Official Release Date

[Geoff]

Just spotted this in APC Mag:

 

Microsoft has set November 30 as the release date for Vista (and Office 2007) to business customers and January 30, 2007 as the date for the official launch to consumers and The World At Large.

 

So I guess that means anyone on a schools/select agreement will get it in November. Everyone else will start seeing it turn up on newly bought machines in Feburary.

[mrforgetful]

What if we're not on a Select Agreement, do you think it will be possible to order them from Ramesys in November?

 

Might give them an email and ask.

[Geoff]

Probably, because all the stuff I get from Ramesys seem to be done via Select.

[mrforgetful]

Not sure how they do it, just know we ask for another so-many licenses for whatever and we pay and get some paper with the licenses using the same serial.

 

I always wonder why none of the kids ever cotton to the fact that every machine in school has a nice unused Windows XP Pro key on the top they could use without trouble?

[Geoff]

Well on the invoices and cover notes I have it always says they are select versions.

[Norphy]

All of our software bought from Ramesys is on a Select licence. I'm given to understand the Select agreement we use belongs to the Specialist Schools Trust.

[tarquel]

...and if you have SA on your XP Vol licenses, you should probably get it around then too

 

Nath.

[mrforgetful]

Ah found my paperwork, yes Select Agreement.

[Norphy]

I've just received a reply to an email I sent to Ramesys regarding price and availability of Vista:

 

We believe Vista is going to be released into education in December but have yet to receive official confirmation from Microsoft on release date or price I am afraid. Microsoft historically do tend to release to the corporate world just prior to an educational release.

 

As soon as we have pricing we will be sending out a mailer as we did with the latest version of Office 2007, hope this helps.

[mrforgetful]

I never received a mailer for Office 2007.

[Norphy]

Neither did I but that was the reply he sent.

[e_g_r]

Don't forget that SIMS does not work/has not been tested with Vista and Office 2007 so don't buy any admin machines

[Geoff]

Fortuantly Admin machines are "not my problem™"

[mrforgetful]

Nice to see Capita are on the ball as usual. SIMS will probably be all ready for Vista just in time for the next OS release ~2012.

 

Aren't Capita part owned my Microsoft these days too?

[Geoff]

Yes, MS has a stake in Captia. Not sure of the percentage though.

[russdev]

Just so you know this is what my ms contacts have told me : -

 

"Vista and office 2007 will be available to volume licence customers i.e.

Select and School Agreement, during December. They are already on the

pricelists with LARs and so we don't expect any delays at this stage.

The full consumer launch I believe is the end of January, so a school

will have to have a volume licence agreement."

 

Regards

 

Russell

[Geoff]

So schools will be required to have a Select/Schools Agreement if they wish to run Vista?

[DMcCoy]

If they want to use it in december, then they need select/schools agreement is how I read it.

[russdev]

you got it or you can wait till january and not use a select agreement..

 

russell

[Netman]

Does it really matter when it's released to education? Surely no-one is going to deploy it that soon???!!! I can think of better things to be doing in the xmas hols

[mrforgetful]

So can I but, y'know, I might want to do some home learning...

[GrumbleDook]

Does it really matter when it's released to education? Surely no-one is going to deploy it that soon???!!! I can think of better things to be doing in the xmas hols

 

oooh ....I don't know ... maybe rolling it out to one or two classrooms would be nice. After all it is like sticking in another platform with a different interface ... get them used to different systems ...

[Quackers]

I'm not planning on deploying Vista on any of the current PC's. Any new ones i will prob put vista on if they can run Areo, need to wait for final version to come to me via technet so i can test that all our current apps work on vista first.

[john]

I spoke to Ramesys the other day as well, never had an Office 2007 flyer sent to me or the school so who knows. Had a similar responce from my man there about it, he knows to email me as soon as they get the final prices for them and the info on what version we get with having SA as there seems to be some doubt as to if our XP Pros become enterprise edition or Business Edition, I have had 2 licencing teams from distys tell me 2 different things so I am awaiting confirmation of that as well. I already have one school that is wanting to get working on Vista testing with a view to Easter deployment, as well as budgiting for Vista Upgrade licences for the new finances in April to go on our new XP Pros we got last year. So some are keen to get moving.

 

(Also I do want to play over crimbo as I will have nothing better to do, and as I will have a box of school software to test it on its will be very work related testing)

[Sylv3r]

According to this report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6110958.stm it will be available for corporate customers from 30th November.