Ballmer: 'A Lot Of Work To Do' On Vista

At an investment conference this week, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer said Windows Vista developers have "a lot of work to do" before the OS releases, then blamed the press for concentrating on the Redmond, Wash. company's legal woes.

"[It's] a little early on the Vista feedback, beta feedback, a little early," Ballmer said in response to a question about Vista's release timeline at Wednesday's Sanford C. Bernstein investment conference in New York City. Ballmer was on a swing through Wall Street to update investors on Microsoft's plans for growing revenue.

Windows Vista recently went into broader testing when Microsoft released Beta 2 of the next-generation operating system to developers and IT professionals. It has promised that the general public will be able to obtain Beta 2 sometime in the next few weeks.

"We've still got a lot of work to do. We're prioritizing quality," he added. Unlike during appearances earlier in the week in Korea and Japan, Ballmer refused to be drawn into a discussion of whether Vista would ship in January, the schedule the company set in March when it delayed the OS.

"We've said what we have to say about when the thing will be delivered," said Ballmer. "But I'll tell you, at the end of the day the priority has got to be to complete with good quality."