I would normally ignore such questions. But when the reply comes from as knowledgeable a source as Joe Wilcox over the eWeek’s Microsoft Watch I take notice.

Joe takes us through the computer history of his friend, a bookseller who loves Microsoft — until now :

Only the newness of the Vista computer and my friend’s confidence in Microsoft have kept him from moving full-time back to the XP system. He wants to believe. But like me, his faith stopped with Vista SP1. He didn’t have confidence to install the update without me around, and I would want to back up everything first. There has been too much trouble surrounding SP1.

I haven’t updated my wife’s laptop, either. A few weeks back, one of the two SP1 prerequisite updates fatally wounded the boot-up process. System Restore rolled back the update and revived Vista.

I have to say I’ve not had as much trouble with my system as either Joe Wilcox or his friend. But then I haven’t been given the option of SP1 yet.

Food for thought.

In his keynote speech at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Bill Gates talked about what he called the commercial success of Windows Vista. “I’m pleased to say that we’ve got over 100 million people using Vista now, and that’s a very significant milestone,” he said.

Many commentators regard that figure as disappointing, however. One forecast speculated that 270m units would be sold during 2007. Microsoft’s numbers may lag the market, since the vitally important Christmas selling season is barely over. Microsoft officials have pointed out that it’s difficult to know how many units of Vista are in use in large corporations since the licenses they buy allow them to deploy either Vista or XP.

In addition, the shipping of Vista’s Service Pack 1 (SP1) later this quarter should shake the market into action.

Richard Shim, research manager at analysis firm IDC, said, “Vista has received a lukewarm response because Microsoft hasn’t made a good case for upgrading”.

Another commented, “Office 2007 only takes marginal advantage of Vista. The impact of Vista is still alive,” he added. “It’s not as influential as it was, but I wouldn’t call it a failure”.

Robert X. Cringely, the veteran technology writer over at PBS, recently forecast that “Microsoft will indefinitely extend the life of Windows XP, acknowledging the failure of Windows Vista, which will require another generation of hardware (and another $5 billion in R and D) to finally look good three years from now.”

Microsoft has updated its browser, Internet Explorer Version 7 (IE7). The IE Blog posts this advice :

“Almost a year ago, we released Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. Since then, IE7 is well on its way to becoming the most used browser in the world, and we’ve seen lots of evidence that IE7 makes it safer and easier to accomplish everyday tasks online. For example, the built-in Phishing Filter has protected consumers from known phishing web sites an average of 900,000 times per week. IE7 is the first – and still the only – browser with native support for Extended Validation SSL Certificates that help prevent online fraud. (Of course, tabbed browsing, QuickTabs, shrink-to-fit printing, an easily customizable search box, CSS improvements, and some add-ons are all good things too.)”

How to get it : “If you are not already running IE7, you can get it now from the Internet Explorer home page on Microsoft.com, get a customized version from a third-party site, or, if you haven’t already received it via Automatic Updates, this version will be delivered to you as we described previously. If you are already running IE7, you will not be offered IE7 again by Automatic Updates.”

Some changes have been made for XP users :

* The menu bar is now visible by default.
* The Internet Explorer 7 online tour has updated how-to’s. Also, the “first- run” experience includes a new overview.
* We’ve included a new MSI installer that simplifies deployment for IT administrators in enterprises.

There will be no public beta of the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 “anytime soon”. Only a small “select” group of testers will receive the early build. And Microsoft doesn’t have a timeline for when a public beta will be released.

Microsoft announces :

There will be a Windows Vista service pack and our current expectation is that a beta will be made available sometime this year. Service packs are part of the traditional software lifecycle — they’re something we do for all Microsoft products as part of our commitment to continuous improvement, and providing early test builds is a standard practice that helps us incorporate customer feedback and improve the overall quality of the product.

Service packs are just one example of the work we do to constantly improve the Windows experience. We also deliver improvements to Windows via Windows Update, which is an excellent channel for providing our customers with the most significant updates as they happen. And, since Windows Vista launched, we have continued working with partners to improve overall device coverage and application compatibility. There are now more than 2.1 million supported devices and more than 2,000 logoed applications for Windows Vista. We think customers will have a great experience using Windows Vista today.

We’ll hang on in there, then.