Home : Blogs : Justin Chester : Justin's Blog

Microsoft abandons Vista?

In the aftermath of Microsoft's recent attempt at boosting their market appeal with the ‘help' of Jerry Seinfeld, the computing giant has begun to have a good, hard, look at its operating system.

It's no secret that Windows Vista has created a division in the PC community since its release. Whether it be in the form of new laptops only shipping with Windows Vista driver support or programs that have not been able to make the migration from the stability of Windows XP to the uncertainty of Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system has caused more than its fair share of headaches for developers and consumers alike. And although the company still defends its latest OS, Vista's planned three year lifespan may be cut shorter than expected.

A few months ago Bill Gates let slip that Microsoft was extending Windows XP sales to "June 2010 or one year after the general availability of Windows 7"; the implication being that Windows 7 will arrive around June 2009. Microsoft was quick to rebuff Gates' comments, but now Microsoft's internal calendar is supposedly highlighting a 3rd of June 2009 release date for Windows 7.

According to an article on Internetnews.com, we will see a new version of Windows released that will effectively limit the planned three year Windows Vista lifespan to just two years. The article also claims that the first public beta of Windows 7 will be shown at the Professional Developer's Conference on the 27th of October, despite Microsoft's claim that they would merely be revealing "in-depth technical information" about the upcoming OS.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Vista pushed by the wayside, especially because Windows XP has been getting just as much, if not more press lately thanks to the netbook craze. Netbooks have been walking of shelves without salesman having to lift a finger, largely because they are cheap and have the proven stability of Windows XP. All this XP talk surely has to be hurting Vista.

By By Vista hello freedom

Its good to be in the Rain

Posted by Justin Chester on 09/18/2008 11:00 AM

Comments (17)

Post is included in group: e-PRO Internet Technology
Post is included in group: Making Real Estate Better with Technology
Post is included in group: Outlook User Group
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: The Lounge at Active Rain

17 Comments on Microsoft abandons Vista?

SEP

2008

Justin, I had to get a new lap top, could find NOTHING but Vista on any of them, with the learning curve I should have just switched to the Mac.

Also on Outlook 2003, I installed Outlook 2007 and all my categories are gone. Now they are in color, I had all my contacts categorized like clients, holiday cards, Activerain folks. Is there a way to get them back?

I am soooooooooooo frustrated.

I hate Vista too !

I have had the unfortunate opportunity to use Vista, and just cannot get used to the differences from XP. It seems as though Microsoft has taken a step backwards and made the OS more difficult and less user friendly than before. I still use XP at home and for my real estate business. I do not want to use Vista, and will try and avoid it at all costs.

I was lucky to have a good technical guy who advised me not to go for the "free" upgrade to Vista on my tablet pc. His advice was that it is a space hog with reliability problems not worked out. I'm still on XP and loving it. Thanks for the heads up to our AR community.

SEP

2008

Yes, I still have XP on both my tablet, and PC. I am not sure either what I'm going to do if forced to use Vista as I truly don't like it. sometimes saying you made an error is the most beneficial....just imagine the goodwill of letting people convert back to XP :)

At least Bill didn't take the company to Asia, Justin. Nice post. Interesting changes in the face of a commerce challenged entity. Have a fine weekend

Justin ~ I haven't been able to bring myself to using Vista. I still run XP on all of my machines.

SEP

2008

Well Justin - this is certainly interesting news which I had not heard. I'm in the market for another system but think I'll sit tight for a few months until I see which way the MS wind blows. Thanks for the heads up.

SEP

2008

I am another holdout-still using XP and although I should be getting a new computer I am going to wait it out, using a 250G external drive to bridge the space problem!
Or, I hear there may be a Mac tablet coming out after the first of the year. That would be interesting too!

SEP

2008

Seriously looking at Apple the next time I need to purchase -- I rarely hear the Apple community complaining like the PC. Just have to dig deeper in the pocket to afford it.

SEP

2008

Cheap Netbook Vista Shmista! The answer for most agents on the go may be netbooks. Netbook computers are much more affordable and smaller. Netbooks are ultra-portable and lightweight compared to laptops. The average agent doesn't need much more than a netbook.

Windows 7 won't be released for a year at least, and it will be full of bugs for another year after that, so don't wait. Be smart, be savvy, stay connected.

OCT

2008

Not going to happen. For those who forget, 20 million Vista sales occurred during the first moth of it's release. You can argue whether the numbers were inflated, but the fact remains that a sh**load of people bought it and continue to. Yes Microsoft is prepping yet another os, even so I still don't see Vista going away. You're talking at least another 2 or maybe even 3+ years before it sees the light.

The single biggest current problem with Vista is the fact manufactures build Vista machines and sell them to the average Joe consumer with a pittance of system memory. Vista should have 2GB+ installed if you plan on enjoying it. Are laptops and desktops sold like that? Maybe some...but most are coming with 1GB and in some cases, as hard as it is to believe, 512MB!!!! Vista runs like crap without at least 2GB and another big issue was the fact that too many people initially bought Vista upgrades thinking that their paultry Windows XP machine with 512MB or 1GB, and a 64MB video card, would run it smoothly....nope, runs like molasses.

I actually just got on the Vista bandwagon, wrote a good blog about how to make the move in a smart way, and I have to say that I am very very pleased with it. If you can handle the learning curve, which I have no problem with, and you have a meaty system...it's worth it.

OCT

2008

I was advised to get Vista. Mixed emotions. No real problems except for the Outlook category mentioned in a prior comment here. Tempted to use TopProducer for database use. XP seems simpler and better for most people. Luckily i have not had too many problems except for that one time my PC crashed and had to be re-formatted completely. Cause..unknown....hmmm.

You can count me as a Vista fan too. I was not thrilled with it when I bought my new laptop but over the past few months I have really come to enjoy using it. When I use one of my other machines with XP I have to stop and think about what I am doing a bit.... Need to have the hardware to run Vista. This is very similar to the complaints about Windows95 You needed the hardware to run it correctly. I expect the new OS on the way will require even more hardware. We need to accept the fact that computers are disposable tools that we need to upgrade if we are going to stay current.

Best,

Scott