Re: Vista Myths

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:30:44 GMT, Eddie LeBaron
<elebaron@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:55:06 -0800, Mr Ed Of Course wrote:
>
>>
>> Martin Kess wrote:
>>> > They've screwed this up. Badly.
>
>> Imagine the billions and billions Microsoft could've made each year or
>> two with Windows upgrades and something like iLife.
>
>No, this is wrong. It actually doesn't make sense for Microsoft to have
>frequent upgrades to Windows. Who would buy it? Microsoft's corporate
>customers wouldn't buy it. They don't want to upgrade. What about
>consumers? Won't sell much to them, either, because most consumers use
>whatever OS comes with the PC they buy. Whether it's XP or XP 2, they
>don't care. Most people don't buy computers for the operating system, they
>buy it for the software that runs on it. Having frequent upgrades only
>increases the chance that you'll break compatibility for older software,
>nullifying the greatest strength of Windows.
>
>Microsoft knows about this problem and they're quite worried about it. It
>shows that they going to be facing diminishing revenues in the future,
>because businesses and consumers are becoming less and less willing to
>upgrade. Except for the security problems, many Windows users are
>perfectly satisfied with XP. They're even more satisfied with Office.
>These programs are packed with features, many of which are rarely used.
>How on earth can Microsoft make compelling upgrades to these products? It
>can't, not in the long run.

I'd tend to agree with this, for the most part. Oh, there are a few
issues with XP (packaging, deployment, VPN) but those are minor
issues; for the most part, XP works very, very well, and there's no
great rush to change anything, either in the corporate world or the
home world.

It's becoming less and less about the OS with each subsequent release
as differences become more and more superficial (c'mon - just *look*
at what Apple's touted in 10.3 and 10.4! Preemptive multitasking and
memory protection this isn't.). When that happens, MS has won.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: It is actualy TWELVE versions of Vista
    ... if their releases were actually product upgrades instead of "Service ... to 10.4, etc), whereas Microsoft alledgedly doesn't do the same. ... they jumped from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. ... Internet Explorer 5. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Vista Myths
    ... > two with Windows upgrades and something like iLife. ... It actually doesn't make sense for Microsoft to have ... Won't sell much to them, either, because most consumers use ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Microsoft Discounts To Appease Buyers
    ... Microsoft is offering computer buyers discounted upgrades to its next ... operating system, Windows Vista, in a bid to avoid a drop-off in PC ... the software giant delayed the release of Windows ... In a bid to appease them, Microsoft ...
    (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
  • Re: Vista Myths
    ... Microsoft let several years go by without updating Windows ... Had they released upgrades, like Apple, Microsoft ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Vista Myths
    ... >>> two with Windows upgrades and something like iLife. ... It actually doesn't make sense for Microsoft to have ... if the market works as you describe -- and I think most of it does ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)