Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 11:56 a.m.

Also: Windows XP followed just what a year or two after Windows 2000 & ME, while Vista is replacing a now very-old OS base. You'd think there'd be much more rush to upgrade, but no...there isn't.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:00 p.m.

We should find out the stats for how many people didn't buy Vista but instead purchased a Mac for home/home office use, it would probably scare Bill Gates a bit....

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:02 p.m.

The Microsoft Vista release could be the reason why so many individuals and businesses decided to upgrade.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:02 p.m.

I agree with the commenter. I submit the most important measure might be the fact that Vista took many more years to release than did XP. If you think about how each year adds greater need for security and new functions -- you should get quite a lot of reasons to need an upgrade even if it were mediocre. In fact, if you imagine that XP might have rather poor features and poor security then a jump to an even modestly better update would be badly desired after years and years of wait.

I suspect the reality is nearly the opposite of what MS is portraying. Reviews and reports outside of MS seem to contradict what MS is suggesting.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:03 p.m.

Or the number of windows users switching to linux.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:05 p.m.

How much of the "Sales" are actually licenses that are sold/given as upgrades but not installed yet. Also are then including the OEM purchaces, I'm sure they are. In All the several hundred machines I touch, and know of I have 2 people running Vista, and one has issues, the other bought a brand new machine to run it "because he had to".

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:06 p.m.

Vista sells Macs. Go Vista.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:09 p.m.

Simple fact that many folks were waiting for this long overdue OS release to buy, or build new computers. Pair that with the new techs out and you have the surge. Don't forget that many plain OS upgraders took advantage of the MS family plan. (purchase Ultimate and get two Prem licenses for $50 each)

These numbers are good, not great, and Vista is a larger change than XP was but not Win95.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:10 p.m.

How many users went out just prior to the Vista release and bought a new PC with XP to avoid Vista for a while longer?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:11 p.m.

When ordering a new PC
it seems next to impossible
not to order Vista.

Are there any major PC dealers
offering Windows-XP as an option?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:13 p.m.

Vista sucks.

No reason to upgrade from XP - really. Its just a hype.

Actually its worst than a downgrade - since after getting Vista, your current printer, camera, etc wont work!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:13 p.m.

This is a dumb report. Microsoft has already stated why it obviously expects Vista sales to be higher than XP........more PC sold now than then. But 20MIL in the first month is impressive by all standards....comparing all the bad media users of Mac and Linux (who actually love Windows) have been trying to put out there. Factor that into the equation and you know why Vista is doing great!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:13 p.m.

I was skeptical when I installed Vista. I like it way better than XP. Considering the UI change and compatibility issues, sales aren't too shabby. Other issues have to do with newer versions of software, such as IIS7, and its compatibility with other applications. Once these things get resolved, it'll be better. Also, native IPV6 compatibility doesn't hurt.

Finally, as a developer for business apps, there's no way in heck anyone in my field's switching to Apple Or Linux.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:14 p.m.

in fact MSFT was caught in an unambiguous lie, they used 4 months of "upgrade" coupons, and channel stuffed boxes on retail shelves, and still are showing lousy sales...

this could turn out to be very ugly for MSFT, very ugly indeed.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:14 p.m.

Here here! I switched over to Linux and have barely looked back. My system is dual boot, but I RARELY boot into XP, and then only to play a game that isn't ported to Linux.

Linux isn't perfect by any means, but it's damn good IMHO. I think when it comes down to it, there's really one main difference. Microsoft build their software with the base philosophy of "how can we get as much money as possible out of the people who use our stuff," whereas Linux/Open source is built with the base philosophy of "how can we get as much street cred and props out of the people who use our stuff."

Which one would you rather go with?

I give mad props and street cred to Linux.

Peace

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:16 p.m.

Since Vista is going to be replaced in two years time,(according to Microsoft)it just fills the same sales gap, that ME filled. Me was basically a waste of time. So what's the point to buy Vista now?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:21 p.m.

I have yet to find anyone who will use Vista! The worst part of this annoying software is the fact that it is being pre-loaded (with office 2007 trial) and NONE of the laptop/tablet providers are providing ANY real assistance in what they refer to as "dumming down" to XP or XP Pro. Their comments to discuss the incompatable issues with the progammers just shows how much they are missing the point! Microsoft should be the one to bring out responsible software the actually works with what the business community is looking for. The fact that they strong arm the manufactures to install no longer support older versions is not responsible. Much like our choices in politicians, we have limitied choices here as well.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:23 p.m.

In my opinion one of the main reasons Windows Vista is "doing so well" as far as sales are concerned is the fact that consumers are not given an option to choose Windows XP any more. Most computer retail websites that the public in general are most familiar with (Dell, HP, and Compaq) only offer a Vista OS unless you purchase a "High End" gaming PC such as Dell's XPS 710 which has a base price of around $1,700 (This does not include tax {$140 in Ca}, State Environmental Fee {$8 in Ca} or shipping cost). So most consumers being unwilling to pay that much for a PC end up with a Vista installed PC like it or not.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:32 p.m.

I have been using Vista for about 3 months. There are some minor compatibility issues, but nothing to warrant - "Vista Sucks". In fact I never rebooted my PC in the last 2 months, the Sleep feature is one of the most robust I have come across.

I think the the numbers are not bad given other alternatives have also become very viable (Intel Mac and Ubuntu Linux). They cannot keep a 90%+ market share for ever, but they have a good OS. Innovation is incremental and never done in vacuum.
- Yasir

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:33 p.m.

I know I purchased Vista, but a week later I was calling HP for recovery disks....as soon as I had XP back I was feeling the "wow" factor.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:34 p.m.

Why do posters (i.e. 27877) feel the need to slam a product such as Vista so mercilessly? I purchased Vista and I purchased Office 2007... yes, I intentionally purchased them. I experienced only a few problems and those were rather minor such as the need to download a few drivers and all were resolved. Not only does everything work, a couple of things such as syncing with my phone actually work all the time now where with XP it was intermittent at best. While their sales claims might be exaggerated I don't think the numbers are that bad for a product that is attacked on nearly every public front in many cases, simply it seems because it is a Microsoft product. I started dual booting to either XP or Vista but haven't booted to XP since less than a week after the install and it only took me that long as I try to err on the side of caution.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:34 p.m.

Microsoft didn't care to mention that they are selling Vista licenses instead of Windows XP now. The license keys work with Windows XP but are compatible with Vista.

In our case, we recently bought a bunch of licenses for XP and were told that they are Vista licenses but they work for XP.

So Microsoft's analysis is either untrue or falsely represented because of all the people and businesses purchasing licenses for XP and recieving Vista license keys.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:36 p.m.

When I heard about everything that was in "Vista", I decided that my next OS would be Linux.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:37 p.m.

Just another poor attempt at an OS from Microshaft. Exaclty as stated in the article... look at how much PC sales went up vs sales of XP to Vista. Microshaft is doing poorly and only released that statement to make their unfortunate stock holders feel all nice and warm inside. Why trade in one bad OS for another bad OS? No reason to. Upgrade to a better OS when Apple releases OS 10.5.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:38 p.m.

Poster for #27885 is SOOO on the money here.. M$ is not SELLING Vista, they are doing what they have done for YEARS NOW. They are FORCING the computer dealers to install Vista over XP and NOT giving the option for the buyers for XP vs Vista.

I for one have tested Vista out on a Virtual Machine and it just SUX!!! The GUI looks terrible. If I wanted my damned desktop to "think" for me, I would get a Mac. I just want to see my files and WHERE they are. Give ME A LINE COMMAND DAMN IT!!!!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:42 p.m.

I'm just a standard, everyday user and I also just bought a new PC. I miss XP already. Maybe its just a comfort issue, but there are a bunch of things which just don't look the same and the only thing you can think is- Why did they change this? Just for something to do, I think. They have to justify making people spend money. There is no real advantage to any of they doo-dads and gewgaws.

I really liked XP. Weird, I know, but I used that OS for several years and I never, never had any problems with it. Never crashed. Rarely froze. What they hey? Microsoft- don't just do something! Stand there!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:43 p.m.

Now, a really interesting question: For months, Microsoft and its distributors have offered Vista "upgrade coupons" to customers who buy a variety of other products. To the best of my recollection, some of these coupons have been free, and the rest were heavily discounted. Any bets on whether MS has counted any coupon that has been accepted by a user as a "Vista sale"?????

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:45 p.m.

No one notices this may be because XP was released the month after 9/11 I think that might have had an affect on the quantity purchased in the first couple months.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:46 p.m.

I bought my wife a laptop with Vista on it and it sux in big way everytime you use it you have to leap over hurdles to complete the simplest tasks VISTA is joke

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:50 p.m.

MS is pushing the numbers to get his share value up or what ? Vista sells, because it comes out of the Box preinstalled for most people. They-have-no-choice.

It's like putting new chromed mirrors on every new car, and stating now that everybody want chromed mirrors ?

gee...come on people!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:51 p.m.

I too question why Microsoft feels the need to inform us about how great Vista is selling. Of couse the other question is how many OEM copies are there sitting in a computer in a box some where. This is not registered copies, that someone has activated. Only copies that have sold. A big difference.
Also, I have read many blogs about people buying a computer with Vista and buying a copy of XP to install ether as a duel boot or to replace Vista.
It would be interesting how many copies of XP is Microsoft selling?
I personally tried Vista then reinstalled XP with my restore disc.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:51 p.m.

I think Vista don't sell so much because it's a step back in terms of pleasure/ease of use AND freedom. They sell the past pretending it to be the Future. When they said "Where do you want to go today?" I always had one answer in mind: " WHY have I to tell it to you?"
Now they sell something that gets against you the legal right to erase documents it THINK are not legal. Give Linux Ubuntu a try: theres plenty of OpenSource developers that make great software. If you have some money to spend, give Mac and Mac Os X Tiger a try. Don't give money away for something that will give you back lost time AND headache (AND poorly written applications).

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:53 p.m.

Present hardware is not yet ready to take advantage of all Vista features; moreover, Intel still has to come up w/ cheaper Quads, 45 nm wafers at the end of 2007, hybrid hard drives etc.
So, there's no rush to buy new machines and Vista yet.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:54 p.m.

Like I said, no one does a better job of selling Macs than Microsoft.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:55 p.m.

When we buy new machines (not just replacing old hardware and using current licenses) we buy them downgraded to XP with the option to install Vista later at no extra cost. I'd wager that Microsoft counts that as a Vista "sale".

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:56 p.m.

As a market watcher, I distinctly remember this quote in February "Balmer had admitted to some financial analysts that the current Vista sales figures are nowhere near what Microsoft had projected".

Now Micosoft is singing another tune (based on numbers that some say don't add up). I think Micosoft is attempting to put a better face on things by fudging numbers. They should perhaps remove the "in one month" statement and more experts would believe them.

I think they may be attempting to prop up the stock price a little, since it has fallen off it's highs in January (after moving sideways for the last 3-4 years). Remember... Mr Ikea and the Mexican telecom billionaire have pushed Balmer down the Forbes richest people in the world list. Balmer (aka Mr Monkey Man for his stage antics) is worried his net worth is slipping.

I think Vista sales are slower than XP. But that just means it's going to take longer for Vista to bring in the dollars. Everyone is going to have to switch eventually... it's just not going to be as fast as Wall Street and Microsoft had wanted.

Personally I think Balmer should be replaced. Micosoft is lagging because of him. He is not a good manager. Apple Inc is pumping out far more innovation for far less than what Microsoft spends on R&D.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:56 p.m.

My excuse for using "Windows POS" is that it came with a new computer. I have found it to be worse than XP in every way.

Windows POS is entirely "eye candy" for lightweight reviewers. They fixed nothing of consequence (e.g. system lockups, file system). They broke more than they fixed. No non-M$ software works properly. Some of the incompatibilities are intentional (e.g. taking out winhelp). Others appear to be intentional. Installing Adobe acrobat gives message that it is known to be incompatible with WIndows POS. Acrobat does not work. Conveniently, M$ has provided their own PDF alternative. Coincidence?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:57 p.m.

the virtue of Windows has always been its ubiquity. So when Windows tries to sell a new version of itself, it has to compete with the previous version's status as an incumbent. With Vista, the change is dramatic (5 years in the making) and so the transition is going to be slow. With XP, the PC you already owned, running ME or 98 could be installed without buying new hardware. In this case, Vista is a bloated, gargantuan system that would overwhelm most computers running XP. So the decision isn't so much about Vista's merits as an OS, its about the decision whether or not to buy a new computer. And for XP users who are perfectly happy with the performance of their current machines, there's no X-factor that would persuade them to buy new hardware just to run the same ol' Windows environment with some nice cosmetic upgrades (inspired by what Apple has been offering for years, no doubt). So considering how much the PC market has grown, Vista's numbers suggest that Microsoft is in real trouble, if 80% of new computer sales don't involve their flagship product. What I'm curious about is - of that 96million, what the breakdown is between Linux, MacOS and Windows XP.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:58 p.m.

@27888: "I have been using Vista for about 3 months...the Sleep feature is one of the most robust I have come across."

That's pretty funny, you claim that there's nothing about Vista to warrant "Vista Sucks", and yet the best thing you can come up with is that the Sleep feature is robust?!! LOL...

Check out "Vista Sucks" at http://aspnetresources.com/blog/vista_sucks.aspx -- there are a couple hundred people there who would beg to differ with you.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:59 p.m.

I got Vista with my new Dell at start of Feb... Vista lets you repartition on-the-fly, so I made space for my XP Pro & now over half my hard drive is XP (I'm dual booting - very easy to set up if Vista is on there first)... ANYWAYS - definitely stick with XP... Vista is pretty, but compared to XP it sucks

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:59 p.m.

I installed Vista on one of my machines to see what it would do. I have a brand new alienware with top notch setup. I figured the high end stuff is going to be supported, right? WRONG!!!! Nvidia does not support 8Series Sli with the available drivers. Creative does not support EAX and other features of my Soundblaster X-FI sound card.

What a crock of bull. Now, even almost 2 months after the release of Windows Vista, only beta drivers are available for both those pieces of hardware with limited functionality.

If you want to watch a true piece of information, go to apple's web-site and watch the Secret Service Agent commercial. It is so true. I could not stand the endless "allow" "deny" crap. Especially since after allowing something it still would not run.

Hehehe. With having turned off all the "innovative features" that Vista offers, why bother upgrading from a solid, compatible operating system? XP Pro has worked great for our office and I'll be damned if I upgrade to Vista before they work out the kinks.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 12:59 p.m.

Dell still doesn't list a Linux PC, except for their $5,000 server that they will sell with Linux. I want to order a Dell Unix laptop & server today, but they don't list it on their website. Windows stinks, it is a buggy virus target, slow & obese.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:00 p.m.

Is it just me or do the Mac and Linux nut cases sound nervous here? I've never seen such vitriol dished out. You guys on your heels much?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:01 p.m.

for those who are interested, best buy is currently the only retail chain that can still sell xp computers. you just have to ask and it must be ordered. they don't carry any in-store.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:02 p.m.

Microsoft may be exaggerating their sales figure hoping that if the public believes there is a rush to get Vista it will spur the consumer into accepting it.

Fact remains, a majority of existing computers are not Vista ready, and while there may be better security and prettier features with Vista, many businesses and consumers have grown weary of being stampeded into yet another new operating system that compels users into spending to buy entirely new equipment.

My existing home computer and those in my business currently meet my needs. If Vista was an OS that would run on my perfectly functional existing computers, Microsoft would easily have me upgrading to Vista.

The fact remains that I am not willing to cast off perfectly functioning computers because Microsoft wants me to.

I will invest in new computers if or when my existing equipment ceases to function, not because Microsoft wants me to have all the latest bells and whistles.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:03 p.m.

I use Vista every day and I love it. And Mac users can scream till the cows come home but I know better: I developed software on a Mac and it was a total disaster. I had to reboot several times a day. Or actually, the Mac did it for me.
Just because Apple says it, does not mean it is true. Think independently. Don't believe what you are told. Investigate yourself.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:04 p.m.

The folks who are praising Vista are most likely (a) getting it through their employer, where upgrading all their application software is not a money issue, or (b) not power users, who think just having the OS running in their machine makes it great. Anyone who actually tries to install some existing Windows software on it that ran fine on Windows XP or earlier OS versions will quickly be disappointed. Anyone who actually uses their machine with Vista will find that the GUI hangs every couple of hours, sometimes requiring a cold reboot -- even on brand-name machines where Vista comes pre-installed from the vendor. After futzing around with Vista for two weeks and getting nowhere, it was a relief to reformat the drive on my new Compaq Presario and "downgrade" to Windows XP. Until Microsoft issues Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 for Vista, it's just a toy, and an annoying one at that.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:06 p.m.

The problem with M$ is they can not get the facts straight. They boast about an increase in IE 7.0 downloads, but what they FAIL to include is that the download was part of a critical update which was automatically downloaded and installed while most users slept. As an IT professional, I will not implemented IE 7.0 enterprise wide until the bugs are worked out. This will be the case for Vista as well. I appreciate all of the beta testers out there that have fallen victim to the automatic update monster!!!! Your computers can crash and go belly up, after which you complain to M$ about it so they can "patch" it. The best thing to do is disable auto updates and take a proactive role in your computer updates. Yes it is a bit of a hassle for monthly PM's, but the problems it saves when an update is not up to par would be far worse!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:08 p.m.

Don't forget that any large organization that renewed their enterprise agreements (every 3 years) would have bought Vista licenses for every desktop in their environment. Therefore, if a company with 100,000 desktops renewed their enterprise agreement, thats 100,000 licenses of Vista (hizzah)!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:11 p.m.

I was strong-armed into buying a PC with Vista when my old computer died about 3 weeks ago. Unless I wanted to buy a Dell XPS gaming PC (starting at $1800 with no warranty or anything)I had no choice but to buy Vista. Dell even told me if I were ever to uninstall Vista, I'd void my $300 warranty.

When the computer arrived, I found out that none of the hardware or software I need works with Vista. I use the computer to record audio and not only are there no audio interfaces that support Vista, the OS slows the computer down so much, it's completely unusable.

Vista is HORRIBLY slow and it asks you five times before it will do anything - delete a document, access a file, whatever. It's less stable than XP. It looks a little cuter, that's all.

I had to uninstall it. It was a nightmare.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:15 p.m.

"Is it just me or do the Mac and Linux nut cases sound nervous here? I've never seen such vitriol dished out. You guys on your heels much?"

It's just you. The rest of us understand the viable differences that Macs and Linux offer, and where Windows is useful and where it is not.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:23 p.m.

I for one would rather be a Mac or Linux "nut case" instead of a MS Zombie. And I do use all three. Windows users are in denial, thinking that all these pretty, innovative features from MS are new. Mac and Linux have had the eye candy and stability for quite some time and will run on yesterdays computers. MS can't even program efficiently... they just keep piling more bloat on top of bloat. It's hard copying everyone elses features and incorporating them into your pig of an OS.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:24 p.m.

Another way to discover what REALLY happens is to compare the pace of new computer sales with some not so distant period before the Vista (no more than one year ago). I am pretty sure that the hard lock on Vista backfires to the computer manufacturers - people buy less computers than if XP were available. Same story as before - good fraction of people (including me) refrained from buying new computer while Windows ME and 2000 were on the table. Sorry, I am too lazy to switch to Linux, but stupid DRM will force me to do it soon.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:27 p.m.

This is to that developer up there: all of my tech friends {over a dozen}, are staying with XP or going to Linux with their new machines. Not even techs want to deal with all bugs, "security" features, and incompatibility.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:27 p.m.

I want to back up my hard drive, but I can't just copy the files to my H: drive, Windows says that the files are busy & copy is terminated. What a piece of junk Operating System!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:32 p.m.

I love my mac. :)

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:38 p.m.

I agree that "Vista Sucks" is quite a harsh and possibly unwarranted claim, but as a Mac user (switched two years ago after many years of die-hard Windows use) I find it very funny to read that those defending Vista are saying that they didn't had only minor problems and that they haven't had to reboot for two months etc. Maybe I'm spoiled as a Mac user, but I would be more readily impressed with a system that had no compatability issues whatsoever and I don't expect to ever have to reboot my computer. That's just basic stuff as far as I'm concerned.

I used to spend hours every month trying to fix some or other issue with my PC & my laptop. I never could get a proper network going - actually, I think it worked once - and that was with MSFT's own networking hardware! I purposefully didn't be 3rd party hardware to avoid these issues. But do you know what worked with with my MSFT networking hardware? Yup, my first Mac worked with it. Odd, isn't it?

Simple fact: people are catching on that Windows is and always has been a imitation of Mac's OS's and that Vista, for all it's bells and whistles, is still a poor cousin to OsX, trailing behind by a few years, a gap that will only be lengthened with the release of Jaguar. I look at Vista's fancy new features and think, yeah, so what? I've had that on my Mac for years.

And to the poster who asked: "Any bets on whether MS has counted any coupon that has been accepted by a user as a "Vista sale"?":

You need not take bets, they did indeed & you can read the entire truth of the numbers here:

www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/st
acking_vista_licenses_too_high.html

MSFT is involved in a huge misinformation campaign to prop up it's very poor sales. What better way than to say "black is white"?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:42 p.m.

You said it!

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back!!

Unless of course, you're a Linux person, but for the home user that just wants to surf, email, look at pictures & movies and chat etc., you can't beat what they pack into a Mac for free!

peace

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:48 p.m.

Vista is a DRM NIGHTMARE and has been described (hilariously, imho) as the "longest suicide note in history" with it's 50 MILLION lines of code and incompatibilities with most old hardware, all right "out of the box".

It won't even RUN Adobe Premiere or Photoshop on my trial install and MS's decision to make old hardware incompatible due to "security" concerns is THE LAST STRAW.

We're going to linux and dual-booting XP until we see the fallout from the newest MS attempt to "big brother" personal computing world wide.

If you haven't read about the intrusive nature of this so-called "operating system", you'd better do yourself a favor and look into it.

To echo what's been said previously, you can't even FIND an XP box on the store shelves, so MS has been stuffing the supply channel in order to make the numbers for next quarter, but if you own MSFT (nasdaq) you'd better be thinking hard about buying a better stock!

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:51 p.m.

In an effort to protect you from viruses, Vista has become worse than having a virus. The terrorists have won. If you are buying a computer buy one with XP while you can. Vista is a nightmare.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 1:54 p.m.

I used mostly Microsoft Windows and NEXT hardware with NextStep/OpenStep while in graduate school and in my first job. Later I went to work for Apple and was fortunate enough to be there for four years during Rhapsody, Macintosh OS X Server 1.0, a almost every internal release which eventually was released to the public as Cheetah, Puma, and Jaguar. I left shortly before Tiger (10.4) and have used Tiger until I purchased a Lenovo ThinkPad with Windows Vista and the new Office 2007. It's been a long time since I have had a dedicated Windows machine and the combination of Windows Vista and the new user interface of Office 2007 was in my opinion revolutionary. I am very happy with my puchase and would recommend Vista/Office 2007 to my friends.

The public and press likes to portray OS choices as us vs. them. There were plenty of Apple employees that use Microsoft OS and products and work and home while I was at Apple and I am sure (disclaimer: I don't personally know any Microsoft employees) that Microsoft has employees who use Apple products at work and home.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 2:02 p.m.

PC's are republican computers.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 2:43 p.m.

I think it's time somebody asks the unmentionable: is MSFT mismanaged? its poor showing in the creativity department is reminiscent of big pharma: huge behemoths, huge R&D budgets,and nothing to show for it. Steve ballmer is an enthusiastic (manic?) salesman-but were is the beef?As if the Zune embarrasment wasn't enough- we get Vista! And it took five years to develop THIS?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 2:51 p.m.

MSFT is EXACTLY like big pharma, they give all that money to the GOP and their soul goes with it. They have the market cornered and they still suck. They buy off the DOJ and they still have to have the game rigged in their favor.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 3:13 p.m.

hahahaha

micro$oft

hahahaha

www.gnu.org
(free your computer)

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 3:54 p.m.

Ah, the plodding armies of desperate Benevolent Bill worshipers doing battle with Satanic Steve and his band of twisted minions. Five years of toil and they come up with a cheap OS X knock off, knowing all the while this summer the bar will be raised out of reach once again. Maybe the next 5 years will do the trick. Maybe GM will build cars people want. Maybe corporations will pay their taxes. Maybe.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 4:33 p.m.

Not to defend MSFT, but as companies get exponentially larger, it becomes physically impossible to attain the 30%-50% year-over growth rates of smaller capitalization high tech, high growth stocks with less than 10 million shares outstanding.

That said, (gosh I hate that cliche!...lol) MSFT doesn't seem to have done much innovation in this latest OS release, save for the appeasement of copyright holder's interests.

I would also mention "security", but there's already been a slew of reported Vista exploits, with the usual MS nonchalance in reaction to the reports.

If computing professionals were dummies, I wouldn't worry so much about the stock price, but since we're talking about some of the best and brightest, I'd stand aside until the hype runs down and the real evals start to surface.

We've long ago sold MSFT from the initial reports of Vista problems and would buy it back in a heartbeat.... IF ONLY they (MS) appeared to be interested in what their customers concerns were!

Until then....linux...dual-boot to XP and considering MAC

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 4:52 p.m.

Anyone seen those new Mac ads about Vista. The whole campaign is quite outlandish, and very inaccurate. But who cares? They are really funny.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 4:54 p.m.

I tried Windows Vista, It was alright, just a lot of compatibility issues. but so what. in the next few months driver and software updates will come along. Thats how windows xp started. all these people kept complaining about it but after service pack 1 & 2. People warmed up to it. Just wait and stop yappin. vista is mostly in a beta phase but only released to the whole public to get feedback so they can start fixing all these issues you all are complaining about. So for now im using the best OS ive ever used - WIndows XP. And i will never in my life switch to a MAC. HELL NO! Ive used it several times and I hated it.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 4:57 p.m.

I personally own a small computer repair shop and we sell new systems as well, I offer Both Vista and Xp Home or Pro to give our customers a chance to have a choice. That choice has been Xp over all.

Good choice as far as I'm concerned

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 4:58 p.m.

If you read at the Norton Antivirus website. The most secure operating system is Windows followed by Linux, Mac, and then that OS by SUN Microsystems.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 5:47 p.m.

Republicans should stick with PCs. Corporate tool for the corporate fool.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 6:08 p.m.

Just wait until the new MS Office for Intel Mac arrives.....(convientent that it's late to market huh?) we get all of the new features and a super stable OS with even more features than Vista....interesting.....more features less money.....hmmm.....

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 6:23 p.m.

Try OpenOffice if you have Windows, it's free and offers total interoperability with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Access).

For an easy Linux operating system, try Ubuntu. You don't need to be an uber-geek to use. Again, free.

If you're still considering Vista, take a look around for the hardware requirements, as well HDCP and 'trusted platform'. Imo, the only thing Vista offers is 'aero glass'... whoopty-do. I only recently started trying Linux because I had no desire to go to Vista from XP.

Posted by unregistered user at 3/27/07 6:58 p.m.

I tried out the Vista Beta and RC1 versions. There are some pros and cons like everything else. It helped me decide to buy a MacBook and run Parallels and Win XP when I need to.