Computing and Information Services will not support Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, until later this year.
Many programs currently used by the University, such as its anti-virus software, are incompatible with Windows Vista, said Timothy Thorp, manager of training and communication for CIS. Software vendors need time to make versions that will work with Vista, Thorp added.
"If we recommend (using) it at this time, people will have a very negative experience trying to use software that they would expect (to work)," Thorp said. "So, basically, we're not ready yet to have it on our campus."
The CIS Help Desk is not yet familiar enough with Vista to be able to help students with problems, said Peter Tirrell, associate director of desktop services for CIS.
Tirrell said he does not know how long it will take to be ready to support Vista.
"There's no specific timeline. Some (programs) are better than others," he said. "There are projected dates of anywhere from 60 to 90 days, but (those are) just estimates."
The delay in supporting a new operating system is similar at other institutions, Thorp said.
Tirrell said he expects CIS will "definitely have some kind of support in place for the fall semester."
In the meantime, CIS may become more comfortable with Vista and may be able to provide some limited support to users, Tirrell said.
Daniel Leventhal '07, a computer science concentrator, said he understood CIS's decision. "You don't want to be the first person to use a totally new operating system, because it's going to have bugs, it's going to have security holes, and in a couple of months they'll solve all that ... until you put it out there, it's hard to tell if it's secure," he said.
