From TechRepublic:
Retailers are gearing up for next week’s Vista launch, but it appears the “midnight madness” will be kept to a minimum.
CompUSA plans to keep its stores open past midnight on Tuesday, January 30, so shoppers can get the new operating system as soon as it goes on sale. Best Buy and Circuit City will each keep a handful of stores open late, but most of their stores and those of other retailers are planning normal hours.
That’s a far cry from the epic August 1995 launch of Windows 95, when Microsoft managed to get people to line up for blocks to buy its latest release. But that doesn’t mean retailers aren’t counting on Vista. While the new operating system didn’t arrive in time for last year’s holiday shopping season, retailers are hoping something special in January might draw buyers at a time that is not.