Archive for category: Vista/XP

I have continued to sell Windows XP on new and used systems, with a few exceptions right after Vista was released. I know it so well and can support it really well, and it is compatible with almost everything, so I’m inclined to continue selling it for quite a while. There are two things that I see potentially finally moving the world away from XP to Windows 7:Как штукатурить откосы

Security. Windows XP is just getting hammered right now. The bad guys are really sophistocated and are infecting machines and an incredible pace. I see Microsoft letting XP go and focusing all their resources on securing Windows 7. As Windows XP continues to be as vulnerable as ever, Microsoft will do everything they can to keep the same thing from happening in Windows 7. As users go crazy, they will either find good protection, move to a Mac or Windows 7.

Multitouch. The Apple iPhone and iPod Touch have opened up so many amazing ways to interact with a computer. I see this really catching on and starting to change the post-DOS input world.

As I posted last week, XP is here to stay, so the war won’t be as fierce as I first thought after June 30, 2008. However, you still have to make a decision — XP or Vista? For home users it will be difficult to get XP, since Dell will make XP available on business machines only (unless demand changes their mind). Here is a Pro/Con list for why to get Vista:

PROS

• Vista looks pretty

CONS

• Vista is slower than XP on comparable hardware
  • Boot time is longer
  • Performance during regular tasks is slower
• Vista is less stable than XP
• Vista is less compatible with various hardware
• Many programs you already own may not work with Vista (e.g., QuickBooks, Adobe products, etc.)
• Vista practically requires a new computer (XP will work great on good 3-4 year old machines) —despite what Microsoft says.
• Microsoft changed the name and location of various tools and utilities, making it very confusing.

I’m still trying to figure out any other benefits of Vista, I’ll revisit this post if I find some.

Here’s a great quote that summarized my views (by Galen Gruman, executive editor at InfoWorld):

Over the past year, CIOs and CTOs have consistently told me they see no significant benefits to Vista, and really don’t want to spend the time and money to update all their computers, retrain their users, and deal with application incompatibilities for a cosmetic upgrade.

[NOTE 4/23/08, please make sure to read “XP is here to stay“]

As I blogged in my previous post (Xpublicans vs. Vistacrats), I believe this is be a contentious summer for the IT industry. I want to go on record now with my predictions of what will happen.

With lots of kicking and screaming in the background, July 1 the big manufacturers will stop selling computers with XP, as the kingdom of Microsoft has decreed. After about one month of this new world, Dell, HP, Lenovo will look at their sales and find that their shareholders will be VERY unhappy looking at the results when enterprise stops buying. Vista is dead for business. With computers sales dropping off a cliff, Microsoft will cave in to the pressure and allow XP once again.

I think there’s a chance that the companies may use all this to their advantage, to encourage sales of new computers, then Microsoft will extend the deadline at the last minute.

These may be wishful predictions, because I’m not sure that Vista is supportable. I don’t know if I can please my customers because of its inherent defects. I’ll post about that soon..