Microsoft Corp. Co-President Kevin Johnson said last week the company will ship its new Windows Vista product when it's ready, sparking some concern among investors that the software may be delayed for the second time since March.
Johnson told the company's analysts at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., that he sees no "data or information" to suggest the company may miss its deadline. He stopped short of committing to meet its targets. Microsoft earlier this year delayed the release of the next Windows for consumers until January, missing the holiday shopping season.
The new version of Windows, which runs on about 95 percent of the world's personal computers, is running about two years late. Microsoft will release a near-final test version, called a "release candidate" this quarter, Johnson said.
"Maybe people wanted to hear it's shipping by the deadline for sure," said Tony Ursillo, who helps manage $75 billion at Loomis, Sayles & Co. in Boston, which owns 1.4 million Microsoft shares. "I actually took it as a positive that he thinks things are still on track.
"We want constant hand-holding about the fact that they're on track for the releases."