Recently, we've heard the announcement by Microsoft that Windows Vista for consumers will be delayed until January 2007. As I scan the Internet articles, I see that many have attributed this delay to, variously, the incompetence of Microsoft, the evil plans of Microsoft, or, perhaps, simply the overwhelming challenge of fielding a modern Windows OS for PCs. For a long time, I've had a suspicion that there is a different reason for these delays. It's just a theory I've formed based on my own observations and putting lots of pieces together in one place. Bear with me for a paragraph or two while I set this up. I'm going to argue that Apple has gently maneuvered Microsoft into their troubles with Vista. |