Vista and Office: The WOW Starts Now!

The invitation to "The "WOW starts now" event includes a note signed by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, in which he says that, "on January 29th, Microsoft will celebrate the launch of two amazing products that represent the culmination of a tremendous team effort."

Attendees will be treated to a celebratory lunch at Manhattan's famous Cipriani restaurant, followed by the actual launch event at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square later in the day.

Gates goes on to say that millions of people--Microsoft employees, developers, customers, bloggers, families, media, the entire industry--"have come together like never before and added their own individual imprints to help make Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office system the most tested products in Microsoft history."

Microsoft's goal with Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office system is to make people's digital lives easier, more entertaining, better connected, as well as safer and more reliable, he said.

"Our celebration is dedicated to the millions of people who helped transform the operating system into a rich experience that's more exciting and more powerful than ever before. Because of the immense personal contributions of so many, we hope you will help us celebrate a new digital lifestyle and a new era in personal computing," he concludes.

The consumer launch of the products follows their business release last November, an event company CEO Steve Ballmer said was the "biggest launch we've ever done."

But analysts have cautioned that getting the company's large installed base to upgrade to the latest wave of products is one of the biggest challenges facing Microsoft in 2007.