Microsoft Launches Windows Vista

Microsoft Corp., today rolled out Windows Vista at retailers in 70 countries, delivering a new computer operating system that aims to better manage the explosion of digital media and protect users from the dangers of the Internet.

The new operating system arrives after years of delays and a shift away from desktop-based software and towards web-based applications. Nevertheless, the PC industry is counting on the new software to help reignite stagnant growth.

Windows runs on more than 95 percent of the worlds computers, and the long delayed new version is the first major release of a new Microsoft operating system since it introduced Windows XP in 2001.

The company called Vista the most important release of its dominant operating system since Windows 95 more than a decade ago, when shoppers waited for hours to be among the first to run the new software.