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May 16, 2007 8:46 AM PDT

At WinHEC 2007, Microsoft vigorously defends Vista

by Robert Vamosi
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To counter the flagging expectations around Windows Vista, Microsoft added a last-minute keynote this morning from Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President Windows Product Development, at this year's WinHEC, the Microsoft Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Los Angeles. Nash used his 30 minutes to talk about the number of device drivers included in the Windows Vista box and available online, and also about the number of compatible or certified for Vista hardware products on the market 100 days after release. While the numbers are high--certainly higher than 100 days after the release of Windows XP--many feel they should be higher. Nash said that vendors are continuing to work with Microsoft on this. "Windows Vista gets better over time," Nash concluded.

On Monday, Microsoft employees bristled at comments from the press that users were unhappy with Windows Vista. With regard to User Account Control (UAC), Nash told reporters that "the process is the same in (Mac) OS X." He recounted how his wife recently bought a HP printer, and UAC had asked permission to install the driver. Being a second user on the system, she needed Nash's password to proceed. Nash said that he later installed the same printer driver on a Mac. "It asked the same question," he said. However, the Mac elevated the user's privileges across the board, while Windows only elevated the user's installation privileges.

On Tuesday, Microsoft provided figures from IDC predicting a strong adoption rate in 2007 for Windows Vista and the new Windows Server 2008 . IDC predicts that by the end of the year, 90 million copies of Windows Vista should be installed, and 35 million within the United States. By the end of 2008, that number is predicted to be 150 million worldwide, and 68 million within the U.S. That may be true, but an informal "over-the-survey" of WinHEC 2007 attendees showed most were still using Windows XP.

As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your questions and comments.
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just take the blue pill already!
by Dalkorian May 16, 2007 9:32 AM PDT
Whatever you do, don't concern yourselves with pesky concepts as
"facts" and "truth". Just take the blue pill and continue living the
fantasy.

M$ makes the most powerful Kool-Aide on the planet!
Reply to this comment
End users love Vista so much . . .
by rcrusoe May 16, 2007 10:17 AM PDT
that they demanded Dell start offering XP for sale again.

I know several non-geek users that were very excited about Vista - until they got their new computers home and tried to use it.
Reply to this comment
End Users Love Vista........
by montefraya May 16, 2007 10:47 AM PDT
Vista does have some very nice features that I like very much. The problem I'm having mostly with it is the compatibility issue. Programs I have grown to enjoy are not compatible at all or are only partially compatible. Some of my vendors have put out drivers that are supposed to "fix" the problems , but do not fix the problems. I can't burn CD's in Media Player, but can burn them in Real Player.

I have lots of problems with Yahoo messenger"not Responding", plus one or two other programs also have this issue.

I can't blame Microsoft entirely for the problems as it seems a lot of the problems stem from vendors not keeping up.
If they are not threatened by Mac . . .
by mbreo May 16, 2007 10:30 AM PDT
Then why do they need to consistently make statements like, "How
can you don't like what we delivered? Mac OS X does it the same
way! We spent a lot of time copying their stuff."
Reply to this comment
So true...
by theNerd May 16, 2007 12:17 PM PDT
You are so right. MS is constantly defending itself against the Mac all the while trying to copy its functionality.
OSX is a bad GUI to copy.
by paoconnell May 16, 2007 3:21 PM PDT
Doing that battle now with my wife's new Mac. Not as easy to learn as she thought it would be.

The best nonWin, nonMac UI I've seen is the one that comes with Ubuntu. Next best UI might be WinXP in Win2k mode.
View reply
If you want to vigorously defend Vista...
by cheddu May 16, 2007 10:40 AM PDT
Defend it with elegant code and give developers all the tools they need to get the job done right the first time.
If Vista's driver support is so good, then why does the Microsoft supplied driver for my Hauppauge PVR 150 BSOD my system after about 2 minutes? Why does the Microsoft supplied driver for my Nvidia GeForce 7600 BSOD at least once every other day? I know Microsoft didn't write the drivers, but they did sign off on them. Gaming performance is _abysmal_, adding further insult to injury.
I finally gave up and installed Ubuntu, MythTV, and Cedega. For me, this trio just works. My problem was solved with acceptable performance and my Vista investment is now gathering dust on a shelf alongside my now _invalidated_ Windows XP.
Right now I feel I wasted my money and time on Vista. While I have hope, Vista is _not_ going back on this particular system until it has matured enough to actually _work_. Even then, I doubt I will remove my ext3 partitions on that day.
As for future systems in my home, not one of them will have a Microsoft operating system. Between the draconian licensing and the quality of a product which took half a decade to develop, they're no longer showing me anything worth buying.
As a consumer, I will always turn to a good value. Open Source software has matured enough for me to just say "No" to Microsoft without exception. My Mac is due for replacement, but I will wait for Leopard to come out.
Microsoft can defend Vista all they want, but it's a relatively lost battle with me.
You can flame me now, but it won't change my mind.
Reply to this comment
I doubt I will remove my ext3 partitions on that day.
by tasehagi May 16, 2007 11:24 AM PDT
"Vista is _not_ going back on this particular system until it has matured enough to actually _work_. Even then, I doubt I will remove my ext3 partitions on that day."

don't worry, vista will remove them for you by default :))
View reply
Microsoft defends Vista
by jesmac418 May 16, 2007 12:18 PM PDT
I personally tried Vista Premium. I really liked it at first. At least
until I started adding back in some software. The problem is not
really all Microsoft's. Much of the problem is with 3rd party
vendor's who are not updating drivers or software to work with
Vista. They of course would rather have you buy a newer
version.
I have found that to be true with a router from Netgear and a
sound card, also a couple of games which only worked partially.
I also had a cellular broadband card that was NOT going to be
supported,EVER. My question was how are we supposed to
embrace A new OS if everyone else won't? Now I can understand
not having drivers for some 5 year old piece of software or
hardware. But my router I had just bought and my broadband
card was fairly new (6 months old). So these are very important
items that their respective companies say they will not support
Vista. The other real question is why many of these companies 3
months after the full release of Vista have they not released
updates for Vista supported hardware? Did they think Vista was
never coming out? Did they feel that forcing people to buy new
software and harware was more proffitable?
Reply to this comment
Vista sales rate cut in half...
by Llib Setag May 16, 2007 12:35 PM PDT
Microsoft today revealed that it had sold 40 million copies of Windows Vista in the 100 days since its late-January debut. Company founder Bill Gates made the statement at the opening of Microsoft's WinHEC conference, and noted that many of the copies sold were versions above and beyond the standard version; 78 percent of copies were for Home Premium or higher, he said.

The figure was cited as proof of an increasing shift to digital media in most computer users' lives.

While significant, the sales point to a rapid slowdown in adoption of the new operating system. Microsoft had observed that it sold 20 million copies in the first month, which doubled XP's achievement but now indicates that the average number of copies sold has been cut in half during March and April.

The firm has so far declined to compare its most recent figures with the relative size of the market today or to any decline that may have occurred during XP's 2001 release.

Although heavily anticipated, Vista has been plagued by sporadic issues with missing drivers or incompatible software that have caused hesitation in some buyers.

TELL US ALL THE FACTS CITIZEN GATES.
Reply to this comment
That's million with an M.
by smilin:) May 16, 2007 1:34 PM PDT
Look dude they've sold 40 MILLION copies in 100 days. If you kept up the rate of 20 million in 30 days you'll have sold one to every man, woman, and child in the US by this time next year..regarless of how many of them have a computer. *Of course* it will taper off. It has to or reality would implode. At the rate it was sold the first month we would run out of PCs on the entire planet earth to put it on before Vienna releases (1.15B / 20m / 12months).

MS is also turning Vista-driven profits that are blowing competition out of the water (63% increase in revenue compared to a year ago). You can try to spin it all you want but ***Vista is having monster sales***. The nay-sayers were wrong.

What is your agenda there buddy? Why are you trying to distort reality? You insecure because you can only play "catch the monkey banner-ad" on Linux or that your kids fisher-price play along computer looks just like your Mac? Why the attack on "Citizen gates"? (who isn't obligated to tell you squat btw)
View all 2 replies
Not exactly 100 days
by OscarWeb May 16, 2007 2:45 PM PDT
Vista has technically been out on sale (to corporate customers) since November 30th of 2006, which is 167 days, not 100. Get your facts straight.
Reply to this comment
All those Vista "users"...
by Maccess May 17, 2007 12:48 AM PDT
...are counted as such even if:

What they really purchased was Windows XP from Oct 2006 (with Vista Coupon, even if they don't intend to use it).

They purchased a computer at retail from January 2007, the time from which Microsoft declared that new computers must have only Vista, even if the first thing they did was go to a nearby computer tech and had Vista removed from the Hard Drive and had XP installed.

They are a Corporate buyer who purchased Vista for the "downgrade right," to use Windows XP, because that's what they intend to use with it. Nex XP licenses are scarce and no longer offered by Microsoft.

They are an OEM who purchased license rights for their entire intended shipment for 2007 and possibly 2008. They haven't used these licenses yet because they haven't made the computers that will ship with them. I wonder where MS sales figures will be in the next two quarters now that OEMs have all the licenses they need for 2007.
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