It's looking like a challenging holiday selling season for computer makers this year, now that Microsoft
The delay will likely pummel Gateway the hardest. After acquiring eMachines, the company has been a force in entry-level systems for consumers, a market that usually spikes when a new version of Windows is rolled out. Some folks decide to simply upgrade their operating system and computer in one small purchase, so Microsoft's delay should hit Gateway like the Grinch hit Whoville.
Delays are expected in software development. Bugs need to get worked out. New features need to get added. This isn't the first delay for the eagerly anticipated upgrade to Windows XP, and who knows whether it will be the last?
It's ironic. Just as Microsoft is capitalizing on delays at Sony
As a Motley Fool Inside Value pick last year, Microsoft was recommended as a turnaround play. (Sign up for a free 30-day guest pass to see why value guru Philip Durell singled out the House of Gates.) Those kinds of stock situations are made for patient investors. In that sense, delaying Vista's release is just another snooze bar to tap. For Mr. Softy's sake, let's hope the world doesn't change too much over the 2006 holiday season.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does have a pair of Gateways in his house, though he favors working on his HP computer and Dell monitor. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. Dell has been selected by both Inside Value andMotley Fool Stock Advisor. The Fool has adisclosure policy. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.