Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, on the new Vista operating system: "You get this really great new user interface. You get great new applications that work with that user interface. You put that all together and get a surge and pop of energy by both business buyers as well as consumers."

Chitose Suzuki / the associated press

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Microsoft is about to release the Windows Vista operating system, its biggest software upgrade in years. The commercial versions will be out this month and the consumer versions will be ready in January. Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, sat down for an interview about the Vista launch.

A: It's going to make it out on time worldwide as announced, which means business availability before the end of the year and consumer availability early next year.

A: Vista will be a real boon for PC buying, PC manufacturers and the PC industry because it has energy and excitement. You get this really great new user interface. You get great new applications that work with that user interface. You put that all together and get a surge and pop of energy by both business buyers as well as consumers.

A: It probably does, at least so far. It's a story of three pieces. There was an early set of work on so-called Longhorn. Eventually we decided that what we were trying to do was beyond the state of the art in terms of both innovation and getting new innovations to depend on each other. We said we are going to let some of these innovations breathe on their own a little bit. We spent a year on Windows XP SP2. And then we spent the last couple of years or so on what people know as Vista.

A: We have done what we should do with the two constituencies that matter most: our regulatory obligation in the United States and around the world, and our obligation to try to provide consumers with the best experience possible. Those are the high-order bits.

The regulators have a role to play in ensuring a competitive marketplace. They have done their role. We have gotten their advice in the U.S., Korea, and in Europe. We have made modifications based upon that input.

A: I don't think it will have much impact on Christmas sales in large measure because of the tech guarantee that we announced. … Basically, you can get a Vista-ready machine now and still get Vista later. That will help maintain a strong sales volume through Christmas. Some of the best sales are going to happen right after Christmas. I don't know if I can say we'll have two Christmases here. But I think we can have a big pop when Vista ships.

Q: We've heard so much about how software can be embedded in servers instead of in desktops as Google has advocated. Do you think this operating system is a last hurrah for a client-based operating system?

A: No. And I don't think there is anybody out there that thinks that, really. It makes good rhetoric and good press. But the truth is, a lot of the great software today, even that being done in software as a service, involves writing software for PC clients. Look at all the instant messenger products today. Ours, Google's, Yahoo's. They all have a Windows application that touches a server. Software as a service is not about "devices go away and everything becomes a service." It's about software and services, as Ray Ozzie (Microsoft's chief technology officer) likes to say.

A: Well the first thing I would say is, "Welcome to MSN Soap Box, the best place to watch videos on the Internet, and I'm glad you're hear to learn about Windows Vista. Vista is flat-out the most exciting, coolest place to sit down and start using a computer. Your ability to find the things you want to find, do the things you want to do, be stimulated and excited by the exciting graphics and rich media. The experience is unparalleled."