Windows Vista, One Bad Year Later

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 01/11/08

[TigerLikesRooster]

Windows Vista, One Bad Year Later

A year since the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft is cringing at the poor sales of the new operating system. It was initially touted as a landmark new development to reinvigorate the IT industry, prompting expectations of wide-ranging “Vista effects.” Instead, Apple’s new operating system, which now also works on PCs, is stealing the thunder. Microsoft has hurriedly responded by developing a new version of the old XP.

◆ Windows Vista flops

According to market researcher Net Applications, Apple is enjoying the largest-ever share in the global operating system market with Leopard, the newest version. Since its release in December last year, Apple OS including Leopard have gained a market share of 7.31 percent, a record high. During the same period, Windows OS products including Vista saw a drop in their market share ? although their aggregate market share still stands at 91.79 percent. But Leopard is enjoying critical and consumer acclaim, which Vista has signally failed to win.

Major media outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have showered compliments on the Apple OS, which they say is easy and fast. Consumer opinions about Vista have not yielded to Microsoft’s efforts. Tech product reviewer CNET’s UK division picked Vista as one of top 10 “terrible technology products” for 2007.

◆ Microsoft in Agony

Vista cost US$6 billion and a workforce of 8,000 to develop before making its debut in January 2007. It shows a handful of good improvements, especially better security features. But the bundling of too many functions into the OS takes up a considerable portion of the computer memory and causes unexpected hitches like a slowdown in processing speed. The IT giant faced a stream of consumer requests to change the operating system of their computers back from Vista to XP. In Korea, Microsoft failed to win a single corporate customer.

Kim Hyun-jung, an analyst with Tongyang Investment and Securities, said the Vista effect did not happen, and memory chip makers are “suffering from their miscalculation.” Memory producers aggressively increased investment in developing facilities in expectations of Vista effects, but they have yet to see a profit from the investment.

A Microsoft spokesman said XP was only in genuine demand one year after its release. His company, he said, has follow-up plans to boost sales of Vista like the release of a service pack in the first half of the year. But he declined to reveal exact sales figures of Vista in Korea. Despite Microsoft’s efforts, many IT insiders worry because there is insufficient supply of programs that run on Vista. One IT industry guru said the operating system market situation shows that “even the mythical Microsoft monopoly could break down if it fails to meet the demand of consumers.”

[C210N]

Did you first format the HDD then install XP? Or is the above because you installed XP on another partition? I don't understand why installing XP would come out only a partial install.

Yes, I formatted first (I used a new HDD, saving the original HDD in case any XP show-stopper occurred). By "partial install", you mean without many drivers? Well, the XP I used just didn't include drivers that I ultimately needed.

So, you're saying, XP can only be installed 'partially' on a former Vista machine, but the balance (drivers, etc.) can be obtained from sources online. Is this correct? What are those sources?

Yes. The source is clear by simple searches on the DELL forums- not maintained by DELL, but used by many frustrated DELL owners. If anybody at FR needs help w/ drivers of a 530/531 nature, feel free to give a holler via FR e-mail (I've already helped others with links and info).

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Actually, it wasn’t our IT manager’s call. She knew better, but senior management overruled her, thinking that the security would be better (we do litigation support) with Vista than XP, with all the viruses and hackers out in the world.

[roamer_1]

I use memory intensive graphic stuff like Adobe CS3, Lightroom, printing utilities, etc. and would need at least a 4GB system with Vista. I'll need that much RAM anyway.

I would highly recommend that you find a trustworthy local white-box builder to facilitate your upgrade. XP will run on any of the new hardware I have found available, and one can even use Win2k if someone knowledgeable is building/installing the system.

Many of my graphics guys are still using Win2k, as it is so lightweight, while others are using a pared down (shut off unneeded services) XP. I would not recommend going to Vista unless you need to implement the new graphics (Aero) for some reason.

[roamer_1]

Microsoft is stuck in the same trap as the Big Three American automakers were in the 1970s. They've been so dominant for so long that they think folks will swallow whatever they ladle. They fail to see that the situation has changed. No hegemony lasts forever.

A brilliant analogy.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

I’ve only used Vista once, when setting up the wireless on a friend’s laptop. To call it an improvement on XP is fraud.

[an amused spectator]

She knew better, but senior management overruled her

Ah! Senior management, who are NOTED for their computer acumen...

I found that people 55 years+ usually have a very hard time getting the hang of computers, and Very Important People that age or older were Too Important to have to deal with such mundane things - so their secretaries or underlings did it for them.

However, the Very Important People usually could be found making major decisions such as the one you described.

Of course, when the stuff hits the fan afterwards, worker bees like your IT manager are the ones who have to work the extra hours and bear the brunt of the ill will...

[Swordmaker]

It matters not whether there is a specific Mac product to do what Garzaloon comes up with... the Mac can run the Windows version in either Boot Camp, Parallels, or VM Fusion. That includes “Benoit” fractal analysis, Engineer, and AutoCad, or Soldiworks. In addition that are thousands of UNIX applications in all of those fields. “Benoit” fractal analysis is often used in Genetic Research and the Mac is the pre-eminent computer in that field.

[Swordmaker]

When Apple "innovated" to Intel chipsets, they required that their users buy "upgrades" to all of Apple's professional software except for iLife, Safari and Mail. See this from Apple.com:

Rosetta was intended for those applications that did not have a universal version. The Apple Pro applications were ready from day one of the Intel conversion with universal versions.

Keep in mind that these ARE professional grade software... the software that people make money with... and those who do use them to earn a living would not hesitate to upgrade to increase speed and therefore productivity. These are the same people who don't blink at buying a $10,000 maxed out computer because it is more reliable and faster than a $5000 computer.

[Swordmaker]

If it's pre Tiger apps on OSX, well Apple users would have you believe there are no problems.

I have been running Pre-OSX Macintosh applications on my Tiger installations... some from as far back as OS7. I have not had any problems with the vast majority of OSX applications from upgrade to upgrade. The sole exception has been a little utility I like called ASM that has needed a little tweaking by its author to work with each upgrade... but that usually was available within a week of the upgrade's release. I can still run most of the applications that ran on OSX.0 when it was released in 2001.

With the introduction of Leopard, Apple has dropped backwards compatibility with the pre-OSX Apple applications. The only thing I miss is Pagestream... which I can still use on a laptop I have here running Tiger.

Quite frankly, it was nothing short of amazing how few applications broke on the switch from PowerPC architecture to Intel... or how few OS( and lower apps did not work in Classic Mode (usually faster than in the native OS) when Apple switched from Mac OS to OSX in 2001.

Are there some things that break when a Mac upgrade is released? Of course... but they are usually fixed very quickly. Some vocal Mac users complain... vocally.... because they have little patience with the third party application publishers who are not Johnny-on-the-spot with upgraded apps. They post noisy complaints on Mac forums. Those who had no problems didn't bother to post their lack of difficulties for some strange reason.

[Gorzaloon]

That includes “Benoit” fractal analysis, Engineer, and AutoCad, or Soldiworks. In addition that are thousands of UNIX applications in all of those fields.

Thanks, I shall have to look into them. I notice that the Linux Open Source office programs produce documents that are entirely compatible with MS's (*doc, *xls etc. extensions.) Since *.CAD files are the industry standard, and will integrate with and export to CAM NC files it would be great to have alternatives. Small businesses cannot always come up with the staggering prices Autodesk charges..and can charge.

[Gorzaloon]

Ah! Senior management, who are NOTED for their computer acumen...

I found that people 55 years+ usually have a very hard time getting the hang of computers, and Very Important People that age or older were Too Important to have to deal with such mundane things - so their secretaries or underlings did it for them.

Yes, I have seen that. I actually have a friend who has an EE degree. He is my age, low '60's, and just CANNOT get his head around using a computer. Naturally, his career paralleled the brilliant prospects of an Israeli Swineherd.

An unkind way of putting it would be, "If a person is stupid at Thirty, they will probably be stupid at Sixty".

My wife may have saved me from this fate by buying me a Commodore 64. I got into it, deeply. Friends and neighbors never saw me again. Ramen soup and 3:00 AM 6502 compiles.

So there is hope.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Of course, when the stuff hits the fan afterwards, worker bees like your IT manager are the ones who have to work the extra hours and bear the brunt of the ill will...

You said it dude! She often has to come in on weekends too...

[raybbr]

Yes I had printer driver issues early on (more HP’s problem than Microsoft’s) but no more.

Astounding. Blame HP for Windows need to seel a crappy system.

[Incorrigible]

You do realize that HP writes the drivers for it printers whether the operating system is Windows, DOS, *NIX, whatever right? They eventually delivered the drivers but yes, prior to them delivering the drivers, I had problems printing to an HP laser printer.

Nothing neferious.

[Swordmaker]

He is my age, low '60's, and just CANNOT get his head around using a computer. Naturally, his career paralleled the brilliant prospects of an Israeli Swineherd.

Tell him not to worry... when my 91 year old mother's WebTV got crustier and crustier as MS lowered email space and slowed it down, I replaced it with an aging 700MHz iMac (one of the lamp-stand types) and DSL... she got the hang of it real fast and is happily sending emails to family and surfing the internet now at 92. She and my 61 year old sister play games, write letters (my daughter bought Grandma a laser printer for her 91st birthday!) and generally have a great old time...

[raybbr]

Yes, I do realize that. Did MS supply all the info necessary to HP? Did MS change bits of Vista after they had already sent HP the info? Sorry, I think MS carries the lion's share of the blame for this. They put out a piece of junk without any real beta testing.

[ReignOfError]

It matters not whether there is a specific Mac product to do what Garzaloon comes up with... the Mac can run the Windows version in either Boot Camp, Parallels, or VM Fusion.

True dat. I have a WinXP install running in Parallels, and just about all I use it for is browsers. I like to test the pages I build in all the popular OS/browser combinations, so I can see them as my users do. People who don't make that effort really piss me off. I don't want to be that guy.

“Benoit” fractal analysis

Google is my BFF. I just learned that Benoit is the first name of M. Mandelbrot (and the last name of the wrestler who murdered his family, but that's neither here nor there). I have a vague sense of what a Mandelbrot Set or a Fibonacci Sequence is. Much of it flies right over my little Liberal Arts head. I'm a lover, not a fighter. Or a writer, not a mover. Or a pusher, not a shover, Aw, hell, I don't even know what I'm talking about any more.

But I do know this much -- people far smarter than I write their hard-core math code on *ix. Which is easily ported to Mac OS, which is based on the BSD Unix distro. From Linux or BSD or [insert color here] Hat, it's a hop, skip and a jump to OS X.

My little Mac doesn't falter and it doesn't fail. I haven't found anything it can't do that I need done. End of story for me.