Re: Vista Myths

In article <2005122723501211272-foo@barcom>, foo <foo@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> On 2005-12-27 23:27:13 -0600, ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
>
> > In article <2005122722593550073-foo@barcom>, foo <foo@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >> On 2005-12-27 16:27:21 -0600, ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
> >>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Eh? I've seen applications that require XP SP2 to install. What's the
> >>>>> difference?
> >>>>
> >>>> The difference is, SP2 is a free download.
> >>>
> >>> In most institutional settings, it's not the cost of new licenses
> >>> that's the major barrier to upgrading. It's all the other associated
> >>> costs -- mostly figuring out what an update will break and how to fix
> >>> it. These costs are typically lower with OS X than with Windows.
> >>
> >> Based on posts in here, one wouldn't know that. And from what I read
> >> of OS X on here, compatibility with XP SP2 is *excellent* compared with
> >> what OS X offers.
> >
> > You're not actually claiming that reading newsgroups gives you any kind
> > of valid basis for determining this, are you?
> >
> > The one SP2 deployment I was involved with was relatively painless,
> > though it did introduce an annoying glitch with changing passwords for
> > users on the domain. But the IT press was full of articles about
> > companies holding off for various reasons, and some just deciding not
> > to deploy at all.
> >
> > See, for instance: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1783476,00.asp
> >
> > "SP2, developed to fix critical security holes and deploy performance
> > enhancements, was originally released in September 2004. But in
> > response to customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic
> > deployment for eight months to give users time to prepare for the
> > upgrade.
> >
> > With the upgrade deadline looming, one study shows that the vast
> > majority of companies running XP have actively avoided the upgrade or
> > simply ignored the problem."
> >
> > I've *never* seen such hesitancy about any Mac OS update, with the
> > exception of OS 9 -> OS X. The idea of delaying an update for over a
> > year because you don't want to deal with compatibility issues is just
> > alien in Mac-land, even, in my experience, for institutional
> > deployments.
>
> Do people do widescale Mac deployments? What companies still use Macs
> by the thousands? Are there that many these days?

Large-scale Mac deployments are not entirely unheard on in the corporate
world, though you find most of them in the educational market these days.

> And if so, do they have all their Macs running the same OS, or do
> they just put the Macs on the desktops with the OS that shipped with
> that Mac? And if they do run Macs by the thousands, it stands to
> reason they'd hold off of the $130 upgrade if there's no benefit to
> it or if it required significant work - or had significant costs.
> You state you've "never" seen such hesitancy - even for the $130
> upgrade cost per user? (yes, corporate licensing, less money, yada
> yada...)

Educational pricing, *lots* less money. More like $50/seat, over 100
seats. $40, over 1000 seats. And some institutions get even bigger
discounts.

I've seen places pass on upgrades because they're not really that
useful, in the context where the systems are being used. I've never seen
a place pass on an upgrade because of fear of deployment nightmares,
which is evidently what's happening with SP2.

--
"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
-- George W. Bush in Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 28, 2005
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need SP2 Options
    ... "But in response to customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic ... deployment for eight months to give users time to prepare for the upgrade." ... > Push Is Coming to Shove for XP SP2 Deployment ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsupdate)
  • Re: which PC
    ... Do user get /all/ the fixes if they don't upgrade? ... The bottom line is that there's no credible evidence that Macs are as ... insecure as Windows PCs have been demonstrated to be. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: which PC
    ... Do user get /all/ the fixes if they don't upgrade? ... The bottom line is that there's no credible evidence that Macs are as ... insecure as Windows PCs have been demonstrated to be. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: deploying xp across network?
    ... upgrade of desktops to xp from 2000. ... i am upgrading the desktops from 2000. ... "Windows Deployment Services, the updated and redesigned version of Remote ... Installation Services, enables you to remotely deploy Windows ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment)
  • Re: Upgrade from 10.4 to 10.5
    ... NEWS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Roger Merriman) wrote: ... instance where an upgrade didn't do everything exactly as expected? ... All of my Macs are "happy", ... common enought that one would be wary about hiting ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)