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
Oh, and an added bonus of Ubuntu, you can download an ISO image, put it on 1 CD, and boot to it. It’s self contained, and functional on 1 CD. It won’t molest your system, but if you choose to install it, obviously it runs better.
““Blah-blah” sucks has got to be the thinnest argument ever. What sucks about it?”
What sucks about Vista? Please tell me you’re joking.
Give Ubuntu a try. It’s a Debian variant. You can boot to it on a single CD or install it. It really is impressive.
“I have new laptop with Vista and wanted o know if I can load XP without formating drive?”
You can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Best to clean install.
You can't "drag & drop" files saved on your flash drive like you can do with XP.
When you bookmark an internet page you have to register for "google bookmarks" (what the heck is this???)
Give me more time, I just got the new laptop last Wednesday.
One positive thing CD RW disks don't have to be formatted in Vista.
You’re askin’ the wrong guy. I think Shadow Ace could help or many other FReepers. Now if your computer ran on Diesel..................
I’ve got five machines that run Ultimate without issue.
So, back to the question...
Kinda sounds like Ford, General Motors, Chrylser and AMC in the 50's and 60's. I support American made products, but I believe the foreign competition was good for the market in this case.
I just got a new laptop with vista and I am hating it. Everytime I try to close my internet browser, the window freezes and it takes forever to get rid of it. I will likely go back to my old laptop that gets the blue screen of death almost daily because it works better than my new one.
You people disgust me!
Are you too stupid not to understand that Gates needs to promote Vista and the coming Windows 7 to provide outsourced work for the programmers in India who are doing the work Americans won’t do to sell the software those same Americans will be forced to buy.
/cyn
Does that means the next name for a new MS OS will be "Hope"?
“I’ve got five machines that run Ultimate without issue.”
Wow, so you’re the one....
“So, back to the question...”
http://www.computergripes.com/windowsvista.html
Happy reading...not everyone’s experience (in fact MOST people’s experience) aren’t as happy as yours.
means=mean
Way to demonstrate a complete lack of understanding about the oil and gas industry. You go!
” “Blah-blah” sucks has got to be the thinnest argument ever. What sucks about it?”
I don’t use it, I’ve only had exposure to it on other people’s computers and through my son, who is a consultant. My biggest concern, Vista runs so many things, 800MB of memory used when idle, that it will slow down a normally fast computer. You have to have the latest and greatest hardware to overpower the cracker code.
Yes, but I can diagnose a problem with my car faster than Windows Vista can boot.
That’s funny and all, but doesn’t lead to a solution. What doesn’t work about it? How do you expect it to get fixed when the most cogent feedback is “it sucks”? I don’t think it sucks, but that doesn’t mean I’m right - just differently opinioned.
These guys are running around like Chicken Little.
XP will continue to work after June 30!
If one is using it, and likes it, one just has to continue to use it.
It is not suddenly going to disappear from your computer!
[If enough people refuse to buy VISTA, VISTA will go the way of the Ford’s Edsel. If enough people refused to give up XP, MS will be forced to continue to support XP. They saw that last year when purchasers were demanding XP over VISTA on new computer purchases.]
I’m putting two new systems together next month, and unfortunately, they’ll be running Vista 64-bit Home Premium, due to Microsquish’s impending withdrawal of XP support next year. To be safe, I’m spending the extra money to get 4 GB of memory for each instead of the 2 GB that I wanted.
I’m getting 500 GB hard drives with each, and I’m seriously thinking about leaving 100 GB unpartitioned so I can go back and add a dual-boot Linux installation later on (if I can do that after-the-fact, I hope I can). I am not a big fan of bloatware, which is Microsloth’s specialty these days...I just want the OS to manage the computer, let me perform system tasks, and otherwise, stay the hell out of my way, eat up the fewest resources possible, and just WORK. Neither XP nor Vista really fit that bill.
}:-)4
It's not the petroleum industry who are requiring special blends of fuel for each city and time of year; it's not the petroleum industry who enact every type of regulation or find so-called endangered species that prevents drilling in ANWR or many areas of the US; it's not the petroleum industry who is responsible for the increase in gasoline use in developing countries; it's not the petroleum industry who is responsible for the declining value of our dollar relative to other currencies. Shall I go on??
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