UPDATE 27 March 2006 5:45 pm ET

Redmond (WA) - A report in this morning’s New York Times cites an anonymous source as having learned through another unnamed source that Hewlett-Packard, in meetings with Microsoft officials over the past few weeks, told them that if Windows Vista were not ready for manufacturing by August, HP would be in a poor position to be ready to ship Vista-ready computers for sale during the 2006 holiday season.

The report cites the differences between the sales models of Dell, the leading computer retailer in the US, which relies to a large extent upon direct sales, and HP, the #2 retailer here, which relies on a more conventional, slower retail sales channel.

If this news is accurate, it’s actually somewhat curious, given the information TG Daily has received over the past few months in its coverage of Microsoft. As early as January, during CES 2006, multiple sources indicated to TG Daily that Microsoft was preparing for a Vista rollout in late September or early October, at the latest. This would coincide with Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin’s statement last Tuesday that the portion of the delay for which technical issues are accountable, was only a few weeks’ time. Further, information TG Daily had received indicated that all major Microsoft partners should have been aware of this Vista itinerary.

In Microsoft’s press release late last Tuesday announcing the delay, HP and Best Buy were quoted as supporting the company’s decision. HP executive vice president for personal systems Todd Bradley stated, "We strongly support Microsoft’s decision to prioritize quality in determining the schedule for Windows Vista. A January launch of Windows Vista allows us to execute in a consistent way throughout the holidays, and will provide the right opportunity for a large, exciting launch industry-wide after the New Year." Bradley’s statement refers back to a promise made by Jim Allchin over a year earlier, and repeated several times hence, that Microsoft would not ship Vista until it was technically complete and free of flaws.

UPDATE : A spokesperson for Hewlett-Packard late this afternoon acknowledged that HP communicated with Microsoft on the subject of Vista’s release, but would not say whether the company tried to influence Microsoft’s itinerary. "As we have a very close working relationship with Microsoft," the spokesperson wrote, "HP certainly shared its preferences, but Microsoft determined their own launch strategy." Only Microsoft would know what factors truly led to its decision, the spokesperson said, though HP stated it made no "ultimatums" to Microsoft. TG Daily had not asked HP whether it did make ultimatums.

The Times report - headlined "Windows Is So Slow, But Why ?" is, ostensibly, an analysis of whether Windows has become too complex and unwieldy to be manageable, not only by businesses and consumers but by Microsoft itself. It’s indicative of what may be a growing wave of press reports casting a skeptical eye on Vista’s success as a product, and Microsoft’s capabilities as a manufacturer. Also this morning, One report in the San Jose Mercury News this morning is examining the meaning behind a Microsoft employee memo last week, just made public, explaining the goals behind last week’s employee reassignment as having included "[to] improve clarity of decision making, drive greater accountability, and reduce layers in the organization so we can move faster." And another Mercury News report, also this morning, examines the implications of so-called "Vista-ready" computers not being able to implement some key Vista features without replacing their graphics cards and perhaps also adding memory - the focus of multiple TG Daily reports since last September.