OEMs to get Microsoft Vista before Christmas

WE SPOKE with some big OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and we learned that the great Satan of Software plans to ship Vista before the end of the year. But there is a catch, it will ship it to the OEMs and possibly even system integrators.

This makes perfect sense as the big OEMs such as Dell, HP or Lenovo which actually need an operating system to boost its Yule PC sales. Few buy OEM machines in January.

Microsoft has officially said that it will delay the consumer version of Vista, and according to our well informed sources this might mean that the Vole delays the retail boxes but not the whole thing. Sources claim that Vista should come pre installed on many PCs for pre-Yule sales.

Microsoft has already confirmed that we can expect to see the corporate version available in November so this OEM version ought to be available around that time. Maybe the Vole cannot print enough boxes till Q1 2007 but this changes the story completely. If Microsoft does manage to pull this off, this is a certainly a big deal for the whole industry. µ