Analyst says adopting Windows Vista will become inevitable
By Triston McIntyre
Though many consumers aren’t suffering the woes of being forced to upgrade to Windows Vista, what with a very suitable XP SP3 readily available, businesses are in an altogether different position. Analysts believe that Microsoft’s halt on distribution of XP to retailers and manufacturers will force businesses to upgrade to Vista, whether they like it or not.
According to PC World, analyst Ben Gray of Forrest Researcher Inc., the time is drawing near at which businesses will simply have to upgrade to Vista. Businesses need the productivity associated with Microsoft’s most recent OS, and waiting until Windows 7 is released is largely out of the question.
As of June 30th, Microsoft will cease the distribution of Windows XP to retail locations and manufacturers, essentially forcing those businesses needing to upgrade to either adopt Vista or wait it out in hopes of a speedy Windows 7 release.
There is a good deal of irony here, as PC Word points out. Because of the unpredictability of previous Windows releases, the greatest of which was Vista, businesses will have to adopt Vista because no one knows anything about Windows 7, not to mention when it might be released.
On top of that, there’s absolutely no reassurance that Vista won’t end up being what XP is currently to Vista — better grounded, more established, and a smarter choice than the new OS. Many assume that Windows 7 will be what XP was after Windows ME — a sort of apology for the previous operating system that comes in the form of vast improvements and better stability. Microsoft has made no such allegations.
So even though many critics of Vista have pointed out every flaw and shortcoming in hopes of dissuading consumers from adopting it, it would seem Microsoft will end up forcing Vista upon businesses, whether those businesses like it or not.
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May 5th, 2008
“it would seem Microsoft will end up forcing Vista upon businesses, whether those businesses like it or not.”
Businesses (if anyone didn’t notice) are hurting financially just as consumers are. Just like a business may face buying a new fleet of trucks or holding on to the existing fleet for another year or two, or that new million dollar machine or maybe a basic overhaul would be less expensive, or maybe even laying off some workers to save the company altogether.
If anyone has any basic business sense in a rough economy, the rule is “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. If it runs don’t replace it. If it is dependable and gets the job done no matter if it is five or ten years old, keep it.
This thought that because MSFT makes it and releases it, everyone must upgrade or buy new computers and hardware because MSFT and some “experts” say so is ludicrous.
The last thing any business needs to do is to take something thats running good and gets the job done and already paid for, and replace it with something buggy and slower in performance and must be bought outright in one huge capital expense.
I think at this point with the rise of companies with alternative operating systems like Red Hat, Novell and other Linux derivatives that cost little or nothing….
Microsoft should count itself lucky that people still want to use expensive proprietary operating systems like Windows and not something else. I don’t think they are really in a position to tell a company what to run on their computers anymore.
The days of Microsoft dictating to a company on what they will run are about over. There are other less expensive options a company can explore. This is 2008 and MSFT is no longer the only game in town , no matter what the “reps” or “experts” say.
May 5th, 2008
He’s forgetting that Microsoft’s Volume Licensing agreements allow downgrading to any version, even Windows 95. They were drafted to ensure MS got a license fee.
Obviously, they never thought they would be in a position where forcing an OS on people was going to be needed.