Solve : Windows Vista Sales Disappointing??

1.	Solve : Windows Vista Sales Disappointing??
Answer» http://www.windowsnewsletter.com/current-issue.html According to Microsoft, sales of Windows Vista licenses where around 100 million for 2007. That sounds impressive, but if you look at the PC Sales numbers that have been released by IDC and Gardner, some 270 million PCs where sold in 2007. Now you will see the obvious quite easy: Vista was only sold with roughly 1 out of every 3 PCs sold. By comparison, Windows XP sold nearly 90 million copies in its first year, despite a PC market that was selling only about 130 million PCs that year. Since Windows still shipped on nearly all PC sold, one can argue that the bulk of Windows sales in 2007 have come from Vista's predecessor, Windows XP. Early on, when Vista just started selling in the market there were reports of significantly lower retail sales of Vista, in some cases nearly 60% less than the same 'sales week' in Windows XP's sales cycle. At the time, analysts attributed the 'sales slump' of shrink-wrapped copies of Vista to a shift in the way users get the new OS. More businesses are purchasing Windows through a volume licensing program, which reduces the number of shrink-wrapped copies that are picked up at a retailer. It was also argued that Vista's hardware requirements caused many consumers to order a new PC instead - pre-installed with Vista, further reducing the need for the shrink-wrapped boxes sold through retail, which was the back-bone of Windows XP's sales in 2001. An early indicator of trouble for Vista emerged in April when several PC makers were pressured by demand to offer Windows XP as an option on new systems, particularly on systems sold into the small business channel. Even Microsoft itself had to adjust some of its policies toward Windows XP. Originally Microsoft had planned to stop sales of Windows XP from 30 January 2008, but last September it announced it would extend that date by five months to 30 June 2008. Previous versions of operating systems released by Microsoft have generally been available for up to two years after the shipment of a new OS. Save Windows XP? InfoWorld has launched a "Save XP" campaign, arguing that "Microsoft plans to end most sales of Windows XP on June 30, despite a deep reluctance by many business and individuals about moving to Vista. InfoWorld believes such an expensive, time-consuming shift with problematic benefits should not be forced on Windows users, so we have decided to rally XP users to demand that XP be kept available". Not only that, the actual petition will ask Microsoft to "keep Windows XP available indefinitely". That's just plane insane! That way computing would be stuck in 2001. Windows Vista is superior to Windows XP. That's a fact, plain and simple. And the horror stories you are hearing about Vista? I would argue that the majority of reported Vista problems stem from lazy third-party developers who didn't get their hardware and software compatible with Vista in a timely manner, despite a development cycle lasting many years. Let me just offer you one example I experienced myself: Panasonic took nearly ten months after Vista's November 30, 2006 (business) release date to offer a driver for their KX-FLB751/756/FLM551 multi-function printer/fax/scanner. When I tried installing the driver it caused my machine to 'bleu-screen'. Obviously that was the last time I purchased such a device from Panasonic (my Canon MP510 has been working fine with Vista since day one). As I have stated before, Microsoft gave third parties all access they needed to develop their Vista drivers, but if they (the third parties) fail to deliver these drivers, one can hardly BLAME Microsoft for it. I may sound like a bit of an idiot here, but forgive me for my youth and for slightly hijacking the topic. Has a similar scenario to this happened before, perhaps during the move from Windows 2000 to XP? I know the former was TARGETED more at businesses and the latter at home users, but it's a similar scenario with the old being replaced by the new. Maybe 95 to 98, something like that? Or is this an entirely new thing, so many people wanting to stick with an older OS? Is this due to the very long delay between XP and Vista's releases?I totally agree. I was clinging to Win 98 for a long time, before moving on. I've been using Vista for 4 months now, and I like it a lot.Quote from: Calum on January 26, 2008, 11:57:59 AM ... Or is this an entirely new thing, so many people wanting to stick with an older OS? ... Or perhaps the buyer has become more savvy. Sometimes it is the perception that counts most - and is the buying public perceiving that Vista is a real improvement? ... that Vista is bringing something better?.... that they 'need'? It seems not. And that is a bit of a new thing. In the past, it seemed that everybody would surge to the new product, because it was new and better. This time around, it seems that the attitude is more a case of, "Do I really need it? What is it going to do for me that I don't already have?" So this is in fact a new "thing" then, for people not to rush to the new product? I thought it was, but not having been interested in computers at the "changing of the guard" before this, I wasn't entirely sure. I think that perhaps more people now are reading reviews before upgrading or buying, and as Vista has so many negative reviews (yes, there are positive ones too, however the negative reviews are usually more outspoken, and there are usually more of them) it seems to have PUT people off.On another site i saw a review talking about what's wrong with Vista... 2 pages long. At the end the Author revealed it was a 7 year old article about XP and all he had done was edit the title...Can you link me to that article? I'd be interested to read it.Here's the watered down version...Kudos to Cyanna. Quote FOUND an old thread on computing.net "I for one would like to go on the record as saying VISTA sucks. I am at my second clean install(in 5 days) on a new H/D fully formatted both times and loaded nothing but office and Norton 2002 and it is still an unstable P.O.S. It freezes,pauses,hangs,skips,reboots and is generally fustrating. The running task list is a flurry of duplicate items,with no HELP from even MS(generic tasks/components says the KB) The interface suitable for preschoolers and the elderly. MSN mesenger and "pop-up" ballons nag at every turn. NO its not that I dont have enough memory(384 meg) or processor(pIII 700) NO its not the components(all are less than a year and a half old and VISTA A-OK,so says MS) NO its not the brand new HD or anything else...ITS THE CODE ME is the BOMB compared to this junk,save yourself the $200 bucks. BTW My ME installation(original)after 14 months still runs without a hitch. Oh and dont bother with any help on the VISTA side of this board,apparently it is only for asking questions because few if any get answers and when they do they are marginal. Everyone else is too busy trying to keep their VISTA system running long enough to get a post in,nevermind answer one!! Thank you for your time... jimi_l" The rest gets mostly worse......I still found it amusing, specially in light of he last couple of topics in this forum. I don't LOVE Vista. I don't hate it either. I've just been using it as a main desktop OS for almost a year and I'm now more familiar with it then with XP. And I look forward to Vienna. Not because it will be better/nicer. But because it will be different. It's like an adventure: most of the fun is when you plan for it and when you recount it. In the middle of it it's mostly wet socks for 12 hours, stale water, scarce food, mosquito bites galore...... Ah, back to enlighten people about the mysterious disappearance of the Start button (they've noticed it's not there anymore. Some wonder if he tutorials where the button is mentioned still apply, others want to know why it has been changed. The last ones are usually the ones that previously pointed out how silly it was to have to click on "START" in order to shut down the PC......) Quote from: Calum on January 27, 2008, 07:02:48 AM So this is in fact a new "thing" then, for people not to rush to the new product? The rate at which they are "rushing" to it is lower, and I think that is a new thing. In the past, I think the perception was, "This is the newest, best thing out there, so I need it." Now, I think the view is more like, "What I've got right now does everything I need very well. Why should I spend more money?" While both of these were true to some level in the past, as the software developers more or less forced people to upgrade, people were more accepting of the situation. I think they are more apt to balk and make noise about it now, and the number of them is what is new this time time around. Quote I thought it was, but not having been interested in computers at the "changing of the guard" before this, I wasn't entirely sure. I think that perhaps more people now are reading reviews before upgrading or buying, and as Vista has so many negative reviews (yes, there are positive ones too, however the negative reviews are usually more outspoken, and there are usually more of them) it seems to have put people off. I haven't been meaning to encompass reviews and reviewers. Just my gut feeling from listening to regular people. For example, I know a small businessman. His network has three or four workstations and a server. A few years back, he didn't blink an eye when it was time to upgrade from NT. Why?... I don't know for sure. This time around, his reaction to Vista is, "Why should I do that?". Why is he different this time? ... I don't know for sure. All I've done is speculate. The bottom line is: He is. And he's not alone. Vista is too user friendly, thats why most don't like it. Most people don't really give a censored if they can scroll through windows, they just want an OS that is fast. As for drivers, Microsoft could have at least done something to make XP drivers compatible with Vista. A driver needs to be built for each OS as they all do not operate in the same fashion. Vendors dropped the ball on drivers for Vista...not MS.

Answer» http://www.windowsnewsletter.com/current-issue.html

According to Microsoft, sales of Windows Vista licenses where around 100 million for 2007. That sounds impressive, but if you look at the PC Sales numbers that have been released by IDC and Gardner, some 270 million PCs where sold in 2007. Now you will see the obvious quite easy: Vista was only sold with roughly 1 out of every 3 PCs sold. By comparison, Windows XP sold nearly 90 million copies in its first year, despite a PC market that was selling only about 130 million PCs that year.

Since Windows still shipped on nearly all PC sold, one can argue that the bulk of Windows sales in 2007 have come from Vista's predecessor, Windows XP.

Early on, when Vista just started selling in the market there were reports of significantly lower retail sales of Vista, in some cases nearly 60% less than the same 'sales week' in Windows XP's sales cycle. At the time, analysts attributed the 'sales slump' of shrink-wrapped copies of Vista to a shift in the way users get the new OS. More businesses are purchasing Windows through a volume licensing program, which reduces the number of shrink-wrapped copies that are picked up at a retailer. It was also argued that Vista's hardware requirements caused many consumers to order a new PC instead - pre-installed with Vista, further reducing the need for the shrink-wrapped boxes sold through retail, which was the back-bone of Windows XP's sales in 2001.

An early indicator of trouble for Vista emerged in April when several PC makers were pressured by demand to offer Windows XP as an option on new systems, particularly on systems sold into the small business channel.

Even Microsoft itself had to adjust some of its policies toward Windows XP. Originally Microsoft had planned to stop sales of Windows XP from 30 January 2008, but last September it announced it would extend that date by five months to 30 June 2008. Previous versions of operating systems released by Microsoft have generally been available for up to two years after the shipment of a new OS.

Save Windows XP?

InfoWorld has launched a "Save XP" campaign, arguing that "Microsoft plans to end most sales of Windows XP on June 30, despite a deep reluctance by many business and individuals about moving to Vista. InfoWorld believes such an expensive, time-consuming shift with problematic benefits should not be forced on Windows users, so we have decided to rally XP users to demand that XP be kept available". Not only that, the actual petition will ask Microsoft to "keep Windows XP available indefinitely". That's just plane insane! That way computing would be stuck in 2001.

Windows Vista is superior to Windows XP. That's a fact, plain and simple. And the horror stories you are hearing about Vista? I would argue that the majority of reported Vista problems stem from lazy third-party developers who didn't get their hardware and software compatible with Vista in a timely manner, despite a development cycle lasting many years. Let me just offer you one example I experienced myself: Panasonic took nearly ten months after Vista's November 30, 2006 (business) release date to offer a driver for their KX-FLB751/756/FLM551 multi-function printer/fax/scanner. When I tried installing the driver it caused my machine to 'bleu-screen'. Obviously that was the last time I purchased such a device from Panasonic (my Canon MP510 has been working fine with Vista since day one). As I have stated before, Microsoft gave third parties all access they needed to develop their Vista drivers, but if they (the third parties) fail to deliver these drivers, one can hardly BLAME Microsoft for it. I may sound like a bit of an idiot here, but forgive me for my youth and for slightly hijacking the topic.
Has a similar scenario to this happened before, perhaps during the move from Windows 2000 to XP? I know the former was TARGETED more at businesses and the latter at home users, but it's a similar scenario with the old being replaced by the new.
Maybe 95 to 98, something like that?
Or is this an entirely new thing, so many people wanting to stick with an older OS?
Is this due to the very long delay between XP and Vista's releases?I totally agree. I was clinging to Win 98 for a long time, before moving on.
I've been using Vista for 4 months now, and I like it a lot.Quote from: Calum on January 26, 2008, 11:57:59 AM

...
Or is this an entirely new thing, so many people wanting to stick with an older OS? ...

Or perhaps the buyer has become more savvy.

Sometimes it is the perception that counts most - and is the buying public perceiving that Vista is a real improvement? ... that Vista is bringing something better?.... that they 'need'?
It seems not.
And that is a bit of a new thing.

In the past, it seemed that everybody would surge to the new product, because it was new and better. This time around, it seems that the attitude is more a case of, "Do I really need it? What is it going to do for me that I don't already have?"
So this is in fact a new "thing" then, for people not to rush to the new product?
I thought it was, but not having been interested in computers at the "changing of the guard" before this, I wasn't entirely sure.
I think that perhaps more people now are reading reviews before upgrading or buying, and as Vista has so many negative reviews (yes, there are positive ones too, however the negative reviews are usually more outspoken, and there are usually more of them) it seems to have PUT people off.On another site i saw a review talking about what's wrong with Vista...
2 pages long.
At the end the Author revealed it was a 7 year old article about XP and all he had done was edit the title...Can you link me to that article? I'd be interested to read it.Here's the watered down version...Kudos to Cyanna.

Quote

FOUND an old thread on computing.net

"I for one would like to go on the record as saying VISTA sucks.
I am at my second clean install(in 5 days) on a new H/D fully formatted both times and loaded nothing but office and Norton 2002 and it is still an unstable P.O.S.
It freezes,pauses,hangs,skips,reboots and is generally fustrating.
The running task list is a flurry of duplicate items,with no HELP from even MS(generic tasks/components says the KB)
The interface suitable for preschoolers and the elderly.
MSN mesenger and "pop-up" ballons nag at every turn.
NO its not that I dont have enough memory(384 meg) or processor(pIII 700)
NO its not the components(all are less than a year and a half old and VISTA A-OK,so says MS)
NO its not the brand new HD or anything else...ITS THE CODE
ME is the BOMB compared to this junk,save yourself the $200 bucks.
BTW My ME installation(original)after 14 months still runs without a hitch.
Oh and dont bother with any help on the VISTA side of this board,apparently it is only for asking questions because few if any get answers and when they do they are marginal.
Everyone else is too busy trying to keep their VISTA system running long enough to get a post in,nevermind answer one!!
Thank you for your time...
jimi_l"

The rest gets mostly worse......I still found it amusing, specially in light of he last couple of topics in this forum.

I don't LOVE Vista. I don't hate it either. I've just been using it as a main desktop OS for almost a year and I'm now more familiar with it then with XP. And I look forward to Vienna. Not because it will be better/nicer. But because it will be different. It's like an adventure: most of the fun is when you plan for it and when you recount it. In the middle of it it's mostly wet socks for 12 hours, stale water, scarce food, mosquito bites galore......
Ah, back to enlighten people about the mysterious disappearance of the Start button (they've noticed it's not there anymore. Some wonder if he tutorials where the button is mentioned still apply, others want to know why it has been changed. The last ones are usually the ones that previously pointed out how silly it was to have to click on "START" in order to shut down the PC......)

Quote from: Calum on January 27, 2008, 07:02:48 AM

So this is in fact a new "thing" then, for people not to rush to the new product?

The rate at which they are "rushing" to it is lower, and I think that is a new thing.
In the past, I think the perception was, "This is the newest, best thing out there, so I need it."
Now, I think the view is more like, "What I've got right now does everything I need very well. Why should I spend more money?"

While both of these were true to some level in the past, as the software developers more or less forced people to upgrade, people were more accepting of the situation. I think they are more apt to balk and make noise about it now, and the number of them is what is new this time time around.

Quote

I thought it was, but not having been interested in computers at the "changing of the guard" before this, I wasn't entirely sure.
I think that perhaps more people now are reading reviews before upgrading or buying, and as Vista has so many negative reviews (yes, there are positive ones too, however the negative reviews are usually more outspoken, and there are usually more of them) it seems to have put people off.

I haven't been meaning to encompass reviews and reviewers. Just my gut feeling from listening to regular people.

For example, I know a small businessman. His network has three or four workstations and a server. A few years back, he didn't blink an eye when it was time to upgrade from NT. Why?... I don't know for sure.
This time around, his reaction to Vista is, "Why should I do that?". Why is he different this time? ... I don't know for sure.
All I've done is speculate.
The bottom line is: He is. And he's not alone.

Vista is too user friendly, thats why most don't like it. Most people don't really give a *censored* if they can scroll through windows, they just want an OS that is fast. As for drivers, Microsoft could have at least done something to make XP drivers compatible with Vista. A driver needs to be built for each OS as they all do not operate in the same fashion.
Vendors dropped the ball on drivers for Vista...not MS.

Solve : Windows Vista Sales Disappointing??

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