Microsoft Says Windows XP Sales To Remain Strong

I believe your points are correct, however. the planned move to a new operating system in just 3 years is a tacit admission that Vista was released too early and is effectively a dud.

I also believe that Windows 7 will be a slow starter for 2 reasons. It will be like every other OS Microsoft has released, too buggy at first. It will be the start of the Software as a Service initiative they are undertaking. While it is a great thing for them, it won’t be readily accepted by Joe Average, who doesn’t want to pay quarterly to the church of MS, just to be able to continue to use expiring software.

For business, I’m not sure. It depends how the CFOs want to change the budgeting of software and hardware purchases.

With S-a-a-S Microsoft wants to sell the idea that the newest revisions of the software will always be in the user’s hands, but it will have a hard time explaining how that differs from mothly fixes and service packs now.

With the release of Vista, by Microsoft, without the option to select XP, only shows how out of touch Microsoft is with actual computer users. The majority of computer users don’t use their computer for nothing more than email, photos, instant messaging, browsing the internet, and word processing, all of which can be accomplished with an old Win98 machine.

Now, Microsoft is trying to force upon us, the Vista system, which a very expensive alternative to what people were using before, where the only real advantage is it kinda looks like an Apple computer…big deal. I just can’t see people going out and spending all that money for nothing more than Microsoft’s sake.

I don’t think Microsoft knows anything about computer users at all, their idea of the ideal computer system is a coffee table that plugs into the wall…lol.

Hi Marc,
Good thoughts. I agree. Average Joe won’t accept them.

Hello Mike,
Thanks for your comments as well.

Ron

Vista will go down in history as the 2nd biggest ripoff that ever came down the road, with “ME” holding the number 1 distinction. What with all the pre-release hype that we all endured, Vista has been a big goose egg for Bill Gates et al.

As pointed out in the above comments, the Average Joe could care less about the glitter and gimics offered, but rather want a dependable, functional OS. Vista just doesn’t deliver the goods. I’ve been using XP Pro since its introduction and am very comfortable with it. AND, corporate America is just plain tired of the upgrade game that MS has forced down their throats. I work for the USPS, and 3 years ago they upgraded ALL of their pc’s in every Post Office and also their admin offices. This ran into a sizable chunk of change, to say the least! Our IT division has no plans on changing over, as it would mean replacing the pc’s as well (barebones Compaqs).

So, who’s left? Not me !! I just bought an OEM version of XP Pro to install on my sons Gateway lappy that came with Vista Home Premium. It’s a hog, even with the “minimum” 1 Gig of RAM! He hates it. Oh, just a quick question Ron … the disk came with a pci card but no explanation !! Any idea what it’s for? Obviously, it’s not gonna fit in the lappy! LOL

Don

Well I’m getting customers who just dont want Vista. Its actually now viable to build them a new system again. Its either that or refer them to Dell or charge a £60 premium to downgrade a Vista machine to XP. MS appear to have shot themselves in the foot.

As an OEM distributor and a Microsoft Partner, I feel MS is making a huge mistake. I have tried all versions of the Vista OS and each one has been a major dissapointment. I am located in a fairly small town with my main competition being Walmart and Office Depot. We are the only large computer store in our area that still offers XP systems. Since Vista’s release I have had a major increase in sales and have had well over 50 customers bring new Vista systems purchased somewhere else bring their computers (laptop and desktops) in to us begging to trade in for an XP system or asking to uninstall Vista and purchase XP to put back on. I am honest to my customers and being a MS Partner doesn’t change the way I reccomend systems to consumers. Vista was not ready for release and I can’t see it being ready for another year or two, if then. It is much slower than XP and simply will not work with most older hardware and software. Consumers are not just looking at paying more for the system but are also having to buy new hardware and software that is compatible. A lot of the software they have used for years and are accustomed to can’t be found to work with Vista so they are having to try and find replacement software that is and then having to relearn the software. In most cases, even when that software is found they discover that their data from their old program can’t be imported in to the new application. This is a major problem for businesses that have years of data they can no longer access. It’s bad enough that they will more or less force Vista on the customers that has kept them in business for so many years and to think that they will be coming out with a new OS in a few years and will probably do the same with Vista as they are now doing with XP is a disgrace. Kind of makes me wish they had lost the monopoly trial. I hope Linux can continue to improve and eventually put MS out of business. The consumer should have a choice and not be forced to choose based on what MS decides you need. I could go on forever but bottom line is MS is digging themselves a hole and based on the type of business I have it could put me out of business in the end. We specialize in improving XP’s performance via through tweaks to the OS and the knowledge we have for support for it. With Vista I would be bombarded with support calls daily (which I offer free to customers that purchase systems through us). With the small markup we have to stay competetive in the market I will end up losing on each sale if this happens. My number of calls have tripled since its release from people having difficulties with their older hardware and software and have no one else to call to try and help them.

I agree with you and Mike. MS must have never ask small cottage industry businesses what their needs are, or ever studied them. I use the list below, including the Commodore in my business for doing a variety of tasks. None of them work perfectly and some of the features that should have been improved over the years are still either slow or useless. I’m not a computer geek or perpetual web surfer. I just want a simple system with enough bells and whistles to let me do my work. The Mac’s won’t run any of my business/work stuff so that’s not a solution.

I currently use one 98 machine, one 2000 machine and two XP laptops. I will not upgrade to Vista on any of them. I don’t need it, don’t want it, it won’t run most of my software, and can’t afford the expense to try to upgrade more than one of my current computers to take it. The XP’s work great and that’s the system my next computer will get if I can still find it when I buy a computer the next time. Maybe I better go out and bet an extra copy or two now.

One common thing MS has never fixed is the long boot time and shutdown time. I also have an old Commodore 64 that boots faster using old 5-1/4 hard drives.

I recommended Windows 98 to my customers until XP SP2 came out. I expect that I will be recommending XP until Ubuntu closes the gap.

Jim

“On the one system I run Vista, I have to dual boot with XP because some of my software doesn’t function correctly.”

And that’s ok with you?

After I purchased a new SUV, I kept the old one because the new one didn’t run in certain weather.

In any case, I work in a Dell shop and am thankful that their business pc’s continue to feature XP. My advice to people is to stock up on XP licenses. Also remember that your Vista license is upgradeable to XP at no cost; XP to Vista costs.

I’d rather convert 2,000 desktops to linux than order new hardware for Vista. Since it’s a change regardless, now might be the right time to start a slow migration…..

Regardless, XP will be supported for many years.

Microsoft is indeed oblivious to the needs of the home user as well as the busness user. Vista requires an upgrade in memory, speed, and video card that do not add necessarily to the capability of the basic OS. Their move to force OEMs to discontinue providing XP beginning in 2008 is truly unconcionable. One thing I still don’t understand is the almost total lack of drivers for Vista. One rumor I heard stated that the released verson of Vista was totally different from the betas they had furnished to manufacturers of software and hardware. Chris’s experience was all too common and left him high and dry for his daily computer needs.

Hi Don,
Thats funny. A PCI card.. No clue my friend. Maybe it was a bonus part. LOL

JonH,
Thanks for sharing your experience.

Chris Elrod,
Thank goodness for people like you who are honest in their assessments and put their customers first.

Thanks everyone for your comments,
Ron

Hi Jim and Dave,
Thanks for your comments as well.
Ron

Heh leftystrat,
That was a good one. I like that! Thanks for the chuckle.

Hi Cliff,
I agree. Thanks for the comments.

Ron

Don, you purchased an OEM version of Windows. By Microsoft’s license agreements, OEM software must be sold with new hardware. That’s the PCI card. It’s a loophole to sell the OS at OEM prices, by throwing in a relatively worthless piece of unsold hardware that they’d otherwise write off.

BC,
Good call! Thanks for the info.
Ron

‘lo BC .. wow! Thanks for that info! I was pulling my hair out trying to figure it out, but you answered my question (and concerns) and right on the money. I guess I can deep-6 the card, as it serves no purpose other than to cover the law lol.

Tks again ….. Don

Ron; one quick question … when I make the plunge and install the XP OEM, would I be better off doing a disk format first, or just doing a clean install over the VISTA, having it overwrite everything. It’s been a long time since I last did something like this and wasn’t sure which way to go. Tks for your help (and all your readers!).

Don

Hey guys & gals
I see write-ups from various sychophants about thier fave O.Ses, whether from Mac or Windows or Linux.
I personally don’t hold a grudge against someone who can make money out of “nothing”. (M.S).
I personally think M.S should have just built on XP and stuck with it, as a build upgrade (not unlike Mac’s).
Was it not only 12months ago M.S. claimed that Vista was going to be “The” O.S and the final? Now their already planning Windows ( 7? ) or should that be Windows Busta?
I have a copy of MS Vista home Prem and, I’ll admit, it does look pretty, but do we need more bloat-ware on our systems? And to be forced to shell out hard earned dollars for something that is so ‘buggy’ that you need to call an exterminator.
One more thing. MS are planning to do away with the desktop OS altogether and have their proprietry gui online along with their online apps - Office etc. That might be fine for businesses, but a lot of the general public don’t always want to be online (cost restraints) but still use their computer.
If this eventuates, I can see a “Mass” migration to alternate O.Ses.

Thankyou

Hi Don,
Do a format - clean install. You can’t use a older OS to overwrite a newer one. I hope this helps.

Hello drool,
Thanks for your comments.
Ron

Hey Ron,
I have a friend over in Jamestown CA that was a Beta tester for Vista. Haven’t heard from him since!

Hello Goose,
I think that you are better off without him! LOL
Ron

HELLO-O-O-O

…………….Gooose & Ron

I’v been busy tryin to Figure Out my “VISTA” Machine…

Heh Den,
Good luck with Vista.
Ron

Ron … tks for the advice. I guess I knew the answer before I asked the question, but I’m lazy by nature and “thought” I could save certain files & pgms. Yeah, right! I WILL make an image backup before undertaking the project in case I screw up badly. Geez, I haven’t done one since my old (ancient) AT&T desktop with Windows 95! Back then, it seemed the norm to do a reformat at least once a month or so! LOL

Wouldn’t it be great if Bill Gates paid attention to this forum, and others like it? Must be thousands of disgruntled customers who got sucked into the VISTA scheme of things, only to find out too late that it was a total waste of money.

As suggested in earlier comments, if a dedicated effort had been made to solidify the XP OS and then sell it at a modest “upgrade” price, he might have done well, and also made many many software/hardware vendors happy!

Don

If MS is really planning on releasing yet another “new” OS (Windows 7), then it will only reinforce corporate America’s decision to NOT upgrade to VISTA now. Why would any IT department recommend doing so, when it’s a soon-to-be relic? Either Bill Gates is on drugs, or he’s lost touch with the realities of this mess. OR, maybe the “7″ OS will be a rerun of the “ME” offering that upgraded (grin) the 98SE OS.

If this scenario was a tv sitcom, it’d be the biggest hit of the season, bar none.

Don

Hi Don,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Your comments on right on.
Have a good weekend.
Ron