Gates Gabs: Microsoft Boss Talks Linux and Vista

While the world shakes its head in disbelief at gamers stabbing and shooting their way to Sony's Playstation 3, Microsoft is relaxed and awaiting the release of its own highly anticipated product, Windows Vista.

Although the Redmond-based company went through some similar insanity over the release of its Xbox 360 console a year ago, Gates and the gang are squarely focused on a smooth launch for Windows Vista.

When asked what his favorite feature in the new Vista OS was, Gates replied, "that's hard to pick", but did eventually settle upon "desktop search". DS is part of Vista's quick and painless process of scouring local hard drives, and removes many of the buggy and inconvenient problems found in previous "Find" Windows operations. (source: news.com)

Although Gates lavished attention on Vista's new file system, WinFS, he was sure to make clear that the protocol is not a revolution. Instead, he admitted that major advancements in filing are still a ways off, stating "I still think that the question is, is it the next major release or the one after that? I think that'll be a big breakthrough when we do it." (source: news.com)

Gates also commented on the integration of Linux. Although it has some Novell fans and Linux users a bit concerned, Microsoft's head honcho assures everyone that the deal promises only "fantastic things [for] operability". Gates believes the agreement allows for hardware use of Linux, application use of Windows, and a general consensus on how products can reach maximum compatibility.

Vista launches onto home PCs at the end of January.