Next version of Windows is ready, Microsoft says

Microsoft Corp. has finished work on its long-delayed Windows Vista operating system, and a top executive said Wednesday that the software would be broadly available Jan. 30.

The announcement means that Microsoft will meet -- just barely -- its revised goal of putting Vista in consumers’ hands in the first month of 2007.

Vista’s code was released Wednesday to manufacturing, a step that would allow the company to begin making the copies that would be distributed with PCs and sold at stores, Jim Allchin, co-president of the Microsoft division that includes Windows, said during a conference call with analysts.

Microsoft had previously said it would release Vista to big business clients at an event at the Nasdaq Stock Market on Nov. 30, and Allchin reiterated Wednesday that corporations that buy Windows licenses in bulk would get the new system this month. That’s in keeping with the company’s revised release schedule.

The release of Windows Vista will be the first major upgrade in more than five years to the operating system that powers most of the world’s personal computers. The software boasts improved graphics, more effective tools for finding documents, pictures and other items on personal computers and a new Internet browser, among other changes.

Vista has been plagued by delays, the most recent of which was blamed in part on efforts to improve security. Microsoft products are a near-constant target of Internet attackers, and the company is often in the uncomfortable position of having to plug holes in its software.

Allchin said Vista would still face some security threats because attackers were growing more sophisticated. But he said a rigorous testing process and changes that made it harder for attacks to jump from one Vista-powered computer to the next should reduce those problems.

In its quest to get Vista out the door, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has had to scale back some of its original goals, including scrapping a more sophisticated method for sorting and organizing data. Analysts have said that scaling back the system could hurt the company if people don’t see enough reason to upgrade.

The most recent delays also forced Microsoft to miss the holiday season, potentially dealing a blow to computer makers and retailers who might have been hoping for the new system to boost gift sales.

Microsoft and computer manufacturers are offering holiday shoppers coupons for a free or discounted Vista upgrade.

Microsoft shares rose 3 cents to $28.98.