Vista still far behind XP usage
Microsoft has been hoping that Vista would eventually replace XP. This has not happened. Nor is it likely to happen either. Windows 7 is just around the corner and there is no real motivation to migrate to Vista.
The company has dumped more money into advertizing Vista than it did trying to fix its problems. What came out of that was a half baked operating system that has taken more updates than can be counted to hopefully get right. Service Pack 1 did fix some of the problems and Service Pack 2 may well fix the rest.
Windows XP SP3 includes most of the same security features of Vista so why would anyone want to give up an operating system that works for another that may not be compatible with programs and/or peripherals? They wouldn’t, and that’s exactly what Microsoft found out.
There is a downside to this. The newest hardware doesn’t exactly play nice with XP and older hardware doesn’t play nice with Vista. It seems that users are willing to have a tiny amount of reduced functionality to get XP even if it will cost an additional $150.
According to eFluxMedia the deadline for XP downgrades has been extended twice and currently ends on July 31st, 2009. The market share for Windows XP is sitting right around 66 percent. Windows Vista has around 20 percent with Mac OSX having around a combined 8 percent for Intel and PowerPC versions. The remainder is picked up by Linux, Windows 2000 and “other.”
It seems as if Windows Vista will be swept under the rug when Windows 7 comes out and Microsoft will barely acknowledge that such an operating system ever existed. Much like it did with Windows ME.
It’s still up in the air how Windows 7 will go over with reports circulating that Apple will call it “Windows Vista II.” That’s not out of the realm of possibility unless Microsoft can put out a nearly flawless OS in the first place. Even then Mac and PC will continue to battle it out.
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December 16th, 2008
I would like Vista more if it didn’t eat so much power. Apparently W7 is resource friendly, so hopefully battery life will be lengthened.
Isn’t the problem though that XP is just “good enough” for most people.
Vista & 7 offer nothing to the “normal” user that XP doesn’t.
I think it is interesting though that while in the past, MS was able to sweep everybody onto its newest OS whether they liked it or not; they haven’t been able to do it with Vista.
It’s nice to know that people still have some power.
December 16th, 2008
Don’t forget Windows was very fragmented when XP came along. You still found Win95,98,98se,ME,NT,2000 being used in significant numbers. Vista was the first shot from Microsoft since WFW to move an entire class of users at once, they certainly didn’t with XP.
Vista was far from an excellent OS, Microsoft screwed the pooch from greed and arrogance when they rolled it out. Letting Intel slap labels on board with video chipsets that couldn’t run it, setting a bewildering number of versions and essentially found they weren’t as in charge as they like to think.
I think it isn’t horrible, but there’s nothing very compelling to it either. XP has a slew of improvements over other versions, wireless, system file rollback, system restore among others that Vista just didn’t have. Vista isn’t eating power, the driver for your chipset might not be using power settings properly, if you have less than 2 Gig of RAM you will be unable to keep enough of the kernel in memory and it will swap back and forth etc…
That being said, I gave it 90 days after release after using it from the first Beta and by far prefer Linux over any version of Windows. Vista failed as much from foolish marketing as the OS. XP was pretty crappy for the first couple of years. The BSODs and widespread paralysis from a virus was fairly common prior to SP2.
Anyone thinking Vista was more than a slight stumble for them is kidding themselves. I don’t think we will ever see an OS dominate like this again. There is just too much to overcome.
Apple grew when the hardware became Intel and the prices came in line. And could run Windows.
Linux might grow to 10% with luck, much as I love it. It’s not happening unless it comes pre installed. Most people couldn’t reinstall Windows, and lack of game support is a concern.
December 17th, 2008
“The company has dumped more money into advertising Vista than it did trying to fix its problems.”
Care to elaborate, or did you just make that up? Do you have any figures to support this, or have you just been watching too many apple ads?
“What came out of that was a half baked operating system that has taken more updates than can be counted to hopefully get right.”
You mean SP1 & SP2? Can’t you count that many? Again, why don’t you elaborate here?
“Windows XP SP3 includes most of the same security features of Vista”
Again you know nothing about operating system design. Vista has several core technologies enabling security which can’t be back ported to XP. Vista has also been developed from the beginning using more secure development practices. By comparison to other operating systems, Vista is one of the most, if not the most secure.
Schlafter, you should go back to PC repairs. Your attempts at punditry are embarrassing and you find new ways to demonstrate your ignorance with every post.
December 17th, 2008
No, I don’t really know how much Microsoft dumps into advertising vs. R&D. That could have been worded better. The point was that the company dropped the ball on research and quality control.
How many individual updates lead up to Vista SP1? How many individual updates have lead up to Vista SP2? Though it may be in beta it is still not “officially released.”
Yes, Vista has some features that can’t be ported back to XP. Hence the wording choice of “most” and not “all.”
December 17th, 2008
” By comparison to other operating systems, Vista is one of the most, if not the most secure.”
Got to differ on that one. You can have all kinds of designs, but if the users find it a pain in the ass and won’t use it, it might as well not exist. I don’t know anyone that is happy with UAC, that kind of blows much of the security out of the water.
December 17th, 2008
Tone said: “Again you know nothing about operating system design.”
And further: “Vista has also been developed from the beginning using more secure development practices.”
And, amazingly: “By comparison to other operating systems, Vista is one of the most, if not the most secure.”
You, Tone, are the one who knows nothing about operating system design. Your homework is to perform some research on said design, and on the various OS security paradigms, along with the consequent impact on security in each case. If you wish, you may post a correction to your ill-informed assertions as quoted above.
Hint: Don’t use IE to perform your research, because it has a recently-discovered security hole that is about the size of the Grand Canyon.
December 18th, 2008
@Hugh – heard of Microsoft’s trusted computing initiative and associated development practices? Want to compare number of critical issues in vista against other operating systems? And do you want to provide some actual statements to refute what I have said instead of just shrugging them off?
I’d very much like to see how other operating systems would stand up if they had a similar level of market share to windows. Don’t tell me that OSX is more secure – it has many patches and vulnerabilities.
@Ken – UAC isn’t the only security mechanism in Vista. Also, UAC may be a pain for power users (who should know how to protect themselves anyway, but normal users hardly ever see it)
@Jonathan:
“The point was that the company dropped the ball on research and quality control.”
Then make that point, rather than making other poorly founded assertions just for effect.
Want to compare numbers of updates / patches across operating systems? All software has multiple updates. Vista is no worse in this respect.
XP does not include most of the same security features. It has several fundamental differences in this regard.
December 18th, 2008
Tone,
From your post (@Hugh, @Ken, @Jonathan), it is clear that you are fighting a war on three fronts. If you know anything about military history, you will appreciate how invidious your position is. I think you are best advised to start on your homework – and sooner rather than later, as the clock is ticking!
(By the way, I have worked in the I.T. industry for a very long time, and I am well aware that when a large company uses the term “initiative”, it is employing management-speak for a load of tripe, and is usually doing nothing more than engaging in a time-wasting P.R. / marketing exercise. Microsoft certainly have a long history in this regard – just consider their record on vapourware; you need look no further than all the features that were dropped from Vista for a good object lesson.)
Regards,
Hugh
P.S. I wasn’t shrugging, I was laughing …
December 18th, 2008
Please dont mention linux in articles about windows, its really missleading. Linux cant compete with windows at a serious level.
December 18th, 2008
@Psnak,
Please don’t spell “misleading” incorrectly – it’s really misleading. Note also that “can’t” has an apostrophe, and that the first “w” in “Windows” should be capitalised.
Once you have spent some time improving your English, you should perform some research on Linux, which is not only a serious competitor for Windows, but is improving at a rapid rate. (Perhaps you would like to help tone with his homework on OS security).
Regards,
Hugh
P.S. If Microsoft is paying you to post comments, I trust that you are giving them a big discount.