Microsoft Still Has a Vista Problem

Microsoft’s earnings were surprisingly solid—another reassurance the world isn’t quite melting to the core—with a revenue of $US15.1 billion (beating Wall Street’s expecations) and profits of $US4.37 billion. Notably, however, it’s still not selling enough Windows Vista.

Sure, more people might be PCs lately, but they’re other, less profitable versions. Microsoft makes about $US70 per Vista PC, but less than half of that on a netbook Windows licence, which now makes up more of the Windows mix than ever. So the Windows division actually saw a 4 percent drop in operating income for the quarter. And it’s likely not going to get better with Windows 7 looming so conspicously on the horizon. [Bits]