Alright, hands up all who are going to the midnight launch of Windows Vista. For those unaware, 44 Harvey Norman stores in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will be flinging open their doors at 11pm on Monday night to usher in the hordes of Microsoft devotees who can’t wait another second for the latest operating system. Various deals have been thrown in to entice punters to make the pilgrimage, including 10 percent discounts on computer hardware and a bonus Web cam for the first 100 customers.

But the main drawcard is at the Alexandria, Sydney store, where, at one minute to midnight, the first official copy of Vista Ultimate — autographed, rock star-style, by Bill Gates — will be sold by Harvey Norman Chairman Gerry Harvey and new Microsoft Australia Managing Director Tracey Fellows.

As a concept, the midnight launch is pretty neat. You get to share in the fervent anticipation of a product with like-minded souls, swapping embellished tales and forging a sort of techie simpatico as you wait in an ever-growing queue outside a shutter-bound store.

View: Full Story
Source: ZDNet Australia