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as seen today on http://slashdot.org/ ...

Is Windows Vista in Trouble?
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday April 23, @04:43PM
from the shooting-feet dept. Microsoft
Ken Erfourth writes "The Inquirer.net is running a story about what they consider two powerful indications that Vista is failing in the marketplace. One, Dell has reintroduced PCs running Windows XP on its website due to customer demand. Two, Microsoft is conducting a worldwide firesale on a bundle of Microsoft Office 2007/WindowsXP Starter Edition. According to Inquirer.net, at least, these are signs of serious problems selling Vista. Are we seeing the stumbling of the Microsoft Juggernaught with the slow adoption of Windows Vista?"



True that _Nemesis_.
So be aware about Vista.

I have yet to use Vista, but I've already run into problems with it

At my office, we generaly use Windows XP and Office 2000. Well, one guy that I work with installed Office 2003 on his computer. That has started an avalanche of problems. We all save our e-mails to the server. Office 2000 can NOT open e-mails saved with Office 2003. So, we started testing moving everyone to Office 2007. Oddly, 2007 IS compatable with 2000.
Anyway, since one of my duties at work is our IT, I have already helped move some people over. I have some stuff that I do with Excel and Access that work with highly automated VBA modules. So, getting all of that to work in 2007 might be a trick. That is kind of expected. Well, to begin work on the conversion, the first step was for me to install 2007 on my PC. Wrong. My PC has Windows 2000 on it instead of XP. Office 2007's CD barely turns in my drive before I get an error saying that it will not install on an old OS. You can't even attempt to install it.
So, that leaves me with two choices. Buy and install an upgrade version of XP -or- buy a copy and install Vista.
It really bothers me to pay full price for "old" software that will soon be discontinued. Plus, since we create software at the company, we need to start testing some things with Vista. So, it makes sense to get Vista, right? Wrong. Why? Because AutoCAD 2000 is completely incopatable with Vista. AutoCAD is one of my other main duties at my office. I'm not about to pay $3500 for a new copy of AutoCAD so I can avoid buying old software on a PC just so I can install a new version of Office!

I think it is crap. Microsoft should be just as happy to sell you Windows XP as they are to sell you Vista. It isn't even about their software. Consumers and businesses basicly have to start completely over with ALL of their software licenses just to move to Vista. I do want to get a Vista copy at home to mess around with. I also want to get one at work to test compatability. I just don't like the deadline that is being forced upon us for NO REASON. Give businesses time to make their software compatable with Vista!

Sorry, I still can't see it. The slashdot article just links straight to the article you posted before. I still don't see any quote from Microsoft saying Vista is failing.

@WOLF

What does office 2007 have to do with vista? They are completely unrelated, besides that they were released at the same time.

@heartbone

A lot fo the quotes I've seen you post just compare windows to apple or linux. They don't actually say much about vista that is bad, except for the mindless claims that don't have any factual backing. If you want a list of programs that work/don't work with vista, then go here: http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_RTM_Software_Compatibility_List

That's nothing exactly new though - 2k support has been dwindling for ages now, irrespective of Vista.



And that's MS's fault... how? The exact same thing happened with numerous pieces of software with XP and XP Sp2 - companies generally make money out of making users upgrade to the only 'compatible' version. This is definitely not a Vista-only issue - I can remember my sole game dev app being written off by 98 -> XP completely, and then I found DB.



There IS a reason: They want money. Vista has been a cash drain for what.. that last 5 years? OS release is MS's most profitable area besides Office, so obviously if they have a 'deadline' of sorts, they can force upgrading and keep their revenue relatively dependent. Once again, that's not really Vista's fault as an OS, it's just business sense.

You don't want your customers hanging on to older versions for an eternity (OS and office etc.) as well as the fact it's impractical development wise.

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The point is that there is a lot more to upgrading to Vista than buying Vista and installing it. It has a real domino effect. A lot of small businesses can't afford to upgrade ALL of their software in one shot. You become really stuck. In a few months from now, when XP licenses can NOT be purchased at all, what choice will people have. If you buy a new computer, you WILL be stuck with Vista. Other software that is used in the office is not compatable with it. To update one person, you HAVE to update EVERYONE. Not just with Windows, with just about EVERY commonly used software title. To keep legal, it would sink a lot of companies. Microsoft loses NOTHING by continuing to sell licenses of XP. I'm not worried about their "support". They just need to give a MUCH longer transition period.
I'm not Anti-Microsoft. I'm not anti-Bill Gates. In fact, I quite like them both. I have nothing against Windows Vista. In fact, I'm looking forward to getting a copy of it to play around with. Forcing this transition is STUPID though and an impossible move for a lot of companies.

Forcing a transition is ridiculous, given the incompatibilities. It should just be... more compatible. When 95 came out, there was a healthy transition period for 3.1 users, I recall. I don't see why this should be any different.

The oddest thing ever, my wife wants Vista. Nerd Ninjas must have gotten to her, she never cares about computers. I'm content to wait until I buy a new computer.