I will vote for him but will use these on my nose..........
Posted on 04/14/2008 6:23:53 AM PDT by Red Badger
Microsoft Corp.'s operating systems run most personal computers around the globe and are a cash cow for the world's largest software maker. But you'd never confuse a Windows user with the passionate fans of Mac OS X or even the free Linux operating system. Unless it's someone running Windows XP, a version Microsoft wants to retire.
Fans of the six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store shelves in June have papered the Internet with blog posts, cartoons and petitions recently. They trumpet its superiority to Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch last January was greeted with lukewarm reviews.
No matter how hard Microsoft works to persuade people to embrace Vista, some just can't be wowed. They complain about Vista's hefty hardware requirements, its less-than-peppy performance, occasional incompatibility with other programs and devices and frequent, irritating security pop-up windows.
For them, the impending disappearance of XP computers from retailers, and the phased withdrawal of technical support in coming years, is causing a minor panic.
Take, for instance, Galen Gruman. A longtime technology journalist, Gruman is more accustomed to writing about trends than starting them.
But after talking to Windows users for months, he realized his distaste for Vista and strong attachment to XP were widespread.
"It sort of hit us that, wait a minute, XP will be gone as of June 30. What are we going to do?" he said. "If no one does something, it's going to be gone."
So Gruman started a Save XP Web petition, gathering since January more than 100,000 signatures and thousands of comments, mostly from die-hard XP users who want Microsoft to keep selling it until the next version of Windows is released, currently targeted for 2010.
On the petition site's comments section, some users proclaimed they will downgrade from Vista to XP - an option available in the past to businesses, but now open for the first time to consumers who buy Vista Ultimate or Business editions - if they need to buy a new computer after XP goes off the market.
Others used the comments section to rail against the very idea that Microsoft has the power to enforce the phase-out from a stable, decent product to one that many consider worse, while profiting from the move. Many threatened to leave Windows for Apple or Linux machines.
Microsoft already extended the XP deadline once, but it shows no signs it will do so again. The company has declined to meet with Gruman to consider the petition. Microsoft is aware of the petition, it said in a statement to The Associated Press, and "will continue to be guided by feedback we hear from partners and customers about what makes sense based on their needs."
Gruman said he'd keep pressing for a meeting.
"They really believe if they just close their eyes, people will have no choice," he said.
In fact, most people who get a new computer will end up with Vista. In 2008, 94 percent of new Windows machines for consumers worldwide will run Vista, forecasts industry research group IDC. For businesses, about 75 percent of new PCs will have Vista. (That figure takes into account companies that choose to downgrade to XP.)
Although Microsoft may not budge on selling new copies of XP, it may have to extend support for it.
Al Gillen, an IDC analyst, estimated that at the end of 2008 nearly 60 percent of consumer PCs and almost 70 percent of business PCs worldwide will still run XP. Microsoft plans to end full support - including warranty claims and free help with problems - in April 2009. The company will continue providing a more limited level of service until April 2014.
Gillen said efforts like Gruman's grass-roots petition may not influence the software maker, but business customers' demands should carry more clout.
"You really can't make 69 percent of your installed base unhappy with you," he said.
Some companies - such as Wells Manufacturing Co. in Woodstock, Ill. - are crossing their fingers that he's right. The company, which melts scrap steel and casts iron bars, has 200 PCs that run Windows 2000 or XP. (Windows 2000 is no longer sold on PCs. Mainstream support has ended, but limited support is available through the middle of 2010.)
Wells usually replaces 50 of its PCs every 18 months. In the most recent round of purchases, Chief Information Officer Lou Peterhans said, the company stuck with XP because several of its applications don't run well on Vista.
"There is no strong reason to go to Vista, other than eventually losing support for XP," he said. Peterhans added that the company isn't planning to bring in Vista computers for 18 months to two years. If Microsoft keeps to its current timetable, its next operating system, code-named Windows 7, will be on the market by then.
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On the Net:
Save XP Petition: http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/
Microsoft's Windows support timeline: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy
Were you given the choice during the ordering process? I wasn’t. I purchased a Dell 1501 for my daughter last year and I was given the option at that time.
Thanks, I’ll look into it!
Purchased a computer a few weeks ago with Vista installed. It’s an HP. with c. 750GB hard drive. So far it’s been running fine. At the same time, one can tell it’s loaded with bloat. So many programs running when idle.
I’m told the biggest issue with Vista is oversensitivity to DRM to the extent it will not run programs with drivers not compatible with DRM. This has not been an issue for me, but it may cause problems where companies network on a large scale. I just have a small home network with a couple computers on board - the other one having XP.
Bet on the "or so." A move to try to prevent the bleed to Linux and Macs.
You have to go to the “Small Business” Computer section on the Dell site. The Home computers generally won’t offer you a choice, but for some of the Business computers, they do. Of course after June 30, that may not be the case.
It was so hated and despised that new computers came with the option of 4.01 or 3.31 until DOS 5.0 came out.
Don't forget that DOS 5.0 worked so well and was so well-liked that Microsoft concluded there was a pressing need to give us... DOS 6.0... /grin
I will vote for him but will use these on my nose..........
Yes, I purchased my daughters’s laptop through our small business account. When I bought mine, I used my personal Dell account. Oh well........
I don’t have personal gripes because I’ve avoided buying it. I didn’t make up the gripes, smart guy, they’ve been made by computer professional and industry experts and trade media.
You can continue to sprinkle sugar on your dirt sandwich if you like, but the real world has rejected Vista.
PC World slammed it in this or last months edition. Ran some tests showing how XP is superior.
So glad I have been a late adopter on this one, but then I have always been that way on OS software.
“What a bunch of crybabies.”
So it works for you, thus it must work for everyone else? What a provincially idiotic response, especially given all of the industry backlash against it. A lot of people are having not only annoying problems with Vista, but debilitating problems.
But hey, it works for you so all is well.
“As each new OS is introduced, it is probably a good idea to look at more memory, or a new configuration in equipment. My P4 is at it’s limit and I will need to upgrade equipment soon, but as a test bed, it is not working any harder with Vista than it did with XP, and in some cases, it is a lot more efficient. “
Well that’s part of the problem. Vista is coming on both budget machines and laptops that are simply not up to snuff...and since many don’t offer an alternative, you’re left with a machine that actually runs slower with Vista than it would have with XP.
Perhaps a Vista Lite is in order.
YUP:
I would take “OVER” on a bet whether it would be more or less than 2 years for W7... I might even give up odds on that bet, too. Remember vaporware “longhorn”, and how long “vista” was delayed - even less than six months from delivery.
XP FOR ME
Do you have Vista re-installation discs? Make sure you have them and don’t monkey with your Vista recovery partition. This is crucial if you install XP along with Vista
It looks like you will get a new hard drive for XP. That’s your best bet
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