Posted on 06/01/2009 10:14:20 AM PDT by JoeProBono
According to NetApplications, Windows XP is still the OS of choice for users out there in ComputerLand, with some two-thirds of users still making use of the aging OS. By comparison, Vista is struggling to capture a quarter of the market share. Vista’s “WOW!” failed to capture the attention of users, as many chose to stick with their older OS.
If you are an XP user, has what you’ve seen of Windows 7 made you willing to ditch XP?
The way I see it, Microsoft needs to be putting effort into marketing Windows 7 to those currently using XP. After all, those already using Vista have shown a willingness to switch OSes already, and moving from Vista to 7 isn’t that much of a leap. It’s those entrenched XP users that present a problem for Microsoft. These people, for whatever reason, turned their backs on Vista, and it’s these people that Microsoft needs to win back.
But it’s not going to be easy.
While Microsoft tried to convince people that Vista wasn’t really as bad as they thought it was by resorting to a web ad campaign that was thinly disguised as an “experiment”, those still using XP weren’t buying it. In fact it wasn’t until Microsoft’s “Laptop Hunter” ad campaign that the Redmond giant started seeing its ad dollars really having an effect. Problem for Microsoft is that these ads spend their time selling Windows-based PCs rather than Windows itself. It seems that Microsoft knows that selling Windows is an uphill struggle.
Another problem for Microsoft is that there’s no easy upgrade path for XP users wanting to move to Windows 7. While I usually hate doing in-place upgrades on an OS (that’s where you apply the OS over the top of the existing one and keep all your old settings and programs) because it leads to more problems than it solves, I know that there are a lot of people out there who like this method because it saves them a lot of time and effort. You can’t do this going from XP to 7. You can use Windows Easy Transfer to move your stuff (data, not apps), which is probably the safest method, but it’s a multi-step hassle that many won’t bother with.
As I see it there’s another obstacle in the way of XP users adopting 7, and that is the fact that if you peel away the Windows 7 veneer, what you end up with resembles Vista. A lot. Sure, it’s Vista SP2, and not the poor quality RTM code that Microsoft shoveled into user’s faces, but it’s still Vista. There may be fewer comparability roadblocks than there was for those who tried moving from XP to Vista, but users going from XP to Windows 7 are still going to stumble across roadblocks. XP Mode will help, but ultimately it’s a kludge. A kludge that’s only available to people who buy the most expensive versions of Windows 7.
It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft tries to win over the entrenched XP user. Microsoft may decide to throw ad dollars at the problem. Alternatively, Microsoft might stick with the current “Laptop Hunter” style ads and rely on user’s PC growing obsolete over time.
The calculations I do in excel 97 are the same ones from Office 2007. Why switch?
If it takes a software patch to get 2007 back to 97, why not use 97 to begin with? They didn’t fix anything for me in 2007, they gave me more work, but I wasn’t working on the data I was working on the tools.
There were programs I could have urged on my customers to let them decode the Office 2007 xml formats, too, but that would not be treating them well.
Sounds like great advice.....C
Windows 7, not on your life! I like my XP Pro just fine!
Ahhhh welll . . . what can I say.
LOL.
XP with SP 3 is the best system out there...I manage a LOT of computers...no problems...why fix it if it ain’t broken?If you are an XP user, has what you’ve seen of Windows 7 made you willing to ditch XP?
I'm a Mac user myself, but I bought a computer for a relative who needed XP Pro for the app he needed. Now I have an upgrade to that app, and that requires that I update XP to at least SP 2. And I have heard that there can be trouble with SP 3, and that I should only upgrade to SP 2.Do you have any comment?
Can you give me a link to that software, please?
I still have a problem where, when I’m in office 20007 WORD
it continually tries to configure/install when it’s already installed . . . GRRRR.
And, seemingly when I’ve had a WORD window opened for a while . . . I can’t copy and paste from it.
Also . . . when I try to save, the window to list the folders to save in is totally blank.
I have to close Word entirely and reopen it.
GRRR.
Have spent hours with tech support to no avail, yet.
Need to get back to them now that the Semester crunch is over.
Ask JOJO.. “She” has all the answers
I don't even bother with software firewalls and antivirus stuff on Linux.
I can't imagine a scenario where I would try Vista or W7.
:^)
I very very VERY rarely write people off or out of my life.
However, there are exceptions and near exceptions.
You’ve been added. Welcome Aboard!!
Germs! Viruses! Security Holes! Cats and dogs living together! Real Wrath of G-d type stuff!
Just wait until XP is actually EOSL. MS will start sending out press releases daily stating how vulnerable and unstable XP is. The only remedy will be to "upgrade" to Windows 7.
"Resistance is futile."
I am planing on doing just this, we need a new notebook computer and I am waiting for Windows 7 to arrive because I refuse to buy or support ANY VISTA dreck.
Probably not me - XP is already paid for, and “free” downloads that expire don’t impress me much. When I upgrade to a 64-bit OS, maybe. Ubuntu’s looking awfully slick these days and there will come a point where my current investment in MS apps isn’t going to be convincing anymore. Just my $0.02.
New machines I buy will have Windows 7.
Do what I do--I run one instance of Windows under VMware on a Linux box. I keep a backup of the VM on another disk. If my VM gets infected--merely restore from the backup.
No fuss, no muss.
My brother who’s works in IT ALSO uses Win98. I keep asking him why and based on his experience, it’s not better than XP but more effective than Vista.
LOL.
No further comment.
Uh, why fix something that isn’t broken. XP works fine and I don’t have the money just to say I have this week’s newest flavor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.