Since it’s released in January 2007, Windows Vista still hasn’t managed to gather a loyal following. Vista has faced disappointment and rejection from both individual users and companies world wide!
This newest operating system has been labeled bloated and too expensive for most normal computer users. The necessary upgrades in hardware and the bugs that Microsoft still hasn’t managed to work out, just aren’t worth any advantages that Vista may claim to have.
Microsoft has never seemed to be a company that listened to the users of it’s products. And, an online petition to urge Microsoft to grant Windows XP a stay of execution only yielded a promise of longer support for the popular OS.
While the normal amount of continued support for other operating systems has been ten years, XP support will continue until 2014. This is considered an unprecedented move for Microsoft, but still falls far from the demands of XP users.
With the resistance that Vista has met, Microsoft was literally left with little choice in the matter. Many of it’s largest and closest business customers have even refused to integrate Vista into their own computers.
The first concession to Windows XP was made last year in the form of a downgrade license that only applies to computers that come with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate. It allows computer manufacturers to give anyone who purchases one of these computers the option of switching from Vista to XP.
Many manufacturers have taken advantage of this option including Dell, Fijitsu, Gateway and Hewlett Packard. They’ve continued to sell computers loaded with XP even after Vista has been out for well over a year.
There is a catch however, Microsoft only allows the downgrades on certain systems and the option may disappear soon. Many manufacturers will also charge a fee for the option and some may not offer support on many problems that arise.
Another problem will be that some hardware features available on new computers will only work with Vista. So, the downgrade option may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Until now Intel and Microsoft, often referred to as the Wintel duo have worked side by side in fine tuning hardware and software to play nicely together. But, Intel has just announced that it won’t be upgrading around 80,000 of it’s company computers to Vista.
Although, Microsoft claims there are over 140 million computers worldwide running Vista it’s perfectly clear that not everyone is making the switch. And, some of those that have are regretting the move.
Microsoft made another good faith gesture in allowing XP to still be installed on cheaper priced computers, supposedly under $400. But, it’s only a matter of time before any or all of these small concessions are withdrawn from consumers.
Consumers are normally reluctant to upgrade when a new operating system is released, but the resistance to Vista has been staggering. A problem that may have prompted the scheduled release of Windows 7 to be pushed up to late in 2009 from 2010.
Though Vista does have it’s problems, XP fans have forgotten that a series of updates and patches have gotten the OS where it is today! No operating system starts out without bugs and flaws that have to be corrected over time.
While there are many that’s against Microsoft putting an end to sales of XP, it will be many years before it’s gone entirely. After all, many people have found a favorite operating system and stuck with it before, Windows 2000 can still be found on many home computers.
I just cannot see an end in sight for XP for a number of years. Microsoft really have their work cut out for them.
Comment by dave — July 21, 2008 @ 9:56 am