Bonum Certa Men Certa

Vapourware Warning: Old Tricks Persist or Make a Comeback

"The purpose of announcing early like this is to freeze the market [...] One might worry that this will help Sun because we will just have vaporware"

--Leaked Microsoft E-mail [PDF]



Consider this a warning. There are many known problems in the 'DNA' of the codebase derived from Windows XP/Server 2003, which makes Server 2008, Home Server, Vista and its successor or other siblings. Microsoft has openly admitted this, albeit very quietly. At the moment, Microsoft is trying to "freeze the market" (Microsoft's own expression of this technique) not only through intimidation, but also using a slew of new lock-ins and announcements followed by procrastination or very poor products. Recall, for instance, the severe data corruption bug in Windows Home Server, which was revealed just weeks ago.

The Register has just published a good articles that makes some similar observations about this morbid pattern of delays.

The major issue here is that whilst Microsoft conveniently forgets the past, most of us can still remember SQL Server 2003, er...2004, oh, actually, that was eventually 2005. So Microsoft is turning into a serial offender when it comes to slippage.


Almost a year ago we mentioned vapouware tactics and provided some examples, some of which were found in antitrust exhibits that are leaked Microsoft E-mails. It's worth making you aware of the fact that it is happening again and that has just confirmed by Microsoft.

We'll guess that Windows 7 won't be generally available in final form until about 2012 or thereabouts, maybe 2013.


“Didn't Steve Ballmer promise to deliver a new version of Windows every 2 years?”The originally cited blog, which I read a couple of days ago, has run out of available bandwidth, so we're linking to the Inquirer. The blog said that Windows 7 is only at the planning stage and will take (at least) 3 years to develop. Microsoft seems to have 'leaked' some mockups recently (viral marketing that Joe Wilcox apparently approves) and it also named the year 2009 in order to keep existing Windows users loyal (mind the recent comments from Stephane Rodriguez here). Didn't Steve Ballmer promise to deliver a new version of Windows every 2 years? Promises, promises.

Have a look again at what we said a couple of hours ago when we explained the vicious (and mostly legal) attacks on Linux. The FUD used by Microsoft, 'thanks' to Novell kind acknowledgment, is just an empty accusation, much like SCO's. It's all vapour. Nothing concrete has ever been shown.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day
Slopwatch Appreciated by Real Authors of GNU/Linux Articles
We do try to keep on top of those things
Upgraded R.R.R.R.R.R. Today
The Web of 2025 is full of garbage, not limited to slopfarms
Freedom From Proprietary Prisons
Forking always an option
IBM's Watson Died in 1956, Now Watson Dies Again
IBM is becoming just a reseller of GAFAM and other stuff
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, UbuntuPIT, and Google News
We've also just noticed more slop from UbuntuPIT
Microsoft Says That Constant Mass Layoffs Are Success, the Media Isn't Buying This Microsoft Narrative Anymore
If people in the media feel an obligation to repeat whatever lies Microsoft tells, what point will there be to the media?
Links 08/10/2025: "Mali Puts Free Speech on Trial" And Apple Enforces Dictatorship
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually