There wasn’t much “hoopla” for the Vista launch, according to the New York Times.

Twelve years ago, Microsoft introduced a new operating system, Windows 95, in a frenzied global marketing blitz that was unlike anything the industry had ever seen.

But shortly after midnight yesterday, when Microsoft put its latest Windows successor, Vista, on sale, there was considerably less hoopla.

The NYT thinks that this reflects ” how much Microsoft’s influence in the computer technology marketplace has faded ” Or it could reflect the fact that an upgraded operating system isn’t exactly the new Harry Potter book or anything. Are we at the point where unless there are people camping out in a line wearing costumes for months, your product isn’t perceived as a success? Maybe we are. —MEGHANN MARCO

Vista Arrives With Limited Fanfare [New York Times]

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