SALEM, New Hampshire — In this town just a few minutes over the Massachusetts state line, shopping is a way of life. Massachusetts residents regularly make the crossing into New Hampshire to go on tax-free buying sprees.

Late Monday night, however, few residents of either state had come out for the launch of Microsoft’s much-ballyhooed operating system, Windows Vista. At CompUSA, slightly more than a dozen people wandered the aisles waiting for the stroke of midnight, when the software giant’s latest system would go on sale.

For Len Marchant, a technology consultant from Windham, New Hampshire, coming out Monday night is all about being part of the event. He remembers the crazy launch of Windows 95, when people lined up to get Microsoft’s next operating system. He attended the launch of Windows XP, but far fewer people showed up. Six years later, he decided to come out again.

“I don’t really have a reason,” Marchant said. “It’s just something to do.”

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