Hundreds of people braved chilly weather in Tokyo on Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday to be among the first in the world to buy a retail copy of the Windows Vista operating system.Major electronics retailers across the city and specialist PC retailers in the electronics mecca of Akihabara were open at midnight to sell the first copies. At Tsukumo Denki in Akihabara, a crowd of about 200 people had built up around 10 p.m. in anticipation of the launch. An equally large line of people queued at the nearby Yodobashi Camera store, which is Japan’s largest electronics store.Outside Bic Camera in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo, a couple hundred people also waited. Some were there to buy Vista, and others appeared to be office workers on the way home who had stopped to take in the scene and watch the comedy duo the store had hired to entertain those waiting. “I feel great,” said Darren Huston, president and chief executive officer of Microsoft’s Japanese unit, in an interview at 1 a.m. Tuesday, local time, just after Vista went on sale. “It’s a real testament to Japan. I don’t know what other people are coming out on a cold Tuesday night in January to celebrate a new operating system.”Microsoft ran several promotional events in Akihabara up to Tuesday’s launch in an attempt to build buzz for the operating system. The company views the PC enthusiasts who inhabit the districts parts, electronics and hobby stores as influential users who can drive sales among a wider user base. “These are all just anecdotal data points, but the sell-through of Vista Ultimate tonight, it really is the product that is in demand in Akihabara. And it really shows the PC enthusiasts wanting to get the very, very best in their hands,” he said. “Really, just dramatic sell-through and certainly above anything I expected, but they’re a really, really critical audience to test, put their hands on and write their blogs about it and say what they like and they don’t like and give feedback, but as they do that I think they will influence a much bigger community around them.”Japan got a head start on most of the rest of the world due to its position just three hours west of the international dateline and the popularity with which Japanese people often greet the newest products.Vista was due to first go on sale in New Zealand, where All Blacks rugby star Daniel Carter bought the first computer loaded with Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system and put it up for charity auction. The auction is to benefit Cure Kids, a charity for children with life- threatening illnesses.As of the time of writing—just a couple of hours into the new day—the laptop had attracted 20 bids and the price was sitting at New Zealand $1,250 (US$871). Copies of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition “digitally signed” by Bill Gates had attracted six bids and were at NZ$500.-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)Related Links: Microsoft Windows Vista: The OS Has Landed Beyond Vista Windows Vista Holds Clues to Microsoft’s FutureCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud brandpost Survey: Marketers embrace AI at expense of metaverse investments Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has quickly rocked the world of marketing. Sitecore polled B2B marketers on their perceptions of GAI. Here’s what they said. By Dave O’Flanagan, Sitecore Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence news Zendesk to lay off another 8% of its staff, cites macroeconomic issues The new tranche of layoffs comes just six months after the company let go of 300 staffers and hired a new CEO in order to navigate its operations through macroeconomic distress. By Anirban Ghoshal Jun 01, 2023 3 mins CRM Systems IT Jobs feature 5 CxOs on leading change To be the agents of change that businesses require today, IT leaders must embrace a flexible mindset, prep their orgs for change, and recognize that intention and purpose are vital to empowering transformation. By Dan Roberts Jun 01, 2023 13 mins Digital Transformation Change Management IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe