NEC Corp. has been the victim of a large-scale piracy ring that sold both counterfeit NEC goods as well as NEC-branded products that the company does not even manufacture, it acknowledged on Friday.

Microsoft Corp. has finished development on Windows Vista and expects to ship the product by the end of the year, around the same time venerated Windows development leader Jim Allchin said he will retire from the company. But Allchin said Friday he is willing to put off both of those events if Windows Vista doesn't reach a standard of quality with which he is comfortable.