The oft-delayed Microsoft Windows Vista next-gen operating system is the subject of some soul-searching over at MSDN Blogs. Philip Su who is, or was a Microsoft Windows development manager, postulates that the reasons for the delays in bringing Vista to market relate to the product being uncontrolled or perhaps uncontrollable or maybe even both.

With 50M lines of code, six different versions, available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions, integration with Internet Explorer 7, the Urge music service and Office 2007, and support for thousands of hardware devices, Windows Vista does seem complex…the Windows Vista Product Guide alone weighs in at 304 pages and lists about 414 new features.

As for Vista being uncontrolled, Su does make note of the heavy hand of MSFT management, with it’s 11 layers (GOOG has only 5, but then they’re a much smaller co.) and makes an interesting comment about how the Windows process has gone nuclear in a kind of a self-sustaining chain reaction.

We’re confident that Vista will be a success because of/despite the fact that it’s trying to be all things to all people, as evidenced by the following hubris-heavy self-description by Microsoft: It (Vista) is the first operating system that combines all of the advanced infrastructure features of a business-focused operating system, all of the management and efficiency features of a mobility-focused operating system, and all of the digital entertainment features of a consumer-focused operating system.

Broken Windows Theory - MSDN Blogs, June 14, 2006 - via digg

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