For Microsoft, it's about money too. Whether or not the rumors are true that Windows 7 will arrive by the end of 2009, Microsoft needs to turn the crank on sales right now. And right now, Vista is the only game Microsoft has.

But for us, it's not the only game in town.

Look, we love making product decisions based on business value or technical quality, cute TV ads or product maturity.

But right now, for us, the to-Vista-or-not question isn't about improved security or glitzy transparent windows. It's not about or Mojave. It's not even about whether Vista is about to become obsolete, especially for IT shops still supporting a 2001 version of Windows that Microsoft is trying hard to make .

It's about money -- the money that IT can't get for a Vista upgrade. That's the simple, brutal reality we're facing.