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With the CEO of PC maker Acer proclaiming Vista a disappointment and rumor of a long, long wait for an upgrade to Vista, it's no surprise Microsoft would issue a press release encouraging everyone to purchase a Vista PC. Microsoft's marketers suggest a range of models, all surely obsolete by December. Is Vista so disappointing that they can only find holiday gift giving — in the middle of the summer — as a reason to make a purchase? Or are they simply so inept they don't see that such an outlandish excuse just serves to highlight Vista's plight? You can tell that Bill Gates, while still chairman, is no longer a presence at the company. Microsoft's famously rude cofounder would have shot down the press release's credulous opening question, "Holiday gift giving in July?" with a simple "No."