based computing platforms is seen henceforth.

What does this mean for businesses? This is most likely brought about by the popularity of mobility in the workplace. In today’s business environment, many deals and transactions are done out-of-office. And with mobile connectivity options such as WiFi and other cellular-based networks, work can be done anywhere with a network signal.

If you’re planning to buy equipment for your existing or new business, consider opting for mobile devices instead of desktops. You’ll thank yourself later on, especially when the office goes fully mobile, and the virtual office becomes the norm!

Laptop sales seen to decline with Windows Vista

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In anticipation of the release of Vista, the next version of Windows, computer buyers are likely to hold off on buying laptops. Vista has heavy hardware requirements, mostly on the processor and video accelerator aspects, so most current laptops might be unable to support the graphical effects touted by the new operating system. Hence, buyers might favor desktops instead.

This would most likely be applicable mostly to home users, though, as companies might tend to opt for lower-powered computing in the name of mobility. After all, most productivity applications do not need high-end graphics, except if one were to be in high-end graphics design or engineering. But communications, word processing and spreadsheet applications would work well across platforms. And then of course, business users are not likely to be up to high-end multimedia capabilities.

This being said, the impending release of Windows Vista it’s likely good news to computer retailers as this will mean upgrade time to people still using older hardware.

Hello, Broadband

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E-Commerce startups and Internet-related businesses have a reason to be happy. Broadband uptake in the UK is on the rise, as reported by the Office of National Statistics. As of end-2005, 64% of all Internet connections in the UK are through broadband connections, or lines with speeds that exceed 100 kilobits per second (roughly twice dial-up speeds).

Many internet providers nowadays offer connection speeds upwards of 1 Megabits per second, and even offer upgrades to 2Mbps for low or no cost to consumers. With the popularity of broadband, barriers to consumers’ enjoying e-commerce are being brought down, as the World Wide Web will no longer be in a “world-wide wait.”

A high broadband penetration is good for businesses, and is helpful in starting up a company, as business solutions consultants note. While broadband benefits firms with e-commerce setups, brick-and-mortar companies can also stand to benefit in terms of worker productivity—broadband access helps facilitate faster communication within the organization, even with those in the field or those telecommuting.

Microsoft to launch mobile email platform

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Good news to road warriors: Microsoft is launching its own mobile email platform, in an apparent move to compete against the BlackBerry technology. Highly popular among the business crowd, mobile email devices allow mobile phone subscribers to receive email messages on their mobile phones or dedicated email devices (which usually double as mobile phones, actually). Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry has been the device of choice for quite some time now, but is facing challenges in the legal arena and was almost shutdown because of a patent infringement case.

Microsoft is partnering with Vodafone for the launch of Windows Mobile E-Mail, and the service will initially be offered in the UK, Germany, and France. Windows Mobile E-Mail will also enable users to view and edit Microsoft Office Word documents and Excel spreadsheets on their mobile devices.

Mobile email is starting to become a necessity, business solutions consultants note, with employee mobility being an important human resources consideration in starting a company.