Research firm Gartner has said that it expects Vista, Microsoft’s major Windows upgrade, to not appear until the second quarter of next year.
According to Gartner, Windows Vista is unlikely to rear its shiny, Aero-decorated head before the second quarter of 2007 – possibly for an April launch with “broad availability” following in the same quarter.
This projection puts the release date several months behind Microsoft’s scheduled launch date of January 2007.
Writing in a research note, Gartner commented, “Microsoft’s track record is clear. It consistently misses target dates for major operating system releases. We don’t expect broad availability of Windows Vista until at least 2Q ’07.”
Microsoft’s current plans involve releasing Vista to manufacturing in October/November 2006 and making it available to enterprises through volume licenses by the end of this year, with the OS becoming available to computer manufacturers for shipping in January, 2007.
Although Windows users are no strangers to endlessly delayed launches, a Microsoft spokesperson insisted that all was well in the wonderful world of Windows.
“Respectfully disagreeing” with Gartner’s view, the spokesperson said that that finished Windows Vista would ship in November and January with a second beta ready to roll in the second quarter of this year.
Gartner was having none of it, sagely advising that “one should never overestimate how much Microsoft will underestimate the complexity and time needed to deliver a major new client OS.”
Barely a month after buying up software developers @Last Software, Google have released a free version of their popular 3D-modelling application SketchUp.
Details, textures and glass can also be added to models, which can then be uploaded onto Google Earth or shared with fellow modelling aficionados by posting them to the 3D Warehouse – a new site where SketchUp users can store, share and collaborate on designs.
Now rocking up to version 10, Agendus is a stable, featured-packed integrated PIM application for the Palm OS.
In fact, just about every element of the program seems intuitively thought out, with lots of nice touches reflecting the developer’s attention to detail.
When adding a new appointment, for example, you can add invitees, assign categories, sketch a note, add a custom icon, add a voice message and photo – with all these options being accessible through a clear and concise interface.
Multiple relationships can be assigned to the same contact and the list is customisable, so you could add new categories like, “Fellow Borg” or “Desperate Drinker.”
If you’re the type who quickly forgets who you met, contacts can be linked to events to build a contact history, exportable as a CSV file.
There’s also a basic project management interface onboard letting you organise complex tasks with hierarchical To Do items and set task ‘roll over’ status.
Conclusion
So you’ve shelled out for your new smartphone/PDA and you’re ready to watch your productivity soar as you strut around with an office in your pocket.
Like most annoyingly compelling games, Bejeweled is dead simple to play and takes seconds to learn.
In the original Bejeweled (available on Palm, Pocket PC and Windows Mobile) there’s an additional timed mode to add a frantic air to the gameplay, while its sequel, Bejeweled2 (available on Palm and Pocket PC), ramps up the bells and whistles offering four play modes, bonus play modes, explosive Power Gems, Hyper Cubes and Time Bombs and arcade-style noisy effects (which can be turned off).
You can download trial versions of both games from 
Attacks against non-Windows operating systems – particularly Linux – are growing quickly, according to a Kaspersky Lab report.
Those Mac bugs
In the seemingly endless round of upgrades and improvements, Opera Software have just announced the first public Beta of Opera 9.
Among the other features in the new version are
Dell has released a beast of a notebook, with its dual-core processor, groovy glowing lights and ramped-up video RAM aiming the XPS M1710 squarely at mobile gamers.
The Metallic Black M1710 weighs in at a wallet-draining $2,600 and comes with Intel’s Core Duo T2400 processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 256MB GeForce Go 7900 GS graphics and a 60GB hard drive.
Both notebooks feature Microsoft’s Windows Media Center Edition operating system, and system upgrades can expand storage to 120 of GB hard drive space and up to 4 GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory.
There’s also built in Wi-Fi, high definition integrated stereo with two 2 watt per channel main speakers and a 5 watt, class D subwoofer with bass reflex port.
The XPS M1710 is estimated to ship in the second week of May. EK/EU delivery and prices to be announced.
Search giant Google has announced a free, Web-based ‘shareable’ calendar service called, appropriately enough, Google Calendar, which allows users to post up events and share them with others.
Gmail Integration
Based on open calendar standards, events can be imported from popular programs like Microsoft Outlook and Apple iCal, while schedules can be viewed by any external application or device that accepts iCal or XML files.
Filez
CSpotRun
AvantGo
Combining an application launcher with the Today screen, Spb Pocket Plus is designed to add a heap of functionality to your Windows Mobile 2003/5 device.
It has to be said that some of the ‘extended themes’ are something of an acquired taste, but SPB have thoughtfully created a Webpage instructing enthusiastic users on how to create their own.
Conveniently, the program can be run off a storage card to save device memory and there’s a ‘Safe Mode’ to help sort out any rogue software causing problems – just like its big brother, this only loads a basic set of drivers on start-up.