Vista price cuts show how much trouble Microsoft is in
Ever since Microsoft released Vista to the masses, most people knew just how bad the operating system was. Instead of offering the kind of functionality already found on Linux or Mac OS X and the stability that we had come to welcome in XP, Vista was nothing more than a beta release on day one, and very few improvements have been made to change that.
To make matters worse, most companies and individuals are more than happy to keep XP running, and even Apple has been able to capitalize somewhat on the issues people have had with Microsoft's latest operating system.
Obviously realizing that there is some trouble afoot, Microsoft on Thursday announced price cuts on its most expensive versions of Vista and said those discounts will range from 20 percent to 48 percent. Ironically, those discounts are designed to coincide with the release of Vista Service Pack 1, which according to Microsoft, will usher in a slew of security fixes and improvements that should make the Vista experience much better.
And while I applaud Microsoft for finally dropping the price on its ill-fated software, the price drop looks more like a PR move than something that will have an impact on consumers and, most importantly, shows just how much trouble this company is in with Windows.
First off, let's not kid ourselves. This price drop will have no impact on Microsoft's bottom line and is nothing more than a ploy to show that it's trying to do all it can to attract customers. After all, how many people actually buy retail versions of Windows?
According to Goldman Sachs, approximately 5 percent of all Windows sales are executed through retail chains and the vast majority--80 percent--come from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Knowing this, what sort of impact does anyone actually think this will have?
If only 5 percent of Microsoft's customers are affected by this price drop, why is this even news? Wouldn't it make more sense from a business standpoint to drop the price to OEMs (which it hasn't done), if all it really wants to do is sell more copies of Vista? If it did that, OEMs would finally feel a little bit better about the software and could pass some of that savings on to the consumer, who would then more readily choose the more expensive Vista over XP.
But alas, this price cut has nothing to do with revenue or any other excuse Microsoft can come up with. The Vista price cut is designed specifically to show people that this company is doing all it can to create a worthwhile product and is trying to make its customers happy.
Of course, what it fails to realize is what the customers really want is a robust operating system that offers the stability and functionality this one is missing. And although Microsoft would be quick to mention that it's doing just that with SP1 and the price cut is making its product more attractive, I would argue that the company is ignoring consumers and doing all it can to force a crappy product on you so it can turn a profit on its huge investment in Vista.
But in the end, I just don't know if that will ever happen. As long as companies like Dell and Acer continue to have reservations about Vista and Microsoft tries to play the PR game instead of the "make this crap better" game, Windows is in trouble.
Vista is a damaged product that lacks many of the important elements a good operating system would boast. And although it may be a bit cheaper, it's still not the OS XP was. Say what you will about Windows, but as it stands, XP is one of the best operating systems on the market today and Microsoft shouldn't lose sight of that.
The future of Vista is bleak and regardless of what Microsoft tries to do to erect a facade that entices consumers to buy a dilapidated operating system, eventually it will come back to haunt this company and that will be bad for everyone.
Go back to work, Microsoft. We're waiting for something better.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
I just don't get what the problem is.
Personally, I have three printers, including one that still uses an old LPT port. Not ONE had a problem with finding a driver for Vista, though they are all HP printers and HP is good about making generic drivers for printers if a new OS comes out.
Myself, I'll stick with what works until is doesn't. Why invest in an Operating System that only works 75% of the time?
Sorry this is so long, had to vent a bit! That being said, i absolutely respect your opinion and right to post whatever you want on your site. I am a huge fan of CNET in general.
Thats my two cents.
Murphy
"Do I go for Home Basic or Home Premium. If I need the features in Home Premium, maybe I should get Ultimate, just in case. Or do I just but a Mac and run XP in Parallels instead?"
Same for the Xbox 360. I almost bought one last month when I was in a Game store. But the wide range of editions with no clear distinction between them (other than price) made me walk out of the shop empty handed.
People should not call dissatisfied customers "MS bashers" - Microsoft has plenty of money and resources to design a product that works and they failed the vast majority of their market with Vista. I do not personally know of a single business that has migrated to Vista. My new work computer came preloaded with Vista and the IT guys immediately reverted it back to XP stating that their extensive beta testing of Vista caused them to decide to ban it from the company network. People will stop bashing Microsoft when they create a product that works without heroic efforts.
You don't HAVE to have an iPod as your music player. People go and pick those products up on their own, separate from any other product or hardware specifications. If they wanted to stray away from Apple products, they could.
On the flip side, how many 'stand-alone' copies of Vista have been sold to date? My money is on the fact that it is 'not many'. People who do not have to use vista are AVOIDING IT AT ALL COSTS. And I would never recommend people switch (not using the word 'upgrade') to Vista. My experience on my pre-loaded Vista laptop:
1. Hardware compatibility issues, printers don't work.
2. The Blue Screen of Death is back.
3. Programs are always freezing on me and crashing.
4. Boot-up time is almost 6 minutes, awaking from sleep is almost 3 minutes.
The average user who is not a 'tech head' deserves more.
If someone buys a computer with Vista on it and they install XP or Linux on it, it is still considered a Vista install.
On the business side it is even more disingenuous and cynical.
You might consider giving back the money that MS gives you to shill. You aren't earning it.
My experience has been the same as yours, very few problems if any, except for those that I made myself by rooting around in place in Vista where I shouldn't have darn well been going without specific instructions.... but then again, I like to do that because I am a 'tweaker' as we are called.
Windows is in such deep trouble, that Microsoft's sales and profits continue to go higher and higher.
The Gloom and Doom Crowd is out of touch with reality.
Basically Mircosoft should've done their homework on this one and not bloat it with pretty icons or graphics. I want STABILITY, not "eye candy" to hide defects. If they would've built from XP (which is the best OS they put out) and not treat their customers like idiots, I would have more respect for them. They are rushing products, and not taking time to tighten screws in it.
And it is not very good once you compare it to Linux or OSX.
That is just pathetic.
I've had some application crashes.... but fewer than I had on XP, except for one photo application that I believe the problem is that it doesn't like one specific driver on my notebook.
Also, I don't call 6 YEARS of development rushing something... not in the slightest.
Your status as a MS basher is showing, and no one should take your post seriously.
I've bought all new hardware for my business over the last year and all of it had Vista installed. I love it. I am sorry for your unfortunate - and deeply bitter - experience.
I would agree with one of the comments about limiting the number of versions. I think a business addition and a home addition are enough.
I run 5 machines with 2 different versions of Vista and other than a printer driver issue (Which the printer mfg fixed w/in a month of release) my machines rock. Sure I needed to learn how and where to tune the systems the way I wantred, but other than that all is well. In fact, I can't remember a smoother expereince when cutting over to a new OS.
I don't understand where the media gets some of their perspectives/ "data". By 3rd party accounts, Vista was more stable and compatible than the 1st version of XP. Many friends that turn to me for help have had a fine experience with Vista (other than typical new features stuff)
Sure it takes MS and the (thousands of device manufacturers) a while to get all the kinks out, but when you have the 3rd party base and history that Windoes has, what do you expect. BTW, for those that want to compare to Linux or Mac, do your homework. You cannot begiin to do an even comparrison...the #s of units and users are of scales.
As to lowering the price, Ultimate was a marketing failure....and I belive a bad idea in general. They stretched when they put a premium on that SKU and are adjusting accordingly. I agree they are also working a PR battle but I believe much of that battle is due to comments like yours. Most people, like the majority of the people above this response, have a very different perspective. I suggest you learn from them.
Microsoft didn't go to bat for me when their products caused me problems. I've never felt that they were looking out for my best interests. Why, then, is everyone on this board so hell-bent on protecting Microsoft from any criticism? Do you honestly think Microsoft will go to bat when you get a sub-standard product from them, like you are for them when someone criticizes them? Doubt it.
The simple fact is that it's a not very well known secret that Microsoft actually PAYS people to write these comments. That's why you will ALWAYS see a tremendous amount of very PRO MICROSOFT comments almost immediately after something like this is posted. They have gotten sneakier over the years, and will throw in a very slight negative comment along with the glowing rave reviews, but just look at the front page of comments of most any article such as this posted by a major website, and you will almost certainly see the Microsoft PR brigade hard at work.
Here is an example of a company that offers this type of 'service' for those that think it's a far fetched concept. Microsoft has been caught doing this several times over the years with their own employees, and it's a well known policy within the company.
http://www.buyblogcomments.com/
Because those 5 percent who buy retail copies of any OS are geeks, home-builders, enthusiasts, and (most importantly) INFLUENCERS.
They are people like your brother-in-law who acts as a virtual "geek squad" for friends & family. Or the guy next door who is an IT person and set up your wireless network for you. Or the basement-dwelling nerd in his 30s still living in Mom's house who runs the local PCUG. They influence millions of others.
In the office I used to habitate, hardly a day would go past without someone stopping by the IT shop for free advice. "Should I buy Vista or stick with XP?" was a frequent question.
So don't dismiss that 5 percent -- they are small, but vocal.
I bought a well-known name brand laptop (not a cheapie, either) and it came w/ Vista Home Premium. There was nothing "premium" about it.... BSODs when I tried putting it to sleep, spontaneous "Windows has found an issue and would like to report it to Microsoft." F/k this... returned the computer, got another one....two weeks later, same things kept happening. I was only running Office 2003 and iTunes!
I finally returned the bloody thing and picked up a Macbook and couldn't be happier. No crashes, no BSODs. I used bootcamp to put my copy of XP Pro SP2 on the machine to run some of my other Windows-only software and it worked great. I'm considering either vmware or parallels in the future.
Vista was the best selling point for a Mac i've ever seen....better than any commercial.
- by sal-magnone February 29, 2008 10:35 AM PST
- Heck, I read the title and thought this was /. not CNET.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (61 Comments)"Just how much trouble" - Trouble not reflected in either MS' stock price, sales, or bottom line I take it.
This is better: "Of course, what it fails to realize is what the customers really want is a robust operating system that offers the stability and functionality this one is missing"
I build distributed systems (over 250K transactions per sec and climbing fast) stability is not a problem in either XP or VISTA. And claiming a lack of functionality is just crazy? You are telling me VISTA is missing functionality. If anything people have been claiming that MS' kitchen sink approach made VISTA harder to use than it should be.
VISTA and SERVER 2008 will continue to extend MS' dominant position in the industry. We are already seeing Linux/Apache pushed out of the web server space by IIS. Now we're seeing LINUX get booted off commodity compute clusters by Windows Cluster Server. If the other guy can't win with FREE you must be doing something right.
Apple is a great company and really the only competition or threat. However, we're early in the cycle. Apple threatens not just MS but also HP, DELL, LEVONO, et al. If these guys decide tomorrow that Apple needs to be eradicated they'll throw more technology, money, channel power at Apple than it could possibly overcome. On just price points these guys could come down quite a bit. Additionaly Apple has a history of melting down. MS if anything knows how to keep coming at you.