Microsoft Engineering might be moving forward admirably, but Microsoft marketing continues with the same silly and massive and inexplicable early announcement m

Microsoft Engineering might be moving forward admirably, but Microsoft marketing continues with the same silly and massive and inexplicable early announcement model. Availability the end of the year? Ten months? Sheesh. Next time? Surprise us. Surprise us when we can buy it. But ten months ahead? By the time we can hold it and buy it, we'll have another generation of iPhone and of Android and who knows whatever else, and there may (will?) be some sort of a launch-time perturbation or problem with the software or the hardware or the carrier or with a public prototype, and we'll have had ten months of picking the product apart in the reviews and the blogs and the trade rags; all of which will detract from the success of your launch. Mr Balmer? Keep your corporate yap shut. Until you have product. Way to blow your lead and your designs and your product launch, dude. Way to go.