Vista Upgrade Is a Long Way Off, Say IT Pros

It might be the most publicized and monitored technology release this year, but it will be awhile before Microsofts Windows Vista makes an enterprise mark, according to a monthly report on the state of the tech job market published Jan. 10 by New York-based Dice, an IT careers site.

When asked how quickly they expected their companies to upgrade to Vista, 63 percent of tech professionals responding to the reports topic poll said it would be quite awhile, as Vista needs to prove itself before they feel good about upgrading.

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Twenty-three percent responded that their company will not be upgrading any sooner than usual, or accelerating their upgrade cycle just for Vista.

A mere 13 percent of companies had made specific plans to upgrade their operating system to Vista; 8 percent said theyd be doing so relatively soon, and likely within the next 12 months; and just 5 percent said theyd be doing so almost immediately, delaying other projects.

Rounding up the technology job markets in different metropolitan areas, the report found that the Houston metro area has seen the biggest growth in job availabilities in the past 12 months, up 47 percent since January 2006.

St. Louis was up 40 percent in the same time span, Chicago was up 23 percent, and Boston was also up 23 percent in IT job availabilities in the past year.

Demand for JavaScript skills were up 57 percent in 2006, C and C++ were up 44 percent, and Linux was up 41 percent, according to the report.

New York and New Jersey hold first place for the most IT job postings, followed by Washington D.C., Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Chicago.

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