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Bill Gates starred in a theatrical promotion of
Window's Vista in New York City just hours before the home version
of Microsoft's long-awaited new operating system made its debut.
Gates took to a stage in a grand and dramatically orchestrated Vista
event before leaving for Europe where he was to begin a
Vista-touting tour with stops in London, Edinburgh, Bucharest and
Paris.
"With the digital lifestyle, people have very high
expectations," Gates told an audience in a packed theater off
Times Square in New York City.
"Windows, and now Vista, is the central element that allows the
digital lifestyle to thrive."
Vista for home computers was slated to go on sale in the United
States at midnight and worldwide at the first tick of clocks on
Tuesday in time zones around the planet.
"It is a privilege to be here for the biggest launch in
software history," Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said
after stepping on stage.
"We are incredibly excited about this product...We've really
hit the ground running."
Vista will be available on Tuesday in 70 countries around the world,
according to Ballmer.
Ballmer and Gates had a US family that helped test Vista come on
stage and touch a "The Wow Starts Now" computer icon that
signaled electronic billboards throughout Times Square to blaze with
Vista advertisements.
The event was the beginning of what promises to be a flashy and
expensive campaign by Microsoft to promote an operating system that
took five years and six billion dollars to ready for the world.
Microsoft has heralded its long-awaited and oft-delayed Vista as its
most sophisticated, secure and intuitive operating system since
Windows was first rolled out to challenge Apple's Macintosh software
in 1985.
Reviews of Vista, which was put through extensive testing by
computer makers and software developers, show it is packed with
features that bring it up to date but break little new ground.
--AFP
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