Developers shy away from Vista, prefer Linux and even XP
By Justin Montgomery
This year has been particularly hard for Vista in regards to getting developers on board who actually want to develop applications for the OS. With Linux the clear choice in today’s open environment, it doesn’t make things easier for the struggling OS. Throw in the fact that it can’t seem to shake its reputation for dissatisfaction, and it spells disaster for the future of Vista application development overall.
A recent report from Evans Data shows fewer than one in 10 software developers are actively writing applications for Vista this year, which represents only eight percent, and is perhaps made even worse by the corresponding data that shows 49 percent of developers are writing applications for Windows XP, according to CNet.
It’s suggested the problem with Vista is not Vista itself, but rather Windows XP. When XP was released in 2001, it too had steep hardware demands, poor compatibility, as well as inferior performance, especially for users migrating from Windows 95/98/Me. Over XP’s extended lifetime, the hardware caught up and the vendors started supporting XP properly; the result is that XP is now small and fast with excellent compatibility. Vista does provide real benefits over XP, especially on the security front, but in spite of the lip-service paid by many organizations to security, this has not been sufficient to cause the large-scale migrations that Microsoft would have liked. That could change soon with Microsoft’s killing off of Windows XP. Maybe this will kick start the transition to Vista for both consumers and developers. With the major hurdles standing in the way of its adoption gone, and with its biggest competitor killed off, Vista might finally begin to flourish.
More than a year after its release, Vista is still failing to make significant inroads into the enterprise, with businesses preferring to stick with the tried-and-trusted Windows XP. John Andrews, president and CEO of Evans Data, claims that developers are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to Vista, as "the new operating system has had more than its share of problems"; driver issues, software incompatibility, and steep hardware demands.
I think the overall problem doesn’t lie in the fact that Windows XP was creating competition and a tried-and-true stable environment, I think it lies in the fact that Linux and other open platforms are simply the way of the future and dovetail nicely with the evolution of development in general. In other words, Windows development was more popular in the days of proprietary software, but with today’s "open" environment and demands, this is no longer the case.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
under 
Print This Post
Read more entries by Justin Montgomery.
Stumble It!
July 28th, 2008
just stay away from vista and dont buy laptops or pc that have it, why pay for crap?
July 28th, 2008
Boring
July 28th, 2008
Most people shy away from Vista, along with the IT Corporate World, developers…this is old news.
There are some who did welcome Vista.
The computer repair shops who make a good living installing XP over Vista.
Apple welcomed Vista, as a result Mac now commands about a 8% share…10% or more by next year.
The Linux community welcomed Vista , which ended up bringing a flood of new users to Linux. Which in turn got many long term Windows users to try out “dual booting” with Linux and Windows onto a migration path to going all Linux eventually.
Looking at the high hardware requirements for Vista ( and a re examination at the high licensing fees). Some companies, government agencies, military, police agencies, whole cities and even some countries among the EU are moving to open source.
Next time you walk into Lowes , look at the work station computer. They use Firefox and the XFCE based Linux operating system. Must save them tens of millions in licensing fees throughout the whole store chain.
July 28th, 2008
Vista sucks. When I first ran Vista I was so unimpressed. It seems, if anything, that Microsoft has gone backwards. Vista is slower, the UI (explorer.exe) crashes and needs to be re-executed often and it’s more expensive.
What was the point of Vista? Where did all the billions of dollars go into making it?
Microsoft needs to rethink how they make OS’s or sooner or later they will give people a real reason to switch to something else.
July 28th, 2008
Vista sucks. When I first ran Vista I was so unimpressed. It seems, if anything, that Microsoft has gone backwards. Vista is slower, the UI (explorer.exe) crashes and needs to be re-executed often and it’s more expensive.
What was the point of Vista? Where did all the billions of dollars go into making it?
Microsoft needs to rethink how they make OS’s or sooner or later they will give people a real reason to switch to something else.